Since their title in 2021, the Bucks have struggled to make a deep playoffs run and their core certainly isn’t getting any younger.
This season may just be their best shot at clinching another championship.
They’ve managed to retain their championship core of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, three-time All-Star Khris Middleton and last season’s DOPY runner-up, Brook Lopez.
Elsewhere around the Eastern Conference, there have been huge changes and teams may have been weakened by those.
Like, the Heat losing Gabe Vincent and Max Strus and Boston losing Marcus Smart and Grant Williams.
The Bucks need to strike whilst the iron’s hot, because Fox Sports’ Ric Bucher believes their aging core is a concern.
“…outside of Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have an old core,” Bucher said. “Middleton turned 32 in August and injuries have aged him beyond that. Lopez is 35. Jrue Holiday, who has a player option for next season, is 33.”
A Western Conference executive added, “That team has run its course and is a year or two away from aging out of contention.”
To upgrade their roster, the Bucks don’t exactly have a plethora of draft picks to trade with or young talent to entice rival suitors.
“What are they going to do?” one Eastern Conference GM said. “Who are they going to trade for? It’s not like they have a whole bunch of picks or a whole bunch of salaries that people are dying to take on. Are they going to extend Jrue? If they do, I don’t think that’s a guarantee that Giannis stays.”
Giannis has been very vocal about his desire to win and has openly admitted that he will look elsewhere if he can’t win in Milwaukee.
It is clear to see his attitude has changed, but maybe he can see the writing on the wall and knows the only way forward is for the Bucks to trade him.
“If I’m him, I tell the Bucks, ‘Hey, you’re going to do what you’re going to do, and you heard me, I want to win. If I think we’re going to win, great, and if not, I’ll do you a favor, and you can trade me for a bunch of picks,’ An Eastern Conference GM said. “But it does surprise me that he said it out loud.”
READ MORE: The ‘X-Factor’ That Could Decide Whether Giannis Leaves Milwaukee
