Last offseason, the Milwaukee Bucks made headlines by trading for All-NBA guard Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team deal. Although it was widely anticipated that Lillard would join the Miami Heat, the Bucks managed to acquire him to team up with Giannis Antetokounmpo, a former champion and two-time MVP.
As part of the trade, the Bucks sent veteran guard Jrue Holiday to Portland, who was later traded to the Boston Celtics. Holiday played a crucial role in leading the Celtics to their first championship since 2008. Meanwhile, the Bucks experienced a turbulent season with three different head coaches, ending with a 49-33 record and securing the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Despite these challenges, Milwaukee was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers, largely due to Antetokounmpo missing the series with a calf injury.
The first season of the Lillard-Antetokounmpo pairing fell short of expectations. Nevertheless, Bucks GM Jon Horst expressed no regrets about the trade, emphasizing the significance of acquiring a top-75 player to complement another top-75 player.
Amid trade rumors about big man Brook Lopez, Horst stated that he has no plans to trade the 36-year-old, highlighting Lopez’s core importance to the team. Lopez, who has played six seasons with the Bucks, has averaged 13 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game, and has been named to two All-Defensive Teams, finishing as the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. Horst hopes Lopez will retire as a Milwaukee Buck.
