A wide-open Eastern Conference was the worst thing for the Bucks

The NBA's landscape has dramatically altered due to three significant injuries — Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard all suffered torn Achilles tendons during the playoffs.

These unfortunate circumstances have opened up the Eastern Conference, giving teams opportunities to strengthen their rosters this offseason and compete to represent the conference in next year's NBA Finals.

A team that should ignore pursuing those aspirations next season is the Milwaukee Bucks. Not only do the Bucks not possess a championship-caliber roster, but Lillard's injury hampered Milwaukee's chances of competing for anything substantial next season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a popular name in trade speculation this offseason, but he has yet to formally request a trade, signifying that he wants to give it another go as a Buck.

His intention to stay was amplified on Tuesday when Milwaukee agreed to terms with former Indiana Pacers' center Myles Turner on a four-year, $107M contract. To make this move possible, the Bucks waived the aforementioned Lillard to open up enough cap space to attain Turner. Reportedly, Milwaukee will spread Lillard's remaining $113M of his contract over the next five years.

Not only does this move force the Bucks into a win-now mode — although their roster is still nowhere near a contender, even in the weakened East — but it was also a decision that has irked Antetokounmpo.

In free agency, Milwaukee has lost Brook Lopez (signed a two-year, $18M contract with the Los Angeles Clippers), traded Pat Connaughton, retained Kevin Porter Jr., Bobby Portis, Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince and Jericho Sims, while adding Turner and Gary Harris.

Essentially, the Bucks have stayed pat and not made major improvements other than Turner, who will replace Lopez.

The Eastern Conference becoming anyone's game has provided Milwaukee with false hope that it remotely has a chance of making a deep run in the postseason next season.

As prescribed by many in the media, Milwaukee needs to trade Antetokounmpo and recoup as many future assets as possible. This makes even more sense when considering that Milwaukee does not hold the rights to its own first-round pick until 2031.

Even in a ravaged conference, the Bucks are a play-in team with a second-round ceiling. These moves are all for a lost cause and an inevitable disappointing 2025-26 campaign. It's time to move on and head towards a rebuild.