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The Bucks problems are tied to the draft

Originally posted on Milwaukee Bucks on SI
By Ethan J. Skolnick | Last updated Jan 1, 2026 6:47 PM ET

The Milwaukee Bucks drafted a skinny kid out of Greece in 2013, with the 15th overall pick.

That was a wise decision.

Twelve years later, Giannis Antetokounmpo is among the NBA's elite, and figures to remain that for a while, even if he doesn't remain in Milwaukee.

The problem is everything that came after.

You can argue that no team in the NBA has gotten less production from its own draft choices of late, which is why it's even more perilous for the Bucks to trade more picks for a quick fix.

Consider that only one player the Bucks have chosen since Antetokounmpo has played a minute for Milwaukee this season, and that's Kevin Porter Jr., who was traded right away and then re-acquired last year for MarJon Beauchamp. The only other players the Bucks have "developed" have been Andre Jackson, who has a limited role and is shooting unde 25 percent in (he was brought in on draft night 2023 from Orlando), and AJ Green, who was an undrafted find.

The Bucks have had to rely almost entirely on trades and free agents -- overpaying Myles Turner is the latest example -- without a pool of NBA-ready talent to supplement their superstar. No wonder the foundation has crumbled around him, with the team now 14-20 and outside the Play-In seeding, currently in the 11th spot.

Meanwhile, teams like the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat have consistently found major contributors such as Payton Pritchard and Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the latter half of the first half. This raises the question of whether the front office, led by Jon Horst, that has failed to find quality college prospects can be trusted to find enough to convince Giannis that he can still thrive in a mid-to-small market. The Bucks have pick swap arrangements for the next couple of years, which makes this even more complicated.

The only saving grace is that Porter Jr. has started to harness his gifts in this run with the Bucks, and Ryan Rollins has found a home in Milwaukee after bouncing around the NBA and G-League. But eventually, the Bucks need to find a true co-star for Antetokounmpo, and that may mean overpaying again, this time for Jerami Grant, Michael Porter Jr. (unrelated) or Trae Young, or someone of that sort.

That will cost first round picks, and the Bucks can't afford to give those away, when they don't make the most of the ones they have. There's only so long they can live off one superb selection, that happened seven years before the Covid pandemic, and just about Barack Obama's second inauguration.

This article first appeared on Milwaukee Bucks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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