The Milwaukee Bucks dove headfirst into a rebuild this offseason and now the future of the franchise is in somewhat of a state of flux, but being a rebuilding team doesn't necessarily that the Bucks are condemned to the basement of the NBA.

The massive haul they received from the Miami Heat as the return for Ryan Rollins has the Bucks up rather well and they so far seem to have hit on both of their 2026 first-round picks, Brayden Burries and Nate Ament, so the roster as it stands isn't in as bad of a shape as they could be. 

The Eastern Conference has gotten better around them, but the Bucks shouldn't be counted out just yet as a sneaky playoff team next season, but before that can happen, there need to be three big developments in the roster.

Basketball is a team sport, but it's also a sport that's dominated by superstars and nowhere is that more true than in the playoffs. 

The Bucks may have just lost their superstar, but that doesn't mean they don't have another one in the making in Ryan Rollins, but if the Bucks truly want to be taken seriously as soon as this season, Rollins will have to take a major leap.

He has the advantage of having the spotlight to himself now and having a roster that eas essentially built around him with the added benefit of there being such a strong guard core around him that he can operate more freely while his teammates draw the defense just as well, but the rest is up to him.

For several seasons, Rollins has steadily grown as a player, but the pressure is on for him to take that next step and become the All-Star level player that he has the potential to be.

Putting a lot of stock in rookies to become a playoff team isn't the most historically successful idea in the history of the NBA, but it isn't unheard of either and with how much promise both Burries and Ament have shown so far, they could be the rookie duo suited for the task. 

They both fill big needs on the court as a guard and as forward respectively, and if they can translate their impressive showing in Summer League to real NBA success, then the Bucks will have real anchors on the court in their two rookies who could rise to the occasion and bring the entire team along with them. 

The future of the Bucks is firmly in the hands of players like Rollins, Burries and Ament, but they have some veterans on the roster that need to step up if the Bucks want to be successful sooner rather than later. 

Kyle Kuzma has underperformed since the second he joined the Bucks, but if he's able to play to the level that he was at during his early years with the Washington Wizards, or even close to that level, that would go a long way in elevating the Bucks.

Myles Turner joined the Bucks at the deadline last season with Milwaukee hoping that Turner and Antetokounmpo could form a new dynamic duo, but that never panned out. 

But Turner is still on the roster and he's have a heavy load to carry this season as his primary role will be to dictate the Bucks defense, which is in a sorry state without him. 

Should Turner be able to put things together with his physicality and be a defensive presence in the paint and Kuzma should even approach heights of his career, the Bucks front court, by far the weakest of the team's two areas, will receive a much-needed boost that could go a long way in helping them sneak into the playoffs.