The Milwaukee Bucks have completely transformed their roster in the wake of trading Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat after months of Antetokounmpo loudly expressing his discontent throughout last season, and now the Bucks have to look forward to a future with their new and young roster. 

This transformation is coming on the heels of one of the worst regular seasons in franchise history, with the Bucks finishing just 32-50 and ending up as the 11th-seed in the Western Conference, and now they have to march forward with a new roster and try and improve on that record in an ever-changing Eastern Conference. 

Next season wouldn't have been an easy task for a Bucks team that wasn't in the midst of a rebuild, especially with the way that be Eastern Conference that has improved around them with the Philadelphia 76ers adding LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, the Boston Celtics expecting a full season out of Jayson Tatum and even the Indiana Pacers expecting a full turnaround with the return of Tyrese Haliburton. 

But the Bucks have built a solid core that could build toward future success, especially if new additions Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are able to gel with Ryan Rollins and new standouts Brayden Burries and Nate Ament continue to build off the success that they showed they can produce in their brief time in Summer League. 

Building chemistry will be the main task of the Bucks heading into next season with the intention that they can turn that chemistry into contention later down the line, but that doesn't mean that the Bucks can't have some success along the way in the 2026-27 season.

That success will be dependent on Rollins taking another step up from the promise that he showed last season as well as the new additions mirroring the success they had from their time in Miami, and that's why a 40-win season, while a long shot, shouldn't be out of the question. 

However, reaching the 40 win mark will be a tall order for the Bucks. The best frame of reference for what Milwaukee can be next season is the Miami Heat of last season, which finished with a 43-39 record. 

Of course, that Heat team, while it had Herro, Jaquez Jr., Kel'el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis, also had the benefit of Bam Adebayo and Norman Powell as key components of the team, which the Bucks don't have any true equivalent to. 

Trying to compare the Heat's season in 25-26 to what the Bucks can do next season won't be an exact one-to-one comparison, and while a 40-win season shouldn't be out of the cards for the Bucks, they'll likely be closer to the 35 win range and can more realistically expect a bottom-two finish in the Eastern Conference while the talent around them continues to rise.