Realistic Next Steps for Bucks to Contend Again Without Giannis

The Milwaukee Bucks have put the Giannis Antetokounmpo era behind them, and now the goal is to find their next star player to build around. The Bucks are coming off a season in which they finished 11th in the Eastern Conference and picked 10th and 13th in the NBA Draft. 

With the 10th pick, they selected guard Brayden Burries out of Arizona, and with the 13th pick, they selected forward Nate Ament out of Tennessee. Both of these players bring a lot of upside to the Bucks, and the front office hopes that these two are just the first pieces of an eventual strong young core. 

This upcoming season will be very telling of who will stick around in Milwaukee as a long-term piece and who won't. Still, the Bucks may need to be in search of their next true franchise cornerstone in the 2027 draft. 

With the way their roster looks right now, the Bucks don't have a clear number one player on their team. Tyler Herro is projected to be that player for them this season, but there could be some uncertainty given his past injury problems and his level of consistency. 

For Milwaukee to compete for a championship again, they will need to find someone who can take control of the game similar to Giannis Antetokounmpo. While Brayden Burries and Nate Ament have a lot of upside individually, they were not top-three picks in the Draft, and the front office could be projecting a draft selection in that area for next summer. 

The Bucks may have a tough 2026-2027 season, but this season will be valuable because it gives the front office and coaching staff a chance to see who can stick around. Both Burries and Ament will need time to develop, and by April, they could prove to be pieces that will be very important in the future. 

One major factor to point out that could affect the way Milwaukee approaches this next season is its lack of control over future first-round picks. There's a chance the Bucks won't own any of their first-round picks until 2031 because of trades they made involving Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard. 

It will be interesting to see how competitive the Bucks will be as the year progresses, but their main goal should still be to find their true number one option. Once the franchise finds their piece for the future, it makes things much easier on the front office and it gives all parties some clarity of the direction they're heading in.