By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Tyler Herro understands the skepticism surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks now that they’ve traded away Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two-time MVP who led the franchise to its first title in half a century.
“People feel like we’re not going to win games, we’re not going to be in the talks of anything that has to do with winning,” said Herro, one of the players who came to Milwaukee in the trade that sent Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. “I feel like that’s the opposite of what we’re thinking. We’re trying to win.”
The Bucks undoubtedly will have a tougher time winning without Antetokounmpo, who finished in the top five in the MVP balloting for seven straight years before injuries limited him to a career-low 36 games last season. Most preseason projections have the Bucks finishing at or near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
New Bucks coach Taylor Jenkins doesn’t talk about potential win totals when he discusses his expectations. He instead focuses on competing together and getting better so that the Bucks build an identity that can guide them for years to come.
“We truly are invested in building the next great era of Bucks basketball,” said Jenkins, who went 250-214 with the Memphis Grizzlies from 2019-25. “It’s not just a tagline. That’s something shared throughout the entire organization.”
That mission starts with improving a culture that had deteriorated lately.
Bucks backslid the last few seasons
Milwaukee won a championship in 2021 and had the NBA’s best regular-season record in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2022-23. The Bucks’ slide started with a stunning postseason loss to Miami in 2023, which began a string of three straight first-round playoff exits.
The bottom fell out last season, when the Bucks snapped a string of nine straight playoff appearances by going 32-50 in a season dominated by speculation about Antetokounmpo’s future. By the end of the season, Antetokounmpo was squabbling with management over whether the nine-time all-NBA forward was healthy enough to play, a standoff that led to an NBA investigation.
Doc Rivers exited as coach immediately after the season. Milwaukee got the replacement it wanted in Jenkins, who becomes the Bucks’ fourth coach in five seasons.
“We had a lot of pointing fingers last year,” forward Kyle Kuzma said. “That is a recipe for disaster. I think that we’ve got vibes this year. We’ve got real vibes.”
Kuzma said those positive vibes come from the camaraderie among the players, quite an achievement considering all the new faces on Milwaukee’s roster.
The Antetokounmpo trade brought 2025-26 sixth man of the year runner-up Jaime Jaquez Jr., 7-footer Kel’el Ware and 20-year-old guard Kasparas Jakučionis to Milwaukee along with Herro. The Bucks added a pair of lottery picks in former Arizona guard Brayden Burries and ex-Tennessee forward Nate Ament. The draft rights to Ament also were part of the Antetokounmpo deal.
Reconfigured roster building cohesiveness
Center Myles Turner established chemistry among the newcomers and returnees by inviting them to his home in Austin, Texas, during the offseason. Turner says Jenkins is establishing the mentality and mindset the Bucks need to embody.
“It’s one thing to want to win,” Turner said. “It’s another thing to do the things that are required to win. I think that’s what more of our focus and attention goes into this year.”
Whether the Bucks have what it takes to win very often is up for debate.
All the players on Milwaukee’s roster have combined for one All-Star Game selection (Herro in 2025). The Bucks have a surplus of guards with similar traits, so Jenkins could have an interesting time deciding on rotations early on.
One of Milwaukee’s major objectives is determining which players are potential building blocks. The contract status of some players will require the Bucks to make quick decisions on them.
Herro, a Milwaukee-area native, is eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of the season. Other Bucks on expiring contracts include Kuzma and guard Kevin Porter Jr. Guard Ryan Rollins, who finished fifth in the NBA’s most improved player voting last season, has a $4 million player option for 2027-28. Jaquez could become a restricted free agent next summer.
While the Bucks are working toward the future, they aren’t giving up on this season. They don’t have any first-round picks next year, so there’s no reason to worry about their draft position.
They do have a coach in Jenkins who’s “maniacal about the details” on and off the floor, as general manager Jon Horst puts it. They also have a bunch of young players eager to prove they belong.
“I’m excited,” Rollins said. “We have a super young group, energetic, excited to play. Everyone has a chip on their shoulder to prove something.”
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