MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks basically cost themselves the only chance they had to form a Giannis Antetokounmpo and Cam Boozer tandem, an oversight that stems entirely from not playing their cards with more force and clarity when the season hung in the balance. More importantly to them, they cost themselves the only chance they had to keep Giannis. The Bucks are inching towards a massive Giannis Antetokounmpo trade as this offseason slow gathers steam. Word around the league is that the team’s ownership would like to finalize a franchise-altering move before the night of the NBA draft. It is now all but certain that the Greek Freak has played his very last game in a Milwaukee uniform.
The Shocking Giannis Antetokounmpo And Cam Boozer Opportunity the Bucks Quietly Blundered Away
Instead of planning for an inevitable rebuild, the Bucks were still desperately trying to make the playoffs by the trade deadline. That was a huge tactical flaw that completely stopped them from making the right decision at the deadline.
It would have been the perfect opportunity to harvest valuable draft assets for some of their older rotation players and completely bottom out for the year. By trading away a veteran or two, the front office could have focused entirely on gathering a wide variety of future draft picks—a roster move that looks incredibly smart in hindsight following the league’s brand-new introduction of the “3-2-1 lottery” system.
How the Standings Shattered Milwaukee’s Future
The Bucks finished the season with the 10th worst record in the league. When you look back at how the season unfolded, it’s easy to spot the exact moment they cost themselves. On Boxing Day months ago, the Bucks and the Memphis Grizzlies faced off at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. The Grizzlies ran away as easy 125-104 winners, improving their record to 15-16. Meanwhile, the Bucks dropped to a dismal 12-19 at the time, playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo for the eighth straight game.
From that point on, Memphis went on to win only 10 more games the rest of the year because they fully committed to the tank. Milwaukee, on the other hand, did the exact opposite—going on to win twice that number by racking up 20 more victories. This divergence is where the real flaw lies, as the Memphis Grizzlies strategic losing allowed them to jump all the way up to secure the third seed in the draft lottery, while the Bucks slid all the way down to the tenth pick. Now, all signs across the league are pointing to Memphis using that exact third pick to take generational prospect Cam Boozer.
The Cam Boozer Insurance Policy
Imagine if Milwaukee had simply embraced a full tank early enough in the season to put themselves in that exact top-three position instead. Cam Boozer is a walking double-double threat from day one in the NBA, possessing the exact type of elite, cost-controlled talent that changes a franchise’s trajectory.
Even if the Milwaukee bucks wanted to completely sacrifice their long-term future for immediate championship contention alongside Giannis like they always do—does anyone else remember the desperate Damian Lillard waive-and-stretch strategy last summer?—having Boozer’s draft rights would have changed everything. Landing a top-three asset would have fetched the front office a legitimate superstar player or a massive haul of unprotected future assets in the trade market.
Those are exactly the types of high-value tools that would have helped management build a dangerous, revamped contender around Giannis to convince him to stay for the long haul. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that the two-time MVP explicitly stated he wanted to retire in Milwaukee. By winning meaningless games in January and February, the Milwaukee Bucks quietly took themselves out of the running for a franchise-saving prospect. Now, the bill has finally come due, and a blockbuster move looks like the only option left on the board.
Credit:© Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
