Milwaukee GM Jon Horst forthright about challenges facing Bucks in post-Giannis era

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst makes one thing perfectly clear about the challenge facing the franchise as it moves forward without Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“No one’s sitting here today and saying that we’re a better team today after trading Giannis,” Horst said in a Zoom session with reporters Wednesday, two days after the official announcement that the Bucks had dealt the two-time MVP to the Miami Heat. “He’s one of the greatest players to ever play, greatest player in the franchise history.”

But he maintained that making this move was in the best interest of both the Bucks and Antetokounmpo, who had one year remaining on his contract and had said repeatedly he wanted to play on a team committed to competing for championships.

The Bucks are coming off a 32-50 season that snapped a string of nine straight playoff appearances, as injuries limited Antetokounmpo to a career-low 36 games. They haven’t advanced beyond the Eastern Conference semifinals since Antetokounmpo led them to a title in 2021.

Horst said the Bucks didn’t feel forced into making a move because of Antetokounmpo’s contract status. He added that the Bucks remained uncertain regarding their plans for Antetokounmpo when they hired new coach Taylor Jenkins.

“We truly believed we’ve found an opportunity which is unique,” Horst said. “We might be right. We might be wrong. But an opportunity where this is what’s best for him and what he wants to pursue going forward, and this is what’s best for us and what we want to pursue going forward. And that’s why we made the decision. But it wasn’t a ‘have to’ (situation).”

While this trade likely gives Antetokounmpo a better chance of winning a second title in the near future, the Bucks believe they can benefit from starting a new chapter.

The move represents a major change from the Bucks’ offseason approach last year, when they waived Damian Lillard under the NBA’s stretch provision and signed former Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner in a risky attempt to extend their window as a possible contender.

“We went through an offseason last year and we believed that we had an opportunity to maximize something together,” Horst said. “We went through a trade deadline where we assessed whether or not that was still the case. And we went into an offseason this year where we took the same approach. This time around, our assessment was the ultimate opportunity we had with Miami was what was best for the Bucks organization now and going forward, and best for Giannis.”

Bucks beginning new chapter

The package they acquired in the trade that sent Antetokounmpo and veteran forward Bobby Portis to Miami will play a big part in the Bucks’ revamp. They added 2025 All-Star Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis, the draft rights to rookie Nate Ament and multiple other draft picks.

Those four former Heat players range in age from 20-26.

As all these young players start working with Milwaukee’s new coach, Horst understands patience will be paramount as the Bucks will need time to learn who they are and how they want to play.

“We’re going to focus on those things each and every day, so that’s the lens that we look through more than winning and losing out of the gate,” Horst said. “So finding the right north star, having the right approach in staying focused and true to that and the patience to do it I think is the way we’re going to get there. But it’s a different era for us, so we’ll learn as we go.”

Horst said there’s a sense of excitement in this new path because he’s excited about learning and trying to solve the problems that naturally will arrive. But he also acknowledged how difficult it was to bid farewell to Antetokounmpo because of how much the 10-time All-Star had meant to the franchise and the community.

The two had been together in Milwaukee for Antetokounmpo’s entire NBA career. Horst was Milwaukee’s director of basketball operations when Antetokounmpo was drafted in 2013 and got promoted to general manager in 2017.

“Giannis will be back in Fiserv (Forum) soon and he’ll be back in Fiserv multiple times,” Horst said. “And I really hope — not hope, I know — that each and every time the standing ovation, the love, the respect, the admiration that he gets from this city and this fan base and this franchise will be felt and will be appropriate for everything he’s meant to all of us.”

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