The Bucks Will Own The Future If They Can Disown Their Recent Past

On one hand, no professional sports slogan is looking more prescient than "Own the Future," a bet the Milwaukee Bucks' marketing department previously made on the potential of the franchise's two best players, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker.

On the other, the team's inevitable-seeming ascension to the top of the NBA's Eastern Conference could be tripped up by some questionable front office moves made in the recent past.

First, the good news. Milwaukee's future is now. Antetokounmpo is already the second-best player in his conference—picture an octopus with the hand-eye coordination of a shortstop that's always hopping on a trampoline—and Parker is a Death Star in transition. They're 22 and 21 years old, respectively, and heading into Monday night's victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, they were the first NBA duo to average at least 20 points on 50 percent shooting since LeBron James and Dwyane Wade did so in 2013.

After winning 33 games last season, Milwaukee is a near lock to make the postseason and have home court advantage for the first time since 2001. The team's 17-16 record is less meaningful than its ownership of a top-10 offense, as well as a higher net rating than both the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets. The Bucks move the ball, populate the paint, and don't have any insurmountable weaknesses, only areas that can—and should—improve, given that they have the seventh-youngest roster in the league.

Oh, and they also stand to make the most significant acquisition of the year whenever sharpshooter Khris Middleton returns from a serious hamstring injury.

Barring major injuries, Milwaukee has a real chance of advancing past the first round of the playoffs and making the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers a bit uncomfortable in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. With LeBron James now 32 years old and ostensibly on the verge of declining at some point in the foreseeable future, the top of the East will eventually be up for grabs; in a sea of pseudo-contenders, satisfactory also-rans and some of the league's very worst teams, Milwaukee is primed to step up as the most dangerous and promising replacement.

Now for the bad stuff. Beyond continued growth and development from Parker, Antetokounmpo, rookie mystery box Thon Maker and the 25-year-old Middleton, the Bucks' path to true contention appears needlessly difficult, thanks to a series of odd roster decisions. The uphill climb starts with Greg Monroe, a nimble, 6-foot-10 battering ram from a bygone era, a back-to-the-basket dinosaur who's quietly trying to make the best of his abrupt demotion.

Landing a low-post talent made sense when it happened, but Milwaukee's young stars have soured the fit. Monroe has a $17.8 million player option for next year, and with no trade value whatsoever, it's unclear whether he'll pick it up or become an unrestricted free agent.

Let's assume the former, since the latter likely results in reduced salary without the benefit of long-term security. If the Bucks renounce Tony Snell's $7.1 million cap hold, Milwaukee will still have no room to land a prime free agent, leaving them with a late first-round pick and the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions as their only avenues to short-term improvement. And even if Monroe opts out, the team will only have a little over $6 million to spend.

That's not enough to add the type of player who can push Milwaukee past Toronto—assuming Kyle Lowry doesn't leave—or Boston next season.

Bucks third-string center Miles Plumlee is in the first couple months of a four-year, $50 million contract that's on the short list for worst in the league, but if Milwaukee stretches it, they could carve $7 million worth of extra room this summer, which may be enough to chase a useful veteran at a position of need. Any one of Kyle Korver, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, P.J. Tucker, or C.J. Miles would be perfect.

Problem is, stretching Plumlee almost definitely won't happen, because instead of having $12.5 million on the books for three more years, they'd be on the hook for $5.3 million over the next seven seasons.

It's not the end of the world if the Bucks don't add a high profile name this offseason. But sooner rather than later, Milwaukee's best non-Giannis players will hit free agency. In 2019, Parker will likely be in the first year of a five-year max extension, and in 2020 Middleton will likely opt out of his team-friendly deal to seek the humongous raise he deserves. Keep both, and that's a lot of money tied up in three cornerstones, with Mirza Teletovic, John Henson, Plumlee, and Matthew Dellavedova also guaranteed money through the next few years—all of which makes adding to the talent already in place unnecessarily awkward.

Free agency will be difficult without enough cap space to overpay. The Monroe signing aside, Milwaukee is not, and has never been, an attractive destination for NBA players. It's dreary, cold, and bereft of any tradition or basketball culture. A new stadium and practice facility will open soon, but the city does not welcome African-American players as warmly as others. Henson was racially profiled outside a jewelry store a little over a year ago, and Bucks President Peter Feigin called Milwaukee "the most segregated, racist place I've ever experienced in my life" back in September.

Trades are always possible, but Milwaukee doesn't have many attractive assets to spare. Whiffing on Rashad Vaughn in the 2015 draft hurts—especially as Sam Dekker, who was plucked one slot later, blooms in Houston—as does trading Patrick McCaw to the Golden State Warriors for $2.4 million in cash a year later.

But maybe none of that matters. Maybe Antetokounmpo goes down as one of the 15 greatest players who ever lived, transcends the sport and forces the league to alter a rule or two—like, from now on, hand-checking is OK on anybody taller than 6-foot-9. Even if he doesn't reach such lofty heights, he's already good enough that building around him is a lot like building around James. Surround him with shooters, rebounders and versatile defenders; guys who don't need the ball to impact winning.

Maybe Parker becomes a perennial All-Star and tidies up his help defense and rebounding enough to provide everything Antetokounmpo could ever ask for in a right-hand man. Maybe Maker cracks the rotation and isn't out of the league in two years. Maybe the front office has some sneaky brilliant moves up its sleeve, like the preseason trade of Michael Carter-Williams for Snell.

Overall, something special is brewing in Milwaukee, and time is on the Bucks' side. Antetokounmpo is locked up for the foreseeable future, and Parker should be locked up with a five-year max extension as soon as possible. Multiple trips to the Conference Finals over the next decade feel certain, even if Milwaukee's current cap sheet makes everything harder than it needs to be. That part is is a little frustrating. The Bucks can still own the future, so long as they disown the past.

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