Bucks' off-season will be full of difficult decisions before moving into new arena

Sunday was a quiet, leisurely day at the Milwaukee Bucks' Sports Science Center. The basketball courts and weight room were unusually barren while many sets of eyes were glued on the day's NBA playoff games.

Just 24 hours prior, the Bucks were part of the playoff picture. Then, with a Game 7 loss Saturday night to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, Milwaukee was subtracted from the championship equation.

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Instead of heading to Philadelphia, the team returned home for a final day of physicals and exit interviews before heading their separate ways for the summer.

"If you're asking me do I still want to be playing, heck yeah," Bucks coach Joe Prunty said when asked if Milwaukee's 44-38 season followed by a first-round exit was a disappointment. "And would I want to be playing until June? Yeah. Absolutely. There's no question there. ...

"I'm sure there will be people that label it as a disappointment, but those people might also be people who don't look at growth in a lot of things. For us, I think there are a lot of positives to take from it."

With Saturday's loss, the Bucks have unwillingly been thrust into the off-season, one that is full of critical decisions for the franchise as it prepares to move into its new arena next door to its now-former home, the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Among the numerous choices the Bucks must make are who will man the sideline as the team's head coach next season and how will Milwaukee handle the restricted free agency of forward Jabari Parker.

Prunty inherited the position of head coach when the Bucks decided to fire coach Jason Kidd in January, citing his lack of production with a talented roster that was just one game over .500 prior to Kidd's removal. With Kidd out, Prunty, his top assistant, was given the reins for the remainder of the season.

Under Prunty, the Bucks closed the season with a 21-16 record to finish as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference. They bowed out of the playoffs with a 4-3 series loss to the Celtics.

General manager Jon Horst and the team's ownership group were straightforward and open with Prunty about their trust in him as the team's coach during the season. Now that the campaign is over, though, there will be an open, active search to determine who the team's full-time coach will be next season.

Prunty will be a candidate to keep his position, but nothing is assured. There will certainly be other suitors for what is considered the top available job in the NBA, with coaches like David Fizdale, Mike Budenholzer, Jeff Van Gundy, Ettore Messina, Monty Williams and many more floating around the rumor mill.

“You know, in this business, there’s always a level of uncertainty," Prunty said when asked about his situation. "I think that’s probably one of the misperceptions about professional sports is that there’s certainty that certain things are going to happen. What you do is each day you’ve got to show up and do your job and you work hard."

An assistant in Milwaukee for three seasons prior to the 2017-'18 campaign, Prunty was thrust into the difficult situation of taking the helm in the middle of the season and being tasked with turning things around. There were some positive stretches, but the team still fell short of their goals of competing for a top-four seed in the East and making a playoff run.

Still, Prunty's efforts did not go unnoticed by his players, with numerous voicing their appreciation for how he handled the transition.

"I’ve been with Joe on three separate occasions," guard Jason Terry said. "And every time it never ceases to amaze me what he can do: X's and O's-wise and then leadership. He was tremendous."

There's currently no timeline on the coaching search, but it will likely reach a resolution prior to free agency, which is when the Bucks will need to tackle their next challenge. Will they keep Parker and how much will it cost?

Parker, a former No. 2 overall pick in 2014, played 31 games this season after coming back from his second torn left ACL in four professional seasons. He averaged 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game in the regular season and after a slow start to the playoffs put together some of his best two-way performances in Games 3 and 4 against the Celtics.

"Jabari coming back and being able to contribute the way that he did, I thought that, in particular for him, coming back and playing right away and not forcing issues was huge," Prunty said. "To get into his first playoff series and play as he did as the series evolved is not easy. And so, he made big strides."

The Bucks can match any offer made by another team to Parker but are projected to be in a tight salary-cap situation. However, they could possibly get some cap relief if forward Mirza Teletovic, whose season was ended by pulmonary emboli, is deemed a candidate for a medical retirement. If that came to pass, the remainder of Teletovic's $10.5 million salary would still be paid but would not count against the cap, thereby adding a bit more flexibility.

Parker's situation is complicated by his injuries and as well as his evident frustrations that stemmed from not reaching an extension last fall as well as his limited playing time when he returned.

The Bucks' front office has expressed how much it values Parker and his potential.

"Jabari ain’t going nowhere," Bucks all-star Giannis Antetokounmpo said. "He’s going to be here and he’s going to be ready for next season. And we will be all excited and playing in the new arena. And everyone is going to be having fun."

Every decision, from Prunty to Parker and beyond, takes on heightened importance as the team tried to make good on its championship-level aspirations over the next three years while Antetokounmpo — a likely top-five MVP finisher — is still under contract.

Antetokounmpo attempted to steer clear when asked about his role in influencing decisions, deferring to the front office. He'd like to stay in the know, but more than anything else he wants the team to make the right moves.

"I just want them to do the right moves for us to be successful, that's it," Antetokounmpo said. "That's what I care about. I care about coming back and winning games, that's it. At the end of the day, you've got to draw a line ... 'Can you help me? Can you not?'

"Overall, our goal is to be one the best teams in the East, win a championship."