Bucks face pivotal season as training camp begins

The Milwaukee Bucks are moving away from the rhetoric of being a work in progress.

With the completion of Fiserv Forum, stability in the front office, the addition of a proven coaching staff and the development of a talented roster, the Bucks have ditched their former mantras of "Own the Future" and "Build the Future."

For the Bucks, who opened training camp at their downtown Sports Science Center on Tuesday with a pair of practice sessions, the time of reckoning has arrived. Especially with LeBron James moving out of the Eastern Conference, the path toward winning a playoff series for the first time since 2001 seems open.

“I think when you look at what’s happened, every year has gotten better," co-owner Marc Lasry said. "I think there’s a lot of expectations, from us, I think from (the media), from the fans, from the team, from the coaching staff. … You sort of look at this year and you’re hoping you’re going to get not the second round, you’re hoping you’re going to get to the Eastern Conference finals.”

Of course, none of these projections are new. For nearly two decades, the Bucks have been looking to exorcise their playoff demons and as recently as last year believed they had finally put together the team that would make the leap.

A year ago, Milwaukee's players and coaches were open about their goal of reaching 50 wins. They also espoused a belief that they could be a top-five defensive team.

Forty-four wins later with their second coach at the helm, the Bucks sat dejected at Boston's TD Garden, having been eliminated in Game 7 of the first round. For the second successive season, they went into the summer feeling like they had been the better team, trying to figure out what went wrong and wondering what could have been.

Between Monday's media day and Tuesday's practice, the bold proclamations have been tamped down.

“We’ve been saying it ­– 50 wins, 60 wins, whatever – and it hasn’t happened yet," Khris Middleton said. "To me, I hate saying it, but we’ve looked like fools in the past saying we’re going to do this and that and we haven’t backed up what we’ve said. Guys are motivated by those previous years to do it now, but I guess they’re just not saying it.”

This year's Bucks marketing drive is built around a new slogan: "Built to Stay." That, of course, references the gleaming, new Fiserv Forum, which will be the Bucks' home in Milwaukee for the foreseeable future.

The question that will need to be answered on the Forum's court this season, though, is are the Bucks built to stay?

General manager Jon Horst, entering his second full season in that position, has consistently spoken about his plan to construct the team the right way so that the Bucks can have sustained success, including ultimately competing for a championship. That all hinges on putting the right pieces around 23-year-old all-star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is beginning the second year of a four-year contract.

He's not leaving Milwaukee any time before the end of that contract and neither is head coach Mike Budenholzer, who was hired this spring to help the Bucks reach new heights. With those two pieces in place, Horst's challenge will be to determine who fits along with them on a perennial contending team.

After years of growing a core nucleus, Horst is going to have some pivotal decisions to make after this season. Middleton can opt out of his contract and become a free agent. Eric Bledsoe and former rookie of the year Malcolm Brogdon are in the last year of their deals. The 2019 free-agent market is expected to include a bumper crop of big-name players, and Horst will need to decide who to pay and how much to spend as the Bucks face a tight situation relative to the luxury tax.

Milwaukee may not yet be considered a legitimate title contender, but the Bucks' level of success in 2018-'19, as well as which players step up, will determine the direction of the franchise for years to come.

“I think this is a big season for us in regard to that," Horst said. "We want to take a step forward. ... I think if this group can take another step collectively, if they can buy into Coach’s system, play the way that he wants to play, continue to be high-character guys and really show progress toward our ultimate goal of sustaining success over a long period of time, then I think there’s a strong argument for keeping this group together and that’s something we talk about a lot. …

"We like the group that we have and we’re really excited to see what they do.”

The gravity of this season isn't lost on the men in Milwaukee's locker room. That's part of the reason why most of the players cut heir summer short to get together for nearly a month of voluntary workouts.

“It’s no secret it’s time, especially for the guys that have been here for a while that have grown together, it’s time to take that next step," said center John Henson, who like Antetokounmpo and Middleton has been through a 15-win season, missing the playoffs and getting knocked out in the first round too often for his liking.

"Especially with some of the guys being free agents soon – myself in a couple years, Khris possibly, Eric, go down the line. We know that’s the pressure that comes with it, but I think we’re built for it and it’s going to be a good year.”

Starting with Tuesday's training camp tip-off, the Bucks are going to have a lot to prove this season if they're going to live up to internal and external expectations.

Under Budenholzer, everything will start at the defensive end, where the Bucks have recently been a confounding team featuring length and athleticism that haven't always translated into competence and efficiency.

They'll also need to find their roles in Budenholzer's offensive system, which at first glance players have hailed as being more in line with the modern NBA. It's designed around ball and player movement as well as spacing the floor for creators like Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Bledsoe.

How the Bucks, collectively and individually, respond to the challenge could have lasting ramifications on the franchise in the short- and long-term. If the Bucks are indeed "Built to Stay," they're officially on the clock to prove it.

“We definitely have the pieces to do what we need to do," Middleton said. "It’s just a matter of going on the court and actually doing it now.”