Offseason moves for the Bucks:

It was only a year ago that the Milwaukee Bucks were at a crossroads with their roster.

They had just lost to Miami in the second round of the playoffs; their franchise player Giannis Antetokounmpo was faced with the decision of signing a supermax extension or testing free agency in 2021; and the reality was that a roster with the best regular-season record wasn’t good enough for the playoffs.

Now the Bucks are NBA champions.

With the season over, the focus now shifts to the coach’s future in Mike Budenholzer and rebuilding a bench that could lose P.J. Tucker, Bobby Portis and Bryn Forbes in free agency.

Mike Budenholzer’s future
Two months ago, with rumors swirling about Budenholzer’s job status, general manager Jon Horst praised the job his coach had done.

“I think it’s unbelievable,” Horst said. “It’s incredible to have a partner in this business who cares about winning as much as he does, who is so willing to adapt, change and try things differently to achieve the ultimate goal. We all want to win, we all want to win at a high level and we’re willing to do everything we can to achieve that….. Bud is doing a great job.”

Horst’s words proved prophetic, as Budenholzer made the right adjustments in the playoffs to help the Bucks win their first title since 1971.

Over the past three seasons, Budenholzer has compiled a 162-65 record (.714 winning percentage) that ranks as the best in the NBA. After disappointing defeats in the conference finals in 2019 and the second round in 2020, the Bucks clawed their way to win the title this year despite finishing lower in the East standings (third) than in the previous two seasons.

Coaches are judged on putting their players in the best position on the court to succeed, and while we can differentiate Budenholzer’s in-game adjustments, winning the Eastern Conference Finals without Antetokounmpo in Games 5 and 6, and then coming back from being down 2-0 in the NBA Finals, proved that Budenholzer passed the test.

The Bucks now have to make a decision on the future of Budenhozler, who will enter the final year of his contract.

Earlier this year, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban explained his philosophy on coaching stability (not long before he … made a change for his own team).

“Let me tell you how I look at coaching,” Cuban said. “You don’t make a change for the sake of making a change. Unless you have somebody that you know is much, much, much, much better, the grass is rarely greener on the other side.”

That statement should resonate in Milwaukee. Now it’s up to Horst and the Bucks ownership group to reward Budenholzer.

Instead of being content with their regular-season success and chalking up the loss to Miami as a fluke, the Bucks took an aggressive approach to improving their roster.

With Antetokounmpo’s uncertain future hovering over the organization, Milwaukee pushed its draft assets (along with two key players in George Hill and Eric Bledsoe) to the center of the table and made a swing for the closer type of trade, acquiring Jrue Holiday, one of the best players available last fall.

“Having the opportunity to acquire Jrue Holiday was a great opportunity for the organization, and you don’t do something like that unless you try to go ahead and commit and retain the player,” Horst told the media in April. Holiday ultimately signed a four-year, $139 million extension with the Bucks. The Bucks re-signed key reserve Pat Connaughton, then reshaped their bench with the signings of DJ Augustin, Bobby Portis, Bryn Forbes and Torrey Craig (who was later traded to the Phoenix Suns, coincidentally the Bucks’ Finals opponent). The offseason ended when, eight days before the season, Antetokounmpo signed a five-year, $228 million extension.

“Giannis committed to our organization for years to come, and he did it, we did it with him because that’s what we want to do, we want to be great,” Horst said. “We don’t want to be good. We want to be the best in the NBA. We want to do that year in and year out and the way you do that is you have a core group of players that you believe in and that you invest in and that believe in you and that want to be here.”

However, even before they begin to address their options this offseason, the Bucks must look at their financial reality. With Antetokounmpo and Holiday’s extensions set to begin and three years remaining on Khris Middleton’s contract, the Bucks have a financial commitment of $481 million for all three players.