# Milwaukee Bucks: A Year in Review



## Kreutz35 (Dec 23, 2011)

As we come to the final game of the 2014-2015 regular season, I think it would be good to look back at how far this team has come, how much they have overcome, and how much everything has changed for a franchise that was at rock bottom a mere year ago.

A year ago today, the Bucks were putting the finishing touches on the worst season in franchise history and taking home the title of worst record in the league. Herb Kohl was the owner, Larry Drew was the coach, and the NBA had let the team know that if there weren’t plans for a new arena in the new future, the league would step in and force the team to move. Needless to say, things were looking dim in Milwaukee.

However, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The team still had Larry Sanders, the young breakout defensive star from the year before. They had Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton, promising young players. And they had Giannis Antetokoumpo, the young Greek player who no one knew about, but every day looked a little bit more poised for greatness. 

Herb Kohl then sold the team Wes Edens and Marc Lasry, a pair of hedge fund billionaires from New York. Part of the deal was that Edens and Lasry would keep the team in Milwaukee. Soon after, the Bucks learned that they would be picking second in the year’s draft, as Mallory Edens took the twitterverse by storm. Suddenly, things were looking a little brighter. 
Edens and Lasry then oversaw the firing of Coach Drew and replaced him with Jason Kidd, in a controversial move from Brooklyn. Jabari Parker, considered by many to be the most NBA ready player in the draft, was taken with the second pick. Looking at the roster, the Bucks were beginning to develop a good, young core, based around Knight, Giannis, Parker, and Sanders, but expectations still remained low for the coming season, and rightfully so. Not much change had come of a roster that only managed 15 wins the season before. 

But low and behold, the Bucks came out firing on all cylinders. Kidd has had them playing a frantic, athletic style of defense that takes full advantage of all of the youth and length on the team, and they began winning games, hanging around .500 throughout the early portions of the season. But things weren’t all candy and gumdrops. Jabari Parker, the favorite to be named Rookie of the Year, went down for the season with a torn ACL and Larry Sanders was slowly falling apart. After repeatedly getting hit with suspensions due to the league’s drug policy, Larry was bought out by the team. The odds on favorite to win Rookie of the Year and one of the most promising young defensive players in the league were now gone for the season. 

Meanwhile, as the team seemed to have found an amazing chemistry, a surprise trade occurred at the deadline, as Brandon Knight (who nearly made an All-Star Game appearance) was shipped out, and reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams was brought in to replace him. In the following games the team would struggle, as they missed Knight’s scoring punch and MCW didn’t yet know Kidd’s system. 

But, as the Bucks had done all season, they pushed through and improved. Khris Middleton has turned into an analytics darling, becoming one of the league’s best 3-and-D players. Giannis continues to improve, showing more and more signs of the star he could become. MCW has found his place with the team and continues to show improvement, setting up teammates in a way that Knight was simply unable to do. 

Meanwhile, the team has announced a plan for a brand new arena, permanently keeping the team in Milwaukee. They have also announced a full rebranding of the squad, giving a new look to this new era of Bucks basketball. 

And here we stand, on the final day of the regular season, with the Bucks sitting 1 game over .500. With a win today, it will only be the second time since 2002 that the Bucks will have a record over .500. And that despite everything they’ve gone through. These Bucks, who were written off as a lotto team before the season even began, will be the 6th seed in the playoffs and will have a solid chance to upset either Toronto or Chicago in the 1st round. These Bucks, who finished dead last in defensive efficiency a year ago, now sit as the 5th best team in the league in that category. These Bucks are playing with a Spurs-esque level of chemistry. And there is nowhere to go but up from here.

Just take a moment and think about how far this team has come over the last 365 days. Where this team now stands is a wildest dream come true for everyone involved with the organization. This is a NBA fairy tale occurring before our eyes, and it's not over yet. The happy ending is still to come.


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## Kidd (Jul 2, 2009)

I didn't like the Knight for MCW trade at all.


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## Kreutz35 (Dec 23, 2011)

Kidd said:


> I didn't like the Knight for MCW trade at all.


At face value, it doesn't seem like the greatest trade. But the Bucks did it with the future in mind. While talented, Knight's not the point guard that will get the Bucks over the hump in the long run. He doesn't play good enough defense and he's not a distributor. Will MCW be the long-term answer for the Bucks? I don't know. But Knight's a RFA this offseason and he'll probably get payed well. So, if the Bucks kept him, they'd either have to lose him for nothing or overpay to keep him. Instead, they traded him to take a flyer on a younger PG that has potential (how much is up for debate) and the chance to hold onto their open cap space.


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