Written by Andrew Sharp at SI.com
Over the first three weeks of the season, basketball fans have learned two things about the Milwaukee Bucks. First, Giannis Antetokounmpo is even better and more dominant than anyone could’ve imagined a few years ago. He’s trending closer to generational talents like Shaq and LeBron rather than small-market All-Stars like Paul George and Jimmy Butler. He’s only 22 years old and on Tuesday against the Cavs, he put up 40 points on 16 of 21 shooting, along with nine rebounds and four blocks. This is a big deal.
The second lesson concerned the team around him. The Milwaukee roster hasn’t made sense for a several years, and it look disjointed again as this season began. There’s a glut of underwhelming big men up front, not enough depth on the wing, and no scoring to pace the second unit whenever Giannis sits.
This was going to be the riddle for Kidd, the Bucks, and anyone else who’s gotten invested in this team. After clunky losses to Detroit and Charlotte last week, there were coaching decisions to nitpick—it’s early, but the defensive scheme is currently bottom five in the league—but some of most frustrating problems were structural, not strategic. The Bucks have invested resources in the wrong places, and it looked like the only option was to proceed with an ill-fitting roster and hope that Giannis could be incredible enough to save them.
But now there’s more hope. Greg Monroe is on his way to Phoenix, and as of Tuesday morning Eric Bledsoe is and on his way to help on the perimeter. I will admit I’m not entirely unbiased here—in 2014 I was openly lobbying for a Brandon Knight–Bledsoe swap—but Bledsoe is a theoretical perfect fit next to Giannis, Malcolm Brogdon, and Khris Middleton. He gives Milwaukee yet another two-way weapon on the wing who’s capable of guarding multiple positions, and his offensive versatility at the guard spot will give Kidd more tools to work with around his MVP candidate. To begin with, there’s a Bledsoe/Brogdon/Snell/Middleton/Giannis lineup that could turn into a total nightmare for the East.
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