As teams complete their seasons, ESPN Insider's NBA team will take a look at the offseason picture and priorities for all 30 teams. Below, Kevin Pelton offers a snapshot of the Milwaukee Bucks.
2014-15 record: 41-41
Pythagorean record: 42-40
Offensive Rating: 100.5 (25th)
Defensive Rating: 99.3 (2nd)
Draft picks
Own first-round pick (17th)
Own second-round pick (46th)
Projected cap space
Maximum: $21.8 million
Minimum: $13.6 million
Likely: $13.9 million
What's returning
Just about everyone. The Bucks already made what would have been their biggest decision of the offseason by sending restricted free agent Brandon Knight to the Phoenix Suns in a three-team deal that netted Michael Carter-Williams. While Carter-Williams got blamed for Milwaukee's post-deadline swoon, the team actually outscored opponents by 6.4 points per 100 possessions with him on the court, per NBA.com/Stats.
Still, Carter-Williams and Giannis Antetokounmpo were exposed a bit in the Bucks' series against the Chicago Bulls. For Milwaukee to take the next step offensively, the Bucks will have to spend this summer improving their outside shooting. The Bucks' offense will benefit from the return of No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker, whose rookie season was ended by a torn ACL suffered in December. Without Knight, Milwaukee missed Parker's ability to create shots against set defenses. Expect him back in plenty of time for opening night.
Up front, veteran Zaza Pachulia and 24-year-old John Henson split time at center after Larry Sanders left the team and was bought out of his contract midseason. They offer complementary skill sets, with Pachulia providing solid high-post play on offense and Henson supplying some of the rim protection that was lost with Sanders' departure. Miles Plumlee, acquired in the Carter-Williams deal, could also factor into the center rotation. Veteran Ersan Ilyasova will probably lose his starting role with Parker's return.
Free agents
Including guard Jorge Gutierrez, whose salary is nonguaranteed, 13 of the 15 players on the Bucks' roster are under contract for 2015-16. That number could swell to 14 if Jared Dudley decides to exercise his $4.25 million player option. Dudley was more likely to opt out after a strong first half. The knee problems that hampered his lone season with the L.A. Clippers returned after the All-Star break, which might mean Dudley would sacrifice too much money next season in exchange for the additional security of a new long-term deal.
Wing Khris Middleton, Milwaukee's leading scorer after the Knight trade at 16.8 points per game, is a restricted free agent. Middleton emerged as a premier 3-and-D player in his third season and rated in the NBA's top 10 by ESPN's real plus-minus. That lofty company overstates Middleton's current value, but his ability to create more of his own offense in the second half while maintaining an above-average usage rate suggests more upside to explore for the 23-year-old. Don't be surprised if Middleton ends up making $10-plus million a year on his next contract.
Biggest need: 3-point shooting
After trading Knight for Carter-Williams, the Bucks averaged just 5.7 3-pointers per game in the second half of the season, good for 28th in the NBA. The point guard swap wasn't the only factor in that downturn. Dudley and O.J. Mayo, two of the team's better shooters, were both hampered by injuries down the stretch. (Dudley made just nine 3-pointers in 45 attempts after the break, having shot 44.2 percent from 3 beforehand.) Still, as long as Carter-Williams and Antetokounmpo are in key roles, Milwaukee will need good shooting elsewhere in the rotation to compensate.
Biggest question: Where will the Bucks be playing in 2017?
Outside of Cleveland, no NBA team has made a more dramatic turn for the better in the past 12 months than Milwaukee. It was barely a year ago that longtime Bucks owner Sen. Herb Kohl sold the team to a new ownership group headed by Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens. The new owners have made over the organization.
Off the court, Milwaukee has rebranded the franchise with a new logo and jerseys to come. On it, new head Jason Kidd oversaw the Bucks' 26-win improvement behind an aggressive, switching defense that ranked second in the league in defensive rating. In just his second season on the sidelines, Kidd already has established himself as one of the league's better coaches, finishing third in coach of the year voting.
Yet that momentum will be lost unless the Bucks and local politicians can find a way to fund a proposed new arena, and quickly. Last week, team president Peter Feigin told reporters a deal needed to be done in the next 10 days -- a deadline he later retracted in a statement saying there was no set timetable. Still, to have a new arena ready for the NBA's deadline (the start of the 2017-18 season), Milwaukee needs to start building soon. If it becomes clear the gap between state and local funding and what the owners are offering is too large to bridge, the Bucks could find themselves in a new home by 2017.
Ideal offseason
The Bucks take Georgia State guard R.J. Hunter with their first-round pick, adding arguably the draft's best shooter and a wing player with the size and length to play Kidd's defense. Middleton re-signs for four years and $35 million. Parker returns at full strength and provides the scoring Milwaukee needs, relieving that pressure from his teammates. Antetokounmpo and Carter-Williams take steps forward in their development and the Bucks claim home-court advantage.