The Milwaukee Bucks were swept by the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night. Despite a seven point lead in overtime with less than a minute to go, the Pacers went on an 8-0 run to close out the game and the season for the Bucks. It should also end this era of Bucks basketball with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The writing has been written on the walls over the past few years since their 2021 Championship run. Milwaukee has been constantly chasing the same success from that heroic season that has put them in an immovable void. 

In the middle of last season, the Bucks decided to move on from Head Coach Adrian Griffin, despite a strong 30-13 start. This led to the hiring of Doc Rivers, who has historically underperformed with superstars in the past. 

The most recent mistake and nail in the coffin for the Bucks was trading for Kyle Kuzma, the official end of Khris Middleton’s time in Milwaukee. This left Antetokounmpo alone out of his former championship big three, with Jrue Holiday and Middleton departed.

Championship windows come and go, and the championship hopes have sailed for Milwaukee for the near future. The only reason Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee has lasted this long is due to the championship almost four calendar years ago.

Not to discredit any championship, but the 2021 playoffs have historically been remembered as the playoffs where everyone found out what Kevin Durant’s shoe size is. That shot has been the biggest domino effect in recent NBA history. If Durant was behind the three point line, James Harden had a healthy hamstring, and Kyrie Irving didn’t land on the foot of Antetoukounmpo, what does the NBA look like? Do Durant and Harden get their legacy championship rings and stay in Brooklyn for years? Is Antetokoumnpo in Oklahoma City or somewhere else already? We can go down a loophole that impacts almost every team in the NBA.

You might ask, what’s the purpose of this Milwaukee Bucks history lesson? Well, it’s to show that it is over for the Antetokoumnpo era, whether they agree or not. It’s been over for multiple years, but they have fought tooth and nail to stop their fate because of their 2021 championship run. 

It’s now time to let this era go. There is little to zero benefit to both sides to continue in this marriage. Everything the Bucks have done recently has been delaying the inevitable of shutting the door on this era. They even moved on from franchise legends in Holiday and Middleton in hopes to extend the window. If you need any more signs, the final blow is Damian Lillard, who unfortunately tore his achilles and has a chance to not return next season. In that case, the next time he steps onto an NBA court, he will be 36 years old.

The worst spot to be in as an organization in the NBA is to be a team with no direction. They have backed themself into the corner with no young players, aging veterans, and a NBA superstar who’s ready to win a title tomorrow. Almost every decision for the Bucks recently has felt like a pitch to Antetokounmpo to stay in Milwaukee, but it’s only dug them into a deeper hole. Keeping and trading for aging players, firing a first year head coach despite a strong start, and bringing in an old school coach with experience and a poor resume are prime examples of an organization only thinking in the short term. 

On top of that, Milwaukee has no first round pick this year. They head into an offseason with just one tradeable first round pick to improve their roster. There is no room and nowhere to upgrade from this sinking ship in Milwaukee. The only question is if Antetokoumnpo will jump off this sinking ship? Without a trade of their superstar, Milwaukee’s best case scenario is him prying the team to a six-seed in hopes of a first round mismatch. To see the other side of the story, it’s easy to see why Milwaukee does not want to trade Antetokounmpo. This isn’t New York or Los Angeles. You will likely never have a player in a Bucks uniform better than 34 and the temptation is to hold onto the former MVP for as long as he lets you. But, that doesn’t mean it’s an excuse.

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks completed the main goal of winning an NBA Championship, but to me they will be known for how to not build around an NBA superstar. Antetokoumnpo has had his fair share of struggles in the NBA playoffs, but he has now reached a level of being indestructible in any setting. Three straight first round exits is a sign that contention is in the rearview mirror for the Bucks, but they have been blind to the obvious for a while now.

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