The Milwaukee Bucks exceeded expectations this past season by more than doubling their win total from 15 wins from a season ago to 41, good enough for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
New head coach, Jason Kidd, was a big reason for the Bucks success as he did a superb job of managing such a young roster as he himself is still a young coach in the league. The future is brighter than it has been in quite some time, have to go back to the late 1990's and ealy 2000's with Sam Cassell, Ray Allen, and Glenn Robinson to the last time they were relevant in terms of making the playoffs year in and year out.
Now, they must look toward the offseason to make improvements to a roster that is young and on the rise but needs help at center, a shooter or two and could use some veteran leadership.
One of the early headlines for the Milwaukee Bucks is addressing the center position after the Larry Sanders era looks to have ended as of now. Tyson Chandler is a name that Jason Kidd has thrown out there as a high target for the Bucks as Kidd is more than familiar with what his former championship teammate can provide to such a young roster on and off the court.
Tyson Chandler is deemed as one of the best leaders in the locker room and one of the better centers in the league and while he's 32 years old and exiting his prime he can bring a strong interior presence to man the middle.
Milwaukee's roster is very intriguing and moving back to the Eastern Conference will give Chandler the advantage at center more times than not but a lot depends on whether or not the Dallas Mavericks land DeAndre Jordan. If they're unsuccessful then there's a good chance Tyson re-signs with the Mavs, but if not, the Bucks will be knocking on the door.
The re-signing of Kris Middleton will also be highly coveted as he proved to be one of the Bucks' better players last season especially down the stretch as he averaged 16.4 points after the All-Star break. He was one of their more consistent scorers and shot 46 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point land. He's also an above average defender and only 23 years old, so it makes a lot of sense for the Bucks to try to re-sign him.
His market value will determine whether or not the Bucks match any offer that is thrown his way with some NBA execs expecting his price range to be anywhere from $7-10 million per year. It makes a lot of sense for the Bucks to re-sign Middleton, and he's stated himself he'd like to stay in Milwaukee.
Thirdly, the Bucks training staff will look to ensure that Jabari Parker is 100 percent healthy next season as the Bucks need more scoring power, their offense was 20th in the league last year. If Jabari Parker returns healthy, it solves a good number of their offensive deficiencies as Parker was shooting 49 percent before he got injured and is able to play down low and provide a much needed presence inside.
Shooting is another area Milwaukee needs to address and need to land a sharpshooter or two, like the Spurs' Marco Belinelli, in free agency. The Bucks shot 31 percent from beyond the arc in their 41 losses, and in a more shooting driven league, they need to make strides in their three-point shooting. Milwaukee is a big free-agent destination, but if they could pick up even one sharpshooter, it would be huge help for them.
The Milwaukee Bucks have had their struggles over the years, but with a young nucleus and a strong young head coach, the future is bright.