The Future Is Bright In Milwaukee

            It’s crazy how quickly fortunes can change for an NBA franchise on draft night. A team can go from being a laughing stock of the league to suddenly being a team that warrants respect and fear from their opponents. Such is the case with the Milwaukee Bucks, who have greatly changed the face and image of their franchise upon drafting Duke star Jabari Parker, who many think has the potential to be a championship caliber centerpiece. In addition to Jabari, the Bucks also have Giannis Antetokounmpo, a 6’11 220 lb small forward from Greece who is known as “The Greek Freak”.

Many think that if the 2013 draft were done over again, Giannis would have gone #1 overall in the draft after seeing how quickly he matured and developed over the course of the season. He was thought to be really talented, but still very raw and in need of a lot of development. But as it turned out, he was much more NBA ready than people thought, which was great news for the Bucks as they were heading into another losing season in which they might land a potential superstar like Jabari Parker in the draft.

Now that they have both Giannis and Jabari, the future in Milwaukee is sky high, and teams in the Eastern Conference have to view them as a team capable of doing serious damage in the near future. If Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo both reach their full potential, they could form a scary duo like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City. I’m not saying they will be as good as that duo, but what I am saying is that the potential to be that good or nearly that good is definitely there. If this potential is reached, the Bucks will have a team that is capable of competing for the NBA championship.

The key thing for the Bucks’ front office to do at this point is to be patient with both of these guys and start thinking about what complementary pieces these guys need to succeed. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant didn’t become a championship caliber duo over night and the Thunder still are looking for the right complementary pieces to put around them to get over the hump. The Bucks realistically are looking at probably a 5 year process to become a championship threat and probably a 6-9 year process to morph from a threat into a viable contender. It all depends on several factors such as future free agency periods, future drafts, and the ability for their other quality assets like Brandon Knight, O.J. Mayo, and Larry Sanders to fit in with the team. 

But regardless of those factors, the fact that the Bucks have Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo makes them a potential contender by default and now it’s just a matter of time before the two of them flower into the stars that they have inside of them. There will be growing pains, frustration, and moments of doubt, but if the Bucks stay the course and continue to have patience and faith in these two guys, the Bucks should see their dream of forming a championship caliber team in the East realized. 
---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord