Horst Says 'I’ve Done Everything' Possible to Improve Bucks amid Giannis Trade Rumors

Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst expressed his belief this week that he has done everything within his means to improve the roster around superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Speaking to Eric Nehm of The Athletic about the offseason moves he has made thus far, Horst said:

"Have we done enough? We've done everything, I've done everything within my human possible power this offseason. I feel like our group works our butts off. ... We do everything we can to put the next version of this thing out there, to give [head coach] Doc [Rivers] and Giannis and Bobby [Portis] and Scoot [Kevin Porter Jr.] and the guys on our team every chance that they can to win every night.

"And so have we done enough? I don't know. We'll find out. Have we done everything that we possibly could? Absolutely. And have we done more than anyone else could possibly do? I believe we have. And that's not an arrogant thing to say. In a very humble way. I think we've done as much or more than anyone else could possibly do, and I'm proud of that."

Much of Horst's offseason has been focused on retaining players who were already on the team, as Portis, Porter, Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince all signed deals to return to Milwaukee.

However, the biggest move was signing former Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner to a four-year, $108.86 million contract in free agency.

In order to accommodate Turner, the Bucks let center Brook Lopez leave in free agency for the Los Angeles Clippers, and they also controversially waived nine-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard.

Lillard may be in line to miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season after tearing his Achilles in the first round of the playoffs, and rather than waiting for him to heal up, Horst decided to part ways with Lillard in order to improve the team now.

Those moves came on the heels of rumors and speculation regarding a potential trade involving Giannis.

Antetokounmpo has developed into an all-time great in Milwaukee, winning two NBA MVP Awards, one NBA championship and one NBA Finals MVP Award.

However, the Bucks have experienced three consecutive first-round playoff exits, and after Lillard went down, it was unclear if they would be able to field a contender next season.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported in May that Giannis was "open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere."

Despite that, ESPN's Brian Windhorst later reported that teams had "come to terms" with the idea that Antetokounmpo was not going to ask for a trade and that the Bucks weren't going to make him available.

Horst further explained his mindset coming out of free agency, noting that while he believes he has essentially done all he can for now, he has left himself open to move more changes down the line if need be as well:

"It's a really tough Eastern Conference and it's a really tough NBA and that's what makes it fun. I think there are other teams that have had great offseasons. But we took our set of circumstances, we evaluated everything we possibly could to have the best possible chance that we could at the upcoming season. And I think we're in that spot right now.

"The thing that I'm as excited about or more excited about is that we're not done. That was just the offseason. Then we're gonna have a training camp, and we're going to be evaluating our roster. We're going to be evaluating our talent, and we are going to build up toward a trade deadline and we're gonna evaluate every single thing we can. And we're going to try to have an amazing trade deadline also. It might be that we do nothing because we have the best team in the NBA, or it might be that we do a bunch of things because we need to, but I just think we've left nothing on the table."

The Bucks experienced a first-round playoff exit last season, and it can be argued that by swapping out Lillard and Lopez for Turner, the roster has gotten worse as a whole.

At the same time, the Eastern Conference looks to be far weaker now than last season since the Indiana Pacers lost Turner and guard Tyrese Haliburton is set to miss the entire 2025-26 campaign with a torn Achilles after reaching the NBA Finals.

Another top Eastern Conference contender, the Boston Celtics, could also be worse since Jayson Tatum may miss the entire 2025-26 season with a torn Achilles on top of the fact that Boston traded away Kristaps Porziņģis and Jrue Holiday as well.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks look like the clear teams to beat in the East, while the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks have gotten a lot better on paper.

Still, the chaos caused by injuries in the Eastern Conference could potentially mean the door is open for a Giannis-led Bucks team to make some noise next season.