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For now, though, let's say that the Bucks do stay at No. 10. We've already written about Milwaukee's interest in the top guards on the board … everyone from Darius Acuff Jr. to Keaton Wagler to Mikel Brown Jr. after flying down to Orlando to meet with Brown. I've since been told that a Milwaukee contingent including general manager Jon Horst and new head coach Taylor Jenkins also traveled to New York recently to visit with Nate Ament during this pre-draft process. Now the Bucks are being looked at by some rival teams as the absolute floor for the Tennessee forward. Sources say Ament has drawn interest as high as the Clippers at No. 5, Brooklyn at No. 6 and ranks as a strong contender to emerge as Dallas' ultimate pick at No. 9.
Jim Owczarski: "Jon Horst does not leak. He has a very small front office and he does not discuss anything. Quite famously, and this might not be known to Celtics fans, the Damian Lillard trade, he literally created a bunker in the Bucks locker room in the offseason. There were people on his immediate staff that did not know what he was doing."
Heat Central: “Jon Horst the Bucks GM is very good at going into bunker mode and keeping things tight…. I talked to a team today that had wondered from their conversations that maybe he was in a pinch. As far as like real strong suitors that Miami was putting itself so far out in front of the rest of the field that the Bucks weren’t getting the type of package they were hoping for.” — @sam_amick on Giannis to Miami rumors
The Bucks are also leaving the door open to pursue a major trade to convince Antetokounmpo to stay once again, allowing Horst to work parallel paths. They will have up to three first-round picks and tradeable contracts such as Bobby Portis and Kyle Kuzma to offer in deals this offseason. One of those first-rounders is the less favorable of their own or the New Orleans Pelicans' this year.
!["Listen, Jimmy, Wes, myself, Taylor [Jenkins], we're …](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/content-pipeline-sports-images/sports2/nba/logos/15.png?format=png8&auto=webp&quality=85,75&width=140)
Offers to the Bucks, which began piling up during the season in advance of the February trade deadline, will be resubmitted or refurbished and co-owners Wes Edens and Jimmy and Dee Haslam will have to make a call on the immediate direction of the franchise. "Listen, Jimmy, Wes, myself, Taylor [Jenkins], we're all aligned on how we want to approach this," Bucks GM Jon Horst said at the NBA draft lottery on May 10. "We have an unbelievable opportunity with this [No. 10] pick, with our roster, with other assets that we have, with the contracts that we have under [control] we have to really have parallel paths. We talked about this [on April 7], our job is to figure out how to compete, to win, to get better, we want to build on lost year. We have a lot of opportunities to do that."
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Jon Horst: Just got out of the NBA Draft lottery drawing room, and talking to #Bucks GM Jon Horst. The "two paths" of trading/keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo are obviously both still on the table. Horst was happy the team didn't fall in the draft, which was more probable than moving up.
But Jenkins did acknowledge the looming decision on which direction the team is going to take with – or without – Antetokounmpo was a key point in the hours long discussions he had with co-owners Haslam and Wes Edens, as well as Horst. “It’s a big one,” Haslam said of the decision over the future of its franchise cornerstone. “It’s a big one. And you gotta get it right. And Jon knows it and Wes knows it. And we didn’t hold back with Taylor. We just said, listen, he may or may not be with us, so don’t come because of that because you want to be straight up with people.”
The Milwaukee Bucks have registered serious interest in Taylor Jenkins to be their next head coach, league sources tell The Athletic. Team owners Wes Edens and Jimmy Haslam and general manager Jon Horst made their way to Memphis, where the former Grizzlies head coach still resides with his family, early last week to discuss their head coach opening and a vision for the future with Jenkins in Milwaukee, those sources said.
Early indications, however, suggest that Bucks general manager Jon Horst will indeed be the point man for Milwaukee's offseason business. There has naturally been speculation about Horst's status given how tumultuous this season has been in Brewtown, but Horst has two years left on a contract that was recently extended through the 2027-28 season. The clearest sign yet, furthermore, that Horst is proceeding with business as usual: League sources say he has already initiated outreach to representatives of various coaching candidates to launch the Bucks' search for Rivers' successor in earnest.
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Potential issues with the organization’s decision-makers, however, were not limited to only Rivers. Multiple team sources detailed how they believed Horst’s behavior changed this season as well. When the Bucks were annually competing for the NBA’s best record, Horst was a fixture around the team, regularly attending shootarounds on the road and popping into the locker room to chat with players. His presence was noticeable, clear and consistent. Multiple team sources tell The Athletic that they felt as though Horst’s presence this season was more sporadic, with the Bucks general manager joining the team for fewer road games and keeping a greater distance from the team than he had in previous seasons.
So what’s the timeline on a coaching decision? Because whether Doc is back or not, I would imagine the No. 1 question for any coaching candidate will be ‘Will Giannis Antetokounmpo be on the team?’ One would think that could affect someone’s desire to be on the bench. Jon Horst: I don’t agree with that. I don’t. I think, of course, we want to do as much as we can to figure out a path and get as much clarity as we can. We don’t have that clarity now. That decision hasn’t been made. You have three draft picks you could move and have some financial assets. Do you feel empowered to go down that path? Jon Horst: Yes. I do. So, you truly believe that both paths — trading Antetokounmpo to move in a different direction with those picks or trading the picks to surround Antetokounmpo with better talent — still remain in front of you? Jon Horst: I do, yeah. Absolutely. And not only just from my perspective, but I also believe from Giannis’ mindset and his perspective. Whether we need couple’s therapy or whatever, the assets will still be there. I do feel empowered that yeah, those things are both viable things for us to look at and consider.
Jon Horst: We definitely said we were moving forward with Giannis [to start this season]. I didn’t have to keep repeating it. If I say it, I mean it, I live it, and that’s enough. So, we said we were moving forward with Giannis, we were moving forward with Giannis. So, I don’t think there was a miscommunication or mis-messaging from our side on that. I think there’s no question that the noise had an impact. It’s part of what I was alluding to, like the struggles and how great Doc has been at managing those. But I also don’t think that is a singular result of chatter or rumors or stories that are out there, or facts that are out there, or whatever level you want to say.