Bucks open training camp this season with much brighter outlook
ST. FRANCIS, Wis. -- Co-owning the Milwaukee Bucks has tested Wesley Edens in a good way.
The rebuilding plan in Milwaukee is way ahead of schedule after a 41-win season and trip to the playoffs.
"We're patient and impatient at the same time," Edens said Monday. "We're probably not the most patient guys in the world."
The Bucks pledge to stay the course with training camp starting on Tuesday. With general manager John Hammond and coach Jason Kidd leading the way, Milwaukee is building around a young core led by forwards Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Parker bears a scar on his left knee after surgery to repair the ACL he tore in December, an injury that cut short a promising rookie season. He is expected to on the floor when camp begins in Madison, though both he and management remain cautious about expectations and how much he will be able to do at the start.
"I think I can scratch the surface with my training, and I can build now," Parker said.
The approach with Parker's rehabilitation fits with the broad goals for Hammond and Kidd in building "the right way."
"The young core has a chance to be a special team," Hammond said. "These kinds of things don't happen overnight either."
Even the Bucks' free agent signee this season fits into the mold of a patient rebuilding project.
Big man Greg Monroe came over from the Detroit Pistons in the offseason. The 6-foot-11 Monroe, who turned 25 in June, should give the Bucks another low-post presence alongside athletic shot-blocker John Henson.
The signing of Monroe to three-year, $50 million deal also perhaps signaled a change in how a once-downtrodden franchise is viewed among the league's top young talent.
"Certainly expectations are a lot higher, and it's good to have expectations," Edens said. "One of the things that both John and Jason really focused on is really building a team that plays well together."
Entering his fourth year with the team, Henson is already one of the longest-tenured Bucks. This will be the first time in his career that he will have the same head coach in back-to-back seasons. The stability is a part of the culture change around the franchise.
"Oh man, from my rookie year to now, it's been a 360," Henson said. "I think it's great we're finally building."
