MILWAUKEE BUCKS PLAYERS filed into the team's practice facility Dec. 16, two days after suffering a 45-point blowout loss on the road against the Brooklyn Nets. The team was 11-16 and in 11th in the Eastern Conference, playing without star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had missed games because of strains to his right calf and groin.
The vibes at practice were off as the pressure mounted to turn around the season. Players appeared to be going through the motions, and Bobby Portis noticed, according to sources with direct knowledge of the events. Milwaukee's emotional leader erupted at teammates in the middle of practice.
"This is why we suck -- we carry ourselves like everything is fine, and we have no f---ing urgency," Portis said. "We just lost by 45. Everybody's body language is terrible. No one is listening to coaches."
Portis, who joined the franchise in 2020, is one of the few Milwaukee players and coaches left from the team that won the 2021 title. He and Antetokounmpo have been part of the highest of highs together and know what a championship team looks like.
Last summer, general manager Jon Horst and coach Doc Rivers tried to sell Antetokounmpo -- and team ownership -- on contending in the Eastern Conference after waiving Damian Lillard. They stretched the remaining $113 million on Lillard's contract over five seasons to bring in Myles Turner on a four-year, $108 million deal. It was the largest contract ever to be waived and stretched, and that meant the Bucks would have $22.5 million annually in dead money through 2030. After back-and-forth discussions -- including a meeting in Antetokounmpo's native Greece in late July after which the New York Knicks became the only team he'd play for other than Milwaukee -- and the Bucks refusing to move him, Antetokounmpo agreed to give the new roster a chance to grow. His pledge didn't last long, however.
Within two weeks, the Bucks had lost humiliating games in Washington and Brooklyn, received an impassioned plea from one of their leaders, and once again were on the clock with their franchise icon. After dropping to 9-13 on Dec. 1, Antetokounmpo and his agent, Alex Saratsis, reopened conversations with Horst and reasserted the message they had delivered since last May: The time had come to part ways.
Head-scratching losses continued, however, including a 33-point home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 13, in which Antetokounmpo and the Bucks' fans exchanged boos.
"It feels like a funeral," one team source said after that defeat.