Milwaukee Bucks: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA season

1. Search for third option may have to continue

The Bucks have the hardest piece of building a contender down, which is securing a true superstar. Giannis Antetokounmpo is better than the best player on all but a handful of NBA teams. Milwaukee even has a solid second option in Khris Middleton, who showed his offensive repertoire against the Boston Celtics.

Where the Bucks still have question marks is at the third option, the supporting star who will thrive off-the-ball when Antetokounmpo has the ball and can buoy bench units when he sits. Although they have taken numerous bites at the apple over the past few seasons, this past year showed that search may not be complete.

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Jabari Parker was supposed to be that guy, if not the second option, when he was selected second overall. But even when he did return from his second major knee injury in three seasons, he was inconsistent in a limited role. Defensively he was sieve until the playoffs, when he flashed some real potential on that end. As Parker gets further removed from his injury, can he be a supporting star?

Milwaukee also brought in Eric Bledsoe early in the season to be the third star on this team, and for stretches he was exactly that. Over four days late in the season, Bledsoe dropped 90 points in three road games. But come the postseason, Bledsoe was spacey on defense and ran hot-and-cold on offense. It was reasonably theorized that the Bucks may be better off with Bledsoe off the court against the Celtics — not what you want to hear about a supposed third option.

Malcolm Brogdon had a second consecutive strong postseason, and has shown flashes of being a dependable piece. He certainly looks like a starter in the backcourt. But his offensive tunnel vision (shoot or dribble-and-shoot seems to be his internal decision tree) and lack of elite athleticism will hinder his ceiling.

Next: Milwaukee Bucks: 3 reasons the season is over

There is no easy answer, especially as cap space is limited and the Bucks will have to make a decision on Parker in restricted free agency before they see whether he can come fully back from his injury. But after a year where the Bucks hoped to have their hierarchy figured out, they are far from a finished product.