Highlights from Horst interview part 2 from Eric Nehm:
From an analytics perspective, I care a great deal about the data; you know that. You want a big enough sample size where it’s not a bet, but a certainty. I don’t know that we have that level of sample size on some of those lineups yet, but I will tell you that in the playoffs and throughout the course of the regular season, some of our highest net rating lineups, both because they were elite offensively and they were very good defensively, had AJ Green, Gary Trent, Giannis, Kevin Porter Jr. and Bobby Portis in them. And, in fact, the AJ, Gary, Kevin, and Giannis lineup, that four-man lineup, was as good as any four-man lineup against the Pacers the entire playoffs.
I think Gary Trent had his two best games of the season, maybe, in our two most important games of the season. In two closeout opportunities, the guy played unbelievable. And AJ Green was unbelievable also, and I think that says a lot about them. And don’t forget, these guys are 25, 26 years old, so they’re just entering their prime. And so I think the best is in front of those guys. I’m happy about them. They’re not just shooters. They’re tough, physical guys that can grind and defend, make a play off the bounce and those guys are going to be a lot better this year than they were last year.
we’ve already made the contact [with AJ Green about an extension]. AJ wants to be here, AJ wants to figure something out.
[KPJ is] another player that I think stepped up in the biggest moments in the playoffs. With no playoff experience, he came into a very hostile environment, pressure-loaded environment, and I thought was very, very good.
He plays well off of Giannis, and people forget that a few years ago he was one of the best catch-and-shoot 3-point shooters in the league. He’s big, he’s physical, he can create for himself, he can create for others and can make shots. And he grew defensively with us this year, and I think he’s very capable on that end.
Kyle was a target and nothing’s changed. I think Kyle gives us a chance to play fast, gives us a chance to be huge, play a lot of different big lineups. He’s a plus-plus defender at multiple positions and he’s a guy that offensively, when he plays with confidence and plays within the flow, is very impactful.
We still believe in Kyle. He struggled. He hadn’t been to the playoffs in a while either. And I thought he played great for us for most of the regular season after we acquired him and I think he struggled in the playoffs. And he would tell you that. Doc and I have already gone to L.A. to spend time with him. Doc’s gonna spend time with him again.
I think the biggest thing with Kyle is just getting the familiarity, working with our coaches in the off-season, being part of a training camp and just really building into a system where he understands where he’s gonna get his looks, how he can have his impact and where we can understand him better. He’s very, very good (at power forward). And so I think getting him more minutes at the four … is going to be helpful.
He’s a guy we believe in a lot, and I think he’s going to have a big year with us this year, just having continuity with a good team and a full offseason with a good team, which he hasn’t had in a while. So we’re excited for him.
I think our roster … is better suited for Taurean this year than it was last year. I think Taurean had a hell of a year for us.
He was one of the top five in the league in 3-point shooting. Again, a plus defender, a great professional, a great locker-room guy, just someone that you want to be part of your organization, but also can play. He played most of the year guarding ones and twos and being guarded by twos and threes and he should be like a wing-forward, like a three-four. And the way that our team is built now, he’s gonna have a lot more of those matchups.
I felt like it was a tough negotiation with [Bobby’s] agent, Mark Bartelstein, who I love in this business as much as anybody, and I thought we got to the right place. But it was a tough negotiation.
Bobby chose us. Bobby wasn’t short on options, but he wanted to be here.
People probably don’t think about it a lot, but Ryan had a decision midway through this season to play or not with a pretty serious shoulder situation and he played. That just shows you how tough he is and how committed he is. He played a good half of our season and in the playoffs with a pretty painful shoulder situation, which he’s gotten taken care of. It’s totally resolved. He is totally healthy now, and that alone I think is going to give him more confidence in fighting through screens defensively and taking hits offensively.
But he is a big guard that’s physical, that can shoot. He’s been coming on as a playmaker, can finish in traffic, and is a good defender on the ball, which we want. I say this all the time and I say this with affection because he is one of my favorite people and I think he’ll love this shout-out. he reminds me of George Hill. I think he has a George Hill-type career in front of him and that’s high, high praise in my opinion because G-Hill is one of the best people that I’ve been around.
For us to be able to invest in him, give him a deal that keeps him with us for a couple of years, it’s a bit of a bridge deal. He’s got a chance to outplay it, and we’ll take care of him, we hope to figure it out at the end, but it gives him some security that I think he’s earned. I think Ryan was an important pick-up for us. Doc was pushing for the Ryan pick-up. It’s something that we wanted to figure out.
I hope he takes this as an affectionate thing, and this is true, when I saw the idea of Cole Anthony, him being free and our chance to get him, I think he’s like a guard version of Bobby Portis. I think he can bring so much swag and energy to our team.
He’s capable of winning a game by himself any given night. And I think he’ll grow in our system having less possession-by-possession pressure on him playing with Giannis and playing in Doc’s system and Doc having been a point guard and being able to mentor him the way he has with Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6497810/2025/07/18/jon-horst-milwaukee-bucks-interview-exclusive-nba/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=6188822&source=dailyemail
