Michael Carter-Williams and Giannis Antetokounmpo often played together and Carter-Williams likes what they can do together regardless of positional designations. Credit: Associated Press

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St. Francis — With a trip to the NBA playoffs all but out of the question, all eyes watching the Milwaukee Bucks turned toward the development of their young stars in the games following the all-star break.

Most of the attention quickly shifted to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who, at 6 foot 11, shifted to point guard and became a triple-double machine over the final two months of the season. Michael Carter-Williams, who started 37 games at point guard, watched most of those games from the bench after suffering a torn labrum in his left hip and missed the season's final 23 games.

On March 29, head coach Jason Kidd named Antetokounmpo as the Bucks' point guard heading into next season, which implicitly brought questions about what Carter-Williams' role will be as he enters the final year of his rookie contract. Carter-Williams believes he and Antetokounmpo, who are good friends off the court, can coexist on it.

"I think this Giannis playing point guard next year got a little out of hand," Carter-Williams said during exit interviews Thursday. "I think he is definitely going to control the ball a lot more, but he's not going to guard a point guard. I'll be guarding the point guard."

Carter-Williams pointed out that Antetokounmpo is one of many nontraditional players bringing the ball up the court and collecting assists, citing Golden State's Draymond Green and Cleveland's LeBron James as examples. During this season, Carter-Williams and Antetokounmpo often played together and he likes what they can do together regardless of positional designations.

"I think that whole, 'What am I going to do now because Giannis is the point guard,' thing is a little bit blown out of proportion," Carter-Williams said.

"To be honest I don't think too much is going to change. Giannis is a talented guy, he's a potential star in this league. I think if it helps the team with him getting the ball through the offense more than that's what we want to do."

Kidd and general manager John Hammond affirmed Carter-Williams' stance. He and Antetokounmpo can play together, as they often have, or Carter-Williams can give the Bucks a boost off the bench, which he did at times this season.

Hammond in particular lauded Carter-Williams' defensive efforts, saying he's a "really good fit for this team," especially on that end of the court. What he needs to do once he is able to resume basketball activities in mid-June, though, is improve his shooting.

"Next season; it needs to start happening next season," Hammond said of Carter-Williams establishing a consistent shot. "I think a lot of it is having this off-season to work on it."

First off-season for Parker: Jabari Parker spent all of last off-season continuing his rehabilitation from a torn left ACL. This summer, he'll be back on the court and healthy, aiming to make another jump after averaging 14.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this season.

"I'm going to be in the gym 24/7, not in the beginning but down the line," he said, noting he'll give himself about a month to rest.

"I'm going to let my body recuperate, let my joints heal, but I have a plan of what I want to do. If I so happen to surpass some people on my team and they don't have that same mentality, so be it, but I know individually where I want to be."

Before Parker enters his third season, he wants to improve his fundamentals, post play, free-throw shooting and understanding of the team's schemes. He'll be doing most of that work in Milwaukee, staying near his teammates and the Bucks' practice facility.

While Parker is going to try to improve his long-range shooting, something Kidd stressed needs to happen team-wide, he's not going to overdo it.

"Personally I'm not really a big fan of the three-ball," Parker said. "I love the midrange, I think it's more efficient for me, especially for me working back. But who knows? If I'm open I'm going to take it."

Staying in shape: Looking back, multiple Bucks players said they didn't enter this season in the best shape possible. Guard Khris Middleton included himself in that group, but vowed that it was a one-time problem.

"I definitely wasn't where I needed to be," Middleton said. "That's something I'll work on this summer is being ready from Day 1."

Middleton got a late start in large part because he was a free agent. As is the case with many players in that position, he didn't want to get hurt before signing a contract. He got to work once he secured his five-year, $70 million deal with the Bucks in July, but that didn't leave him enough time to be ready for camp.

"For the first part I couldn't do too much until I signed a contract," he said. "That was the main thing for me; it was hard but it was something I had to do. This year I'll start getting ready way before I did last year."