Members of the Milwaukee Bucks slowly filed out of their practice facility at the Cousins Center on Monday afternoon, going through exit interviews and cleaning out any remaining personal belongings that may have been left behind following the team’s season ending playoff loss at the hands of the Miami Heat on Sunday.

Despite the somberness that comes with the ending of a season without a championship, there were some smiles out the door. John Henson, no longer a rookie, looked forward to going one-on-one with Larry Sanders in summer workouts in their home state of Florida.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute said he’s finally healthy and can focus on playing basketball and getting better for the first time in a couple of years. And, both he and Ersan Ilyasova are looking forward to playing for their respective national teams.

Mike Dunleavy and J.J. Redick are two of the Bucks’ five unrestricted free agents, and the pair are looking forward to entertaining new contract offers, from Milwaukee or elsewhere.

There was also a sense among the team that the franchise took a step forward with its first playoff berth since 2009-10, a stated goal from the very beginning of the season.

"It was a good way to build," Sanders said Sunday night. "I feel like Milwaukee’s building something now, trying to make a tradition of being a playoff team and this is our first step."

A bittersweet taste

As they prepared to leave for the summer, the players couldn’t shake the fact that from March 12 through the end of the playoffs the team went 6-19. They finished the regular season losing seven of 10 and wound up earning the eighth seed despite posting an overall record of 38-44.

"We limped our way to the playoffs and that showed," Mbah a Moute said. "Unfortunately for us we ended up facing the number one team and that showed. We competed. I thought we really did a good job of competing, but it showed that they were just that much more sound as a team than we were. I think a lot of that has to do with the way we went into the playoffs, losing seven out of 10 games, there really wasn’t something solid there to hold on to. You could see it every time they made a run we dismantled.

"It’s definitely bittersweet. We made the playoffs, but just the way we made it and the way we played in the playoffs wasn’t the way we wanted. Hopefully it will be a good learning experience for us."

Ilyasova also said the accomplishment was dulled, recalling several tough losses late in the year. He felt that if some of those had resulted in victories the Bucks may still be playing.

"It’s the small things that at the end of the season run through your mind," he said. "It’s a lot of ‘if’s’ – if we this one, if we won that. When you go through the season each game matters. It doesn’t feel like it at that time but when come close to the end of the season every small detail, every game matters at the end of the season. We were kind of paying for that. We end up in eighth place and playing against Miami was really tough."

It was the same problem Dunleavy had with the end of the regular season.

"I had no issue by getting swept by the Heat – they’re a great team," the free agent said. "The issue is having to face the Heat. We basically dogtrotted down the stretch through March and April and we should’ve just never have been in the position to have to play the one seed. That’s kind of ‘shame on us.’ That’s the disappointing part of this whole season."

What went wrong?

Mbah a Moute and Ilyasova will be the team’s most tenured players at the start of next year with each entering their sixth seasons with the franchise.

The pair joined the team in 2008-09 and have been a part of the last two playoff appearances, and they spoke frankly about why they thought the team struggled down the stretch.

"I will say it’s also about the team chemistry," Ilyasova admitted. "We kind of started more pointing to each other. You kind of, I will say, we couldn’t come up together as a team and we kind of started (coming) apart a little bit. It’s really frustrating because when you look at it, it’s a long season and everybody tried to reach our goal as an NBA playoff team and we secured that spot and everybody started thinking about what we were going to do in the playoffs. At that time we had 10 games left and you just have to play. If we win a couple of those close games we can be in the seventh spot.

"I think sometimes it happens where you go through the motions and stuff."

Ilyasova continued: "Sometimes when you look at our roster I know we’ve got a lot of free agents, maybe seven or six guys. It’s a real tough spot. You kind of always thinking about yourself than thinking about your teammates and the team and winning. You’re trying to perform as best you can. It’s a lot on your mind all the time and it can affect your judgment in the game. I won’t say anybody (didn’t do) a good job of staying focused and gave 100 percent each night."

Following the season finale on Sunday, Sanders was asked if the Bucks were to a point where, like the Heat, members of the team sacrificed for the good of the whole.

"I wouldn’t say we’re there yet but we’re building," Sanders answered. "They have been building for a while and they have some key pieces that their organization has really put a lot of confidence in and I think Milwaukee’s trying to do the same thing. Give it some years, give it a little time to get some guys in here, some key players and I think that (we’ll get there)."

Dunleavy echoed those sentiments, both on Sunday night and again on Monday afternoon.

"The little things down the stretch, the small things, that quite frankly just probably were the result of not being engaged and on top of things in practice and shootarounds," the 11-year veteran said. "It just carried over. You do that and you’re kind of lackadaisical about stuff and it will catch up to you. Guys will hit tough buzzer beaters and you’ll lose in funny ways. It’s kind of a basketball karma thing."

Dunleavy was then asked if he thought the effort in practice wasn’t quite there.

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "I just thought there were a lot of days where we just didn’t get better. We didn’t get better. We didn’t really focus. You’ve got to improve. You’ve got improve from Jan. 1 to, in our case, (Sunday). I just don’t think it happened. It was tough."

He was then asked if he could define what the issue was.

"Mindset? I don’t know. I don’t know," Dunleavy said. "It’s hard to say. You look at our roster and you go down the list, and there aren’t any bad guys. All nice guys. Again, it comes down to guys wanting to play, to have a certain role, and do certain things and there’s only so many minutes, only so many balls. If you can’t balance that you start having problems."

Mbah a Moute agreed with Dunleavy’s assessment of the roster, saying this year’s team was the most talented he had played on in Milwaukee – including the 46-win playoff team from 2009-10.

"No doubt. No doubt," he said. "Man, it’s always kind of been an issue here, the consistency, more so this year. I’ve been here five years and this is, to me, the most talented team we had. By far. I think this team just had so many, so many weapons. You could see it at times. We really were playing good and had stretches of playing really good games but we could never put that, use that, and stay consistent with it. That was the issue.

"This team was, I think, one of the best teams I’ve played with. I think it was definitely better than the other teams played with here. The way we finished doesn’t indicate the talent we had in the room. It’s unfortunate, but it’s something we hopefully address next year and it doesn’t happen again."

Mbah a Moute, the team’s player representative, was then asked what – if anything – changed down the stretch.

"I can’t pinpoint one specific thing that led to that," he said. "Sure, after the trade, it seemed to be a good move for us and at times it showed that it was good having a guy like J.J. come in and be a different kind of shooter out there and make the plays. But I think it was just something we dealt with the whole season. I think it wasn’t just after the trade. The whole season. We started with having a really good record, then started losing, then we came back a little after Skiles left and we won more games, got down on the road, then things went down again, then the trade – it was the story the whole season."

The Bucks started 6-2 under head coach Scott Skiles, fell to 8-9, and then moved up to 16-12 and then fell to 16-16 when Skiles and the team parted ways. Assistant Jim Boylan took the helm and the team went 8-3 before losing seven of its next nine to fall to 26-28.

"Like a lot of times when you make a coaching change you get off to a hot start," Dunleavy said. "Guys kind of are more engaged all of a sudden for a few weeks on end, you win some guys, go on a nice little streak but after a little bit of time reality sets in. Reality sets in and unless you’re going to come to work and get better every day you know what you just did is fool’s gold. It just didn’t stick and it’s too bad."

The team then traded Tobias Harris, Doron Lamb and Beno Udrih to Orlando for Redick, Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith and immediately went 6-1 to move to 32-29.

Then, the team took another downturn.

"I thought a lot of that, too, again, when you make a change – we had the trade deadline where we acquired J.J. and I think you get guys to get re-engaged and a little bit more focused and some guys thinking alright, well, if I don’t bring it tonight then I’m not going to play, I better get my act together," Dunleavy said. "That happened for a few weeks. Then again, like after a coaching change, reality sets in and it ended up being more guys that could have had an argument for playing major minutes and it just didn’t pan out the right way.

"To add somebody like J.J. to your team, how could it not help? And here we are in a situation where our record dropped off. That’s certainly not any indication of the type of player he is. It just doesn’t add up. It doesn’t add up."

Redick averaged 12.3 points per game and shot 40.3 percent from the field in 28.3 minutes per game with the Bucks, down from his 15.1 average (on 45 percent shooting) in 31.5 minutes in Orlando. He said it was tough to acclimate to a lineup that essentially had four guards competing for two spots on the floor.

"Just being on a new team and coming to a team where guys were comfortable with their roles and now you’re placed 50 games or 54 games into the season and you’ve got to kind of adjust on the fly because you’re comfortable doing one thing," he said. "It’s a lot of adjustments. Basketball is basketball but chemistry is obviously an important part of playing."

What's next?

General manager John Hammond is charged with mixing up the right chemistry as he begins this offseason, beginning with the hiring of a new head coach. Then, he has to decide if he wants to make a push to re-sign any of the unrestricted free agents on the team.

Monta Ellis has a player option he has to decide on. Brandon Jennings is a restricted free agent and could draw a contract offer that is too rich to the Bucks liking. Ayon has a team option and the team does have the ability to amnesty Drew Gooden.

"The last time we went to the playoffs three or four years ago the team got blown and we didn’t make the playoffs the next three years after that," Mbah a Moute said. "So I think management is in a tough position because you really want to build on this. Even though we limped our way to the playoffs, we still were a good enough team to make the playoffs and I thought if we had a more consistent team in terms of winning games we could have been a much higher seed. But, you really want to use that and build on it.

Mbah a Moute continued: "But you’ve got to respect the fact that there’s a lot of moves that are going to be made so I think it’s a tough balance. Last time, we had nine new players and the following year it was a complete disaster. We didn’t make the playoffs and it wasn’t a fun experience. So I’m sure they learned from it and they’re going to make the right decision moving forward and make sure we stay this playoff team and we just get better."

For their part, Redick and Dunleavy said they would be open to returning to Milwaukee and being part of the new tradition Sanders talked about starting with this year’s playoff berth.

And as for why he was so candid in his explanations for why things didn’t work down the stretch, Dunleavy said it was because of his respect for the franchise.

"From my standpoint, I’m always trying to - especially with this organization – help," he said. "I grew up here, my dad (Mike Dunleavy, Sr.) coached here, I grew up as a Bucks fan. It means a lot to me regardless of what team I’m playing for, if I’m active, I’m retired, (or) what I’m doing, I’ll always want the Bucks to do well. Anything I may say, that’s where it’s coming from."

The most immediate decision to be made will be on the coaching front, and then the task of making the Bucks a perennial playoff team begins.

"There’s always great things," Ellis said of the future on Sunday night. "When I got traded here, it’s always great things. I love my teammates. I love the situation we’re in. We just have to get better, and that’s the biggest thing. Everybody needs to learn from this experience. Go home in the summer, get your body right, and we’ll come back next year and see what happens."