On June 28, 2007, the Bucks drafted Yi Jianlian from the People's Republic of China with the No. 6 pick of the draft. Yi is widely regarded as the best Chinese prospect to come out of China since Yao Ming. Although Yi is considered by many as a strong offensive player, his selection by the Bucks brought many concerns, leading some commentators to consider Yi to be a high risk choice. Most notably, prior to the draft, Yi’s agent, Dan Fegan, had stated that Yi did not want to play for the Bucks, and refused to let them watch Yi train. Fegan had stated that Milwaukee did not have a sufficient population of Asians, and Milwaukee would not be a good fit for Yi. After being drafted by the Bucks, Yi refused to visit Milwaukee, and his agent has openly tried to convince the Bucks to trade Yi to another team by threatening that Yi would return to China rather than play for the Bucks. In addition, questions exist surrounding Yi’s real age (ranging between 19 to 22) and his ability to acclimatize to the physical game in the NBA. Yi Jianlian signed a deal with the Bucks on August 29, 2007, in Hong Kong. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Yi made his Bucks pre-season debut against Chicago, scoring three points and fouling out.

In March of 2008, the Bucks's fans sellected the franchises 40th Anniversity Team, which included notable players like Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, Ray Allen, Sidney Moncrief, and Michael Redd to name a few.
On March 20, 2008, the Bucks announced that they would not renew general manager Larry Harris's contract, which was to expire June 30, 2008. On April 11, 2008, the Bucks hired John Hammond, formerly the Vice President of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons, as their new GM,giving the Milwaukee team a fresh director recently associated with success.

On April 17, 2008, the Bucks announced that Larry Krystkowiak was relieved of his duties as head coach. On April 21, 2008, the Bucks announced the hiring of coach Scott Skiles, formerly of the Chicago Bulls.

On June 26, 2008, the Bucks acquired forward Richard Jefferson from the New Jersey Nets in a major trade for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.

Later that day, the Bucks selected West Virginia's Joe Alexander with the 8th pick of the NBA draft. When Joe plays in his first game, he will be the first Taiwanese-born player in the NBA.