Milwaukee Bucks linked to two-time NBA All-Star in trade talks originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks remains a major question mark, as his name has popped up in trade speculation as of late.
Advertisement
The Bucks obviously don’t want to trade Antetokounmpo, so instead they’re looking for ways to improve the team around him. According to ESPN’s Jamal Collier, the Bucks have been active in the trade market searching for pieces to improve the roster around the two-time NBA MVP.
Bucks linked to Zach LaVine, others in trade talks
During these talks, they’ve been linked to two-time NBA All-Star Zach LaVine of the Sacramento Kings as well as Kings guard Malik Monk and Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant.
Advertisement
However, Milwaukee is limited asset-wise in trade talks as they have few attractive players on the roster currently outside of Antetokounmpo and not many tradeable draft picks for the foreseeable future.
From Collier:
“In the meantime, multiple team and league sources say the team has been active in pursuing the trade market, engaging in internal conversations about, among others, Sacramento’s Zach LaVine, whom they have had interest in and chances to acquire in the past, and Malik Monk, as well as Portland’s Jerami Grant.
“However, [Bucks general manager Jon] Horst finds himself with fewer resources to execute another blockbuster than ever before.”
So, what does this mean for Milwaukee? It means that the Bucks will likely have a hard time making any meaningful moves to improve the roster around Antetokounmpo prior to February’s trade deadline.
It’s difficult to imagine any move, or two, that would immediately boost Milwaukee into the legitimate contender conversation in the Eastern Conference, and even if such a move were available, the Bucks likely wouldn’t have the assets to make it happen.
Advertisement
In the meantime, the Bucks don’t plan to try to trade Antetokounmpo unless a formal request is made by the star forward, per Collier, and to this point that hasn’t happened yet. Antetokounmpo still has two years remaining on his current contract with Milwaukee, including a player option for the 2027-28 season. So, they don’t have to trade him any time soon.
Instead, the organizational hope is obviously that they can bolster the roster around Antetokounmpo enough to improve his outlook when it comes to remaining in Milwaukee. We’ll see how that goes.