Bucks Evaluate Trade Options as Season Hits Midpoint
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The Milwaukee Bucks reached the halfway point of the schedule Thursday night with a 17-24 record, their poorest first-half mark since 2015-16. In response, team officials are actively canvassing the trade market while insisting franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo will remain in place.
“We always manage to pull something off,” a team source told ESPN’s Jamal Collier, underscoring Milwaukee’s determination to add help before the Feb. 8 deadline.
One possibility involves Memphis guard Ja Morant. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Grizzlies inquired about guard Ryan Rollins and Milwaukee’s only tradable first-round pick in the early 2030s. The Bucks have been hesitant to move that pick unless the return is an unquestioned star, and Morant’s recent injuries and uneven availability have complicated discussions.
Front-office executives cited Washington’s recent acquisition of Trae Young—completed without surrendering draft assets by absorbing Atlanta’s salary—as the type of structure Milwaukee would prefer to replicate rather than a deal heavy on future picks.
Several other names continue to circulate around Milwaukee’s phones. League sources link the Bucks to Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, Jerami Grant, Andrew Wiggins, and Miles Bridges. The Bucks and Sacramento Kings have held exploratory talks about a Monk-centered package that could send Bobby Portis to California, though nothing is close to completion.
Not everyone around the league believes Milwaukee can dig itself out. “At some point, you’re just digging deeper and deeper,” one Eastern Conference executive told ESPN. “There might not be light at the end of the tunnel. It might just be a hole.”
For now, the Bucks continue searching for ways to reinforce a roster that has stumbled through its first 41 games.
Source: Hoops Wire
