Bucks operating as trade buyers, believe roster can be upgraded

The Bucks are not signaling retreat. Quite the opposite.

Team sources told ESPN’s Jamal Collier that Milwaukee continues to approach the trade market as a buyer ahead of the February 5 deadline, despite sitting at 13-19 and outside the early play-in picture. The internal belief is that this roster can still be upgraded and made competitive in the second half, rather than torn down.

That posture matters, because Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the center of the league’s loudest speculation. The two-time MVP has made it clear he is not interested in hearing it.

“I’m here. I’m here. I’m here,” Antetokounmpo said after Saturday’s win in Chicago. “It’s disrespectful to my teammates and the organization to ask if I don’t want to be here. As long as I’m here, I’m going to give everything I have, even in the last second of the game.”

That message has been echoed internally. When the league’s unofficial trade season began earlier this month, the Bucks’ front office focused on adding help, not floating Antetokounmpo’s name.

Sources told Collier that Milwaukee has discussed potential fits such as Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, and Jerami Grant, though any deal is complicated by limited assets. The Bucks have only one tradable first-round pick, and general manager Jon Horst has been reluctant to part with it unless the return clearly moves the needle.

That reality has rival teams watching closely. Until there is clarity on how aggressive Milwaukee can be, some executives are holding back.

The Bucks know waiting until summer, when more picks become available, may be cleaner. They also know time is not their ally.

“My legacy is on the line,” Antetokounmpo said. “This is how I feel every day I walk in here.”

Milwaukee is acting like a team that hears that message.