Nobody ever said this part was easy.
The Bucks did the hard thing already. They built a championship roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo in a small market and cashed in with a title. The harder part comes after. Staying there. Milwaukee now lives in the uncomfortable middle, good enough to matter, not good enough to scare anyone, and short on the assets required for a clean reset.
That still leaves the Bucks in better shape than the Kings.
Sacramento’s problem is deeper. The Kings have spent years chasing relevance without committing fully to any direction. The result is a roster stuck near the bottom of the West, with limited draft capital and few obvious levers left to pull. Standing still is not a strategy, even if moving forward is uncomfortable.
Which brings us to a hypothetical worth kicking around. It comes from James Piercey of Dallas Hoops Journal. Let’s take a look:
Bucks receive
Kings receive
No, this is not reporting. It is an exercise. But it reflects the reality of today’s market.
Why Kings listen
The league has made one thing clear: Sellers are not getting premium returns. Sacramento may not like that, but pretending otherwise does not help. Moving LaVine would not be about winning the trade. It would be about reclaiming flexibility.
Anthony is 25 and still capable of running offense. Portis is productive and movable. Kuzma’s value has slipped, but his contract and scoring still give the Kings options. None of this fixes Sacramento overnight. What it does is create oxygen.
That alone has value.
Why Bucks consider it
The Bucks could tear it down. That would mean moving Antetokounmpo. That option exists only in theory.
If Milwaukee is serious about maximizing Giannis’ prime, it needs another scorer who can create without the offense collapsing. LaVine fits that description. He can score in bunches, shoot at volume and relieve pressure late. The defense is a concern. It always is. But playing next to Antetokounmpo changes expectations.
LaVine would not be the centerpiece. He would be the pressure valve.
The bigger picture
This trade does not promise anything. What it offers is clarity.
Milwaukee would be choosing to push forward, accepting risk to stay relevant. Sacramento would be admitting its current path has reached its limit.
In this league, that kind of honesty is rare. And often necessary.
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