The Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo have spent the past two weeks trying to put a lid on trade chatter. Around the league, that lid is still rattling.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on NBA Countdown that rival teams are actively pressing pause on deals because they are not convinced Antetokounmpo will still be in Milwaukee after February 5. Front offices are reluctant to burn assets now when they may need them if the two-time MVP suddenly becomes available.
“The biggest question in the NBA right now is are the Bucks really going to stand for this and is Giannis really going to stand for this,” Windhorst said, adding that recent losses have only increased uncertainty (via Hoops Rumors).
NBA insider Zach Lowe echoed that sentiment, naming the Hawks, Warriors, Lakers, Heat, and Knicks as teams monitoring the situation and protecting flexibility.
Giannis is under contract through next season and holds a massive player option for 2027-28. Lowe noted that if Antetokounmpo declines an extension this fall, it would effectively function as a trade demand. The Bucks are 5-5 since Giannis returned from injury and have been crushed when he sits. They are stuck in 11th place in the East.
Lowe floated Ja Morant as a potential swing move, though Morant reiterated Sunday that he prefers to stay in Memphis.
Milwaukee is coming off a brutal stretch, losing three straight, including blowouts to San Antonio and Minnesota. At 17-24, the Bucks are still within reach of the play-in, but the margin for error is gone.
The Bucks insist they are buyers. The league is not convinced. And until that changes, everything else stays on hold.
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