5 hours Ago By Scott Polacek
The Milwaukee Bucks are off to an abysmal 1-6 start to the season, which makes it easy to speculate about the future of the franchise. And whether that future will include trading cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo. "I don't think right now there's any discussion about trading Giannis," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said during Wednesday's episode of Pardon the Interruption .
"I don't think Giannis wants that. I don't think the Bucks are looking for that. But if you're asking me whether I think that's something that could happen at some point on the horizon? Yes.
I, and many other people in the league, are keeping an eye on that." Antetokounmpo is signed through the 2026-27 campaign with a player option for 2027-28, so there is no immediate urgency when it comes to needing to make a decision. It's not as if the Bucks risk losing him during the upcoming offseason for nothing if they don't make a move, and they can continue building around him and hoping for a turnaround in 2024-25.
After all, seven games is hardly a sample size too big to overcome during the course of an 82-game season. But it is fair to wonder about the long-term viability of the roster as currently constructed. Brook Lopez (36), Damian Lillard (34) and Khris Middleton (33) are all older veterans who could be past their peaks in the near future.
If Milwaukee doesn't turn things around this season, it isn't reasonable to expect it to be better in 2025-26 when they are all a year older. Perhaps that is when the Bucks will consider a complete reset by trading Antetokounmpo and landing significant draft-pick compensation in return. CBS Sports' Bill Reiter reported last month that one Western Conference executive said, "teams are circling—and hopeful" when it comes to a possible Antetokounmpo trade.
An Eastern Conference executive said in the same report that the future Hall of Famer may want to end up on the Miami Heat or Brooklyn Nets. Any type of bidding between multiple teams for one of the league's brightest stars would only work in the Bucks' favor, as they could drive up the price and accelerate an eventual rebuild after he is no longer on the roster. But it doesn't sound like they are ready to make that decision.
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