NBA rumors: The valuable draft pick Bucks are willing to trade for upgrade
11/17/2024 08:35 PM
To say the Milwaukee Bucks are beholden to Giannis Antetokounmpo might be an understatement. In what can only be described as a concerted effort to add to the roster in any way possible, the Bucks appear willing to trade away every available future asset to appease their superstar’s potentially waning desires to stay in Milwaukee. The latest buzz is that the Bucks are willing to trade their last tradeable first-round pick from the 2031 NBA Draft, per NBA insider Marc Stein via Jake Fischer.
“On his Bleacher Report livestream Friday, my colleague Jake Fischer reported that the Bucks do continue to explore the trade market for perimeter defensive help and are willing to part with their only tradeable first-round pick in 2031. But it’s a pick, Fischer stressed, that Milwaukee has made clear it values highly.”
It was reported a week ago by Stein that many teams had contacted the Bucks to let them know they would be interested should Antetokounmpo want to be traded away.
"No rival team expects the Bucks, even amid a 2-7 start, to show any willingness to discuss Giannis Antetokounmpo trades at this early juncture of the season," reported Stein. "It is understood quite clearly in 29 other front offices that Antetokounmpo is only ever going to be made available for trade if he pushes for it.
"But a handful of teams out there have certainly begun planning for such an eventuality — and, in some cases, have already let the Bucks know that they will be ready to talk trade if team officials ever reach that point — even if Milwaukee has zero interest in such discussions as we speak."
Milwaukee improved upon their slow start with back-to-back wins over Toronto and Detroit before losing on Saturday to Charlotte.
Little is going right for Bucks
Now 4-9, the Bucks are reeling from a recent loss to the Charlotte Hornets, which may have been stolen from them by bad officiating. After the loss, head coach Doc Rivers blasted the refs.
"I thought the final play was the ref blowing the call. This is back-to-back games now where on the final play, there's been an incorrect call made," Rivers said. "LaMelo Ball fell. He just fell down. Nobody was near him, slipped on his own. We come up with the ball, the game is over. Back-to-back games now, we've had a call made against us that was incorrect.
"It was clearly not a foul. When you watch the video the ref that called the foul was blocked out by one of our players. You can't guess at the end of the game, both teams have played too hard."
Giannis tried to keep it more upbeat, posting to social media.
“We keep building.”
The Bucks start a four-game homestead on Monday with upcoming games against Houston, Chicago, Indiana and Charlotte over the next six days.
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