Paul KasabianFeatured Columnist IIJanuary 28, 2025
Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images
Unsurprisingly, the Milwaukee Bucks will not be dealing Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks provided a thorough breakdown on where general manager Jon Horst and the Bucks are at right now, noting the team could still make other moves while mentioning Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton as the “most valuable assets.”
“Antetokounmpo and Lillard are not trade candidates, leaving Horst with the expiring contracts of Lopez, Portis and Pat Connaughton as his most valuable assets,” Marks wrote.
The Bucks certainly wouldn’t want to deal either of their top two players with the team squarely in playoff position. They’ve rebounded quite nicely after a 2-8 start, going 24-10 since then for a 26-18 record overall, good enough for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
The big question is whether a bad playoff showing could lead to seismic moves this summer. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported on Dec. 27 that rival NBA teams are monitoring Milwaukee regarding the “longer term” chance an early playoff departure this year leads to the team dealing Antetokounmpo.
For now, though, Milwaukee is clearly hoping the Giannis-Lillard pairing leads to a title. Last year, the Bucks encountered struggles en route to a first-round exit to the Indiana Pacers. This year’s squad is on fire with a 9-2 record in its last 11 games.
Milwaukee could very well make some moves at the deadline, though. Per Marks, the Bucks have made 28 trades since Horst was promoted to GM in June 2017.
“Jon is one of the more aggressive executives because he realizes the goal is to continue putting a championship roster around a once-in-a-lifetime player in Giannis,” a team executive told Marks. “But like any championship team that continues to push their chips to the middle of the table, you eventually run out of options in how you improve from the outside.”
We’ll see soon enough if the Bucks get anything done. For now, Milwaukee is in a tough stretch with seven of eight games on the road. A visit to Portland against Lillard’s old team, the Trail Blazers, is up next Tuesday.
