West Powerhouse Emerges as Strong Trade Suitor For Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo

Matt Levine | 2 Hours Ago

Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks are among the biggest dissapointments in the NBA this season, sitting with a record of 4-9 on the year. Milwaukee hasn't been able to put any consistency on the court early on in the year and it's hurt them in the standings.

Even with stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard playing in the majority of the games, Milwaukee has fallen short. This has led to a ton of trade speculation involving both star players but especially Antetokounmpo.

If Milwaukee were to put him on the trade block, almost every NBA team would be interested. He is one of the better players in the game today but it seems unlikely that a trade will happen.

However, it's not impossible and teams are looking ahead to the potential of landing Antetokounmpo.

NBA insider Marc Stein has reported that the Houston Rockets are a team that many around the NBA believe could be gearing up to go after Antetokounmpo if he is made available.

“This has been interpreted in some corners of the league, as noted in a recent Sunday notebook, as a strategy designed to give the Rockets more time to see if dream trade target Kevin Durant were to become available down the road ... no matter how adamant Phoenix has remained about its desire to keep Durant in the desert. The following expansion of the conversation was inevitable given the various combinations of rising prospects and draft picks that the Rockets can assemble in theoretical trade offers, but similar whispers have begun to percolate among rival teams monitoring a potential down-the-road Houston pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo.”

Houston could likely offer the Bucks one of the best trade packages if they were to ever decide to move him. However, it remains to be seen if Antetokounmpo would want to go to the Rockets.

Even if Houston were to put the godfather offer in front of the Milwaukee front office, Antetokounmpo would still have a say in where he was traded. NBA stars have all the power so it would be up to him to figure that out.

But it seems for now that Milwaukee is dedicated to letting the players figure things out rather than make a rash move. If Antetokounmpo is traded, it would spell the end of a long successful run for this franchise.

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