NBA Insider Reveals Struggling Bucks Called 'Whole League' in Search of Early Trade

Is Milwaukee (2-6) pressing the panic button?

Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging 31.0 points and 12.9 rebounds per game this season. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

After losing six of their first eight games, the Milwaukee Bucks reportedly are searching for help.

"The Bucks are doing something that we don't see very often, which is scouring the trade market in the first week of November," ESPN insider Brian Windhorst said Friday on NBA Today. "As I was talking to teams this week, they were like, 'The Bucks just called. The Bucks just called.'

"I think the Bucks right now are just kind of searching and trying to cover their bases... They're looking to try and (find) help for some of their wing play. I talked to one team who said, 'Yeah, we talked to the Bucks. We came up with two or three different scenarios and realized we're not allowed to make any of those trades.' The Bucks are hemmed in as a second-apron team."

Windhorst did note the Bucks are not looking to trade away star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, guard Damian Lillard or forward Khris Middleton. But they are searching for answers while the oft-injured Middleton continues to recover from offseason ankle surgery.

Antetokounmpo (31.0 points per game) and Lillard (28.4 PPG) are producing big numbers, but Milwaukee only has one other player averaging double figures on a nightly bases in forward Bobby Portis, who is shooting just 29.2% from three-point range. Center Brook Lopez (26.8% from three) and Gary Trent Jr. (26.9% from three) haven't found their shooting strokes yet, either.

The Bucks, one of four teams in the second apron, are limited in what they can do due to restrictions around the NBA's new salary threshold. They can't take on more money in any trade and also don't own a second-round pick until 2031.

"I don't think help is on the way through the trade market," Windhorst said. "But they are making calls, which is interesting because from what I can tell, they called pretty much the whole league."

Milwaukee has its next chance to get out of their early-season slump Friday night when it visits the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

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