Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts to being voted into 10th NBA all-star game
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts to being voted into 10th NBA all-star game on Jan. 19, 2025
- The Milwaukee Bucks are struggling this season, a stark contrast to their previous years as a top Eastern Conference team.
- General manager Jon Horst might look to make trades before the Feb. 5 deadline to improve the team’s performance.
- The Bucks have financial flexibility and could absorb salary, potentially targeting high-end talent, a “connector” player or a traditional point guard.
For the better part of the last decade, the Milwaukee Bucks approached the NBA trade deadline from a position of strength. The team was routinely at or near the top of the Eastern Conference standings and was merely looking to accentuate a roster that had legitimate championship hopes.
Even last year, with the trade of franchise legend Khris Middleton for, effectively, Kyle Kuzma, the Bucks still had Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez and appeared bound for a 50-win season until injuries derailed them.
This season, however, the Bucks are limping along as one of the five worst teams in the East at 18-25 through Jan. 21.
Currently, their odds to win a top four pick in the draft via the lottery are higher (20.3% per the lottery-tracking site www.tankathon.com) than making the playoffs (7.3%, per ESPN analytics).
They haven’t won three games in a row at any point and haven’t shown any real ability to go beyond that with a massive win streak that could not only even their record at .500 but push them into the playoff picture entirely.
So, what could general manager Jon Horst realistically do by the Feb. 5 trade deadline to drastically alter his team’s fortunes? That’s hard to say, because the team feels so far away from being good, and it may take two, three or even four teams to even complete a deal.
What the Bucks have, however, is some financial flexibility by being able to absorb more than they send out, as they are under the luxury tax line. Any major deal would likely have to include Kuzma ($22.4 million salary and up to $3 million in incentives that must count toward a team’s apron total) and/or Bobby Portis Jr. ($13.4 million) for salary-matching reasons.
Players such as Kevin Porter Jr. ($5.1M), Gary Trent Jr. ($3.6M), Gary Harris ($3.6M) and Taurean Prince ($3.3M) all waived their no-trade clauses and also can be dealt.
Horst has repeatedly said going over the tax line is not an issue for ownership, led by governor and co-owner Wes Edens, but the Bucks did get under the tax for this season and are avoiding severe penalties for repeating as a tax-paying team. Staying under the tax line and not trading their 2031 pick this season would then set them up for even greater trade flexibility in the summer.
The Bucks have some needs, so let’s take a look at a couple areas the team could improve.
High-end talent
One of the reasons the Bucks won the most regular-season games in the league from 2018-25 is they not only had arguably the best player in the world in Antetokounmpo, but all-stars and all-defensive team members in Middleton, Lopez, Lillard, Jrue Holiday and Eric Bledsoe.
Even with injuries to the two versions of the “Big Three” from 2020-25, there was enough talent left to still be a solid playoff team that could aspire to greater things if healthy.
This team does not have such luxury.
But acquiring high-end (all-star level) talent has never been easy, and the Bucks had to trade out good players and control of their draft picks through 2030 to bring in Holiday and Lillard in separate deals.
Now, in 2026, the market has changed.
Four-time all-star Trae Young, still just 27 years old, was moved out of Atlanta in strictly a money deal. It would then be reasonable to think that a former all-star like Zach LaVine (30) could be had without giving up a draft pick.
And, a dozen teams are in the luxury tax. Are all of them willing to pay that bill? Perhaps getting off certain salaries to duck it could benefit the Bucks, like the Los Angeles Clippers parting ways with say, James Harden.
Perhaps there are teams that aren’t in the tax but have high-salaried players they felt were once franchise cornerstones and paid them as such, but no longer believe it (like Ja Morant in Memphis or Dejounte Murray in New Orleans).
And though high-priced veterans such as Brooklyn’s Michael Porter Jr. and Portland’s Jerami Granti aren’t all-stars, they too would signify a big talent upgrade.
Horst has always been opportunistic and swiped players most thought were unavailable, so the Bucks are always going to be connected to stars in some form or fashion. But this team could really use a true bucket-getter.
The Bucks have blown double-digit leads in losses to Sacramento, Washington and Minnesota and failed in late-game scenarios in home losses to Houston and Philadelphia where a difference-maker could have secured a victory.
That’s five swing games, the difference between being an afterthought and potentially a playoff spot as of Jan. 22.
A connector
After yet another blowout loss to Oklahoma City on Jan. 21, Antetokounmpo once again bemoaned selfish basketball and teammates not playing the “right way.” It’s been a long-running complaint for the Bucks star.
And sometimes, to fix that, a team doesn’t need to acquire an all-star. The Bucks know this, as they acquired P.J. Tucker for the 2020-21 playoff run. He wasn’t really a factor in the regular season (20 games) but his impact in the postseason went beyond the stat sheet. Kevin Durant still scored 37.4 points per game as the Bucks rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the East semifinals and Tucker shot the ball less than five times a game on offense. But he connected everything, defensively, offensively and off the court.
It’s why, presumably, the Bucks have been connected in some form or fashion to current Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart over the years.
They do the need the idea of those guys, someone who can defend multiple positions at a high level (that is, get the benefit of the doubt from officials) and then keep the offense flowing without ever needing to shoot it to be content. They’ll move the ball when it needs to be, create secondary actions and cut off the ball to open up space.
Who is that, exactly? It’s a great question, and it’s up to Horst and his scouting staff to identify the right fit for this team.
On the highest of levels, New York’s Josh Hart, Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso and Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith fit that mold. But one could argue that kind of player may be more valuable in terms of compensation than a former all-star on the tail end of a bad contract.
A real point guard
The idea that there aren’t traditional, pass-first point guards in the league anymore is mostly true. Of the guards in the top 20 in assists per game, many would be considered “scorers” outside of perhaps Miami’s Davion Mitchell, Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard, San Antonio’s Stephon Castle and Utah’s Isaiah Collier.
But it’s not so much about “assists” (many of the top 20 in assists aren’t even guards, let alone point guards). The Bucks desperately need a veteran, calming presence to handle the ball at times. Sometimes they need to be able to play alongside Antetokounmpo and be OK off the ball, sometimes they need to run the second unit and just get things organized.
Too often the Bucks offense stagnates, or players aren’t moving, or the spacing is poor. It would help if there was another “floor general” of sorts that could command respect and just get the offense going. These players may often be undersized or have defensive issues, but honestly the Bucks offense is so bad that improving there has to be paramount.
This is another “easier to say than to find” type of player, but Chicago’s Tre Jones, 26, came up through the San Antonio system under Gregg Popovich. Jones’ brother Tyus, 29, was drafted by Bucks assistant general manager Milt Newton when he was running the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015. Kris Dunn, 31, remains solid in Los Angeles for the Clippers.
But even players like Eric Bledsoe and Jrue Holiday, who many wouldn’t consider “traditional” point guards, fit well in Milwaukee because of their defensive intensity and ability to run the show if, and when, needed.
This type of player wouldn’t push the Bucks over the edge into contention by any means, but would be one of those important acquisitions that could even out the rotation and perhaps their level of play.
