We've officially entered desperation hours in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The clock is ticking on a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, following the ultimatum posed by Milwaukee Bucks ownership at Taylor Jenkins' introductory presser. Rumors of trade offers have swirled for months, but just two weeks out from the NBA Draft, there still doesn't seem to be a resolution in sight.
Teams are waiting for the NBA Finals to conclude before deciding the futures of their franchises and how much they'd be willing to commit to a deal in draft compensation and contract extensions. The only team name persistently recurring in rumors and reporting has been the Miami Heat, whose offer is better than most of the alternatives, but still doesn't quite satisfy what a team is looking for when trading their greatest player in franchise history.
That, along with months of Giannis publicly professing his dream of finishing his career in Milwaukee, leaves the door open for the Greek Freak to stay in the city he's called home for the last 13 years, which means GM Jon Horst has work to do...
And trading for Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant might be the way to do it.
Milwaukee Bucks' offense would surge back to the top of the league if they traded for Ja Morant.
Let's address the elephant in the room and get this out of the way first: It's been a rough few years for Ja Morant. The 26-year-old has only played 79 games in the last three seasons, battling every injury in the book. He also dealt with plenty of challenges off the court, from inappropriate social media posts and brandishing guns to issues with the team's coaching staff.
That makes it easy to forget that Ja Morant is an extraordinary basketball player and was once considered one of the league's most exciting young stars before this dark cloud appeared over his head. He's a two-time All-Star, a former Rookie of the Year, a Most Improved Player, and reached the All-NBA team in 2022 with a 27-point, 7-assist, 6-rebound season. He has a career average of 22.4 points and 7.4 assists per game in more than 300 appearances, and completely revitalized the Memphis Grizzlies franchise for several years.
Although their 32-50 record didn't show it, the Milwaukee Bucks' roster is more talented than the standings would suggest. Unfortunately, time caught up with head coach Doc Rivers, who couldn't crack the code to elevate this lineup, leading to a dreadful half-court offense that rarely committed to running full plays and was completely motionless aside from whoever had the ball. That, along with the culture they hope to reset, is why Bucks leadership brought Taylor Jenkins back to Milwaukee — to inject new life on both sides of the floor.
That's exactly what he did for the Memphis Grizzlies, leading the team to Playoff appearances in four of his six years in the role, starting with Morant's rookie season. Imagine what kind of success they could find if they teamed back up on a team led by Giannis Antetokounmpo.
There would be no more fearsome pick-and-roll combination in the league than Giannis and Morant when healthy. These are two of the most explosive, creative, and imposing slashes in this era of basketball, surrounded by sharpshooters at every position around them.
The basketball logic makes sense. Now it's just a matter of how to make it happen.
What would the Bucks' path to trading for Ja Morant look like?
The Grizzlies are facing the same dilemma as Milwaukee in potential Morant deals. The market just isn't what they thought it would be.
It's rare that an All-Star entering his prime is available, let alone being made publicly available at the trade deadline. Yet he still didn't get traded. There is no better buy-low opportunity in the entire league than this — even though it's a clear gamble on Morant's health and personal growth.
Milwaukee has several routes to a Morant trade, but most run through their front-court and draft picks. Because Milwaukee's four most expensive contracts all belong to forwards and bigs, they'll have to make some sacrifices. Assuming they want to keep Myles Turner, it would likely be a combination of Bobby Portis and Kyle Kuzma for salary purposes. The former is a fantastic locker room addition and veteran presence for the retooling Grizzlies, while the latter is on a valuable expiring contract.
That's where the draft picks come in, as the Bucks have three available to them on draft night: two future firsts (2031, 2033) or the 10th overall selection. Given where the market stands for Morant, and the newfound premium on first-round draft capital under the latest C.B.A., more than one first-round pick would be surprising.
Another potential sweetener in that deal could be AJ Green, whose four-team deal at approximately $11 million per season is a steal for one of the best 3-point shooters in the league.
The specifics of the deal need to be determined behind closed doors, but if the market is what it appears for Morant, the Bucks could pay pennies on the dollar for a young star who fits their future timeline, pairs well with Giannis and immediately raises the team's floor — something they desperately needed in the doldrums of last season.
First thing's first — the Bucks need to figure out what's going on with Giannis. But if they come to terms on a future together, an aggressive move for Ja Morant could be what they need to get back on track to playoff contention in the heated Eastern Conference.
Add us as a preferred source on Google