NBA Trade Rumors: There's one way the Milwaukee Bucks would push toward trading Giannis Antetokounmpo.
After an extremely sobering 2-7 start to the season, the early whispers are that the Milwaukee Bucks are looking to find a trade that could help upgrade their roster. At least for now, the team doesn't have trading Giannis Antetokounmpo on their minds. Despite the speculation that may be growing, that's not in their immediate plans. Of course, that's unless something drastically changes soon.
According to a recent report from Marc Stein, there's only one scenario that would push the Bucks to trade Giannis right now. And that's if Giannis would be the one to push for it. In other words, the Bucks aren't willing to trade Giannis unless he formally demands a trade from the team. That's the only circumstance in which the Bucks would be willing to trade the face of the franchise.
Despite the slow start to the season, this is exactly the approach that the Bucks should have. Even though the Bucks have been disappointing so far this season, it would be foolish and, quite frankly, unheard of for the team to punt on the year. It's entirely too early for that type of discourse. Considering that the Bucks haven't even given the Damian Lillard experience two years, it would be quite shocking for the franchise to throw in the towel on the entire blueprint. That's essentially what they would be doing by trading Giannis.
Would Giannis Antetokounmpo demand a trade?
But, of course, that would significantly change if Giannis approached the front office looking for a trade. From what we know about Giannis through the first part of his career, I can't imagine we would get to a point where he would ask for a trade in-season. I'd have a hard time believing he would ask for a trade at all. However, asking for one in-season is an entirely different level of discontent. If it were to happen, I'd imagine Giannis would want to do it in the most courteous way. That's probably during the offseason and quietly.
That's if it were to happen. I still have my reservations about Giannis ever demanding or asking for a trade away from the Bucks. The Giannis situation aside, there are real concerns for the Bucks. They don't currently have a championship-level roster, especially if Khris Middleton isn't going to be healthy. Upgrades are needed but without any financial flexibility or draft capital to move, it's hard to envision how the Bucks are going to find those moves to jump-start the team.
The Bucks have certainly gotten off to a slow and concerning start to the season. I don't think there should be much pushback on that. However, it would be foolish for the Bucks to push for significant change right now. That said, it should also be understood that Giannis could change everything if he wanted. I don't think the questions we should be asking are if the Bucks would trade Giannis. Rather, it's if Giannis would request a trade.