The Milwaukee Bucks are 17-23 on the season and two games behind the Chicago Bulls for the 10th and final spot in the NBA Playoffs picture. For months prior to and early in the season, as the team struggled, there were many who believed, thanks to false reports from multiple outlets, that Giannis Antetokounmpo was going to eventually demand a trade out of Milwaukee.
However, on the Bucks most recent West Coast road trip, the two-time NBA MVP emphatically stated that he would never ask for a trade and wants to spend his entire career in Milwaukee.
But now that the trade chatter surrounding Giannis has died down, speculation as to what moves the Bucks could make to improve their roster have increased. The difficult thing, though, is that Milwaukee simply does not have many assets that other teams would want, nor do they have the salary cap space for another star player.
Kyle Kuzma named as the player the Milwaukee Bucks are most likely to trade
Over the course of the past several days, and even going by weeks for those that did not think Milwaukee would ever trade Giannis, the two players that have been mentioned the most in trade rumors and speculation on the Bucks roster have been Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis.
And of these two, it is Kuzma who ESPN believes is the most likely to be moved:
“For now, the Bucks are looking to improve the roster aroundGiannis Antetokounmpoandnot trade the two-time MVP. Because this roster is top-heavy in salary (11 players earn less than $5.1 million), Kuzma is the likely odd man out if the Bucks were to pursueMichael Porter Jr.or evenJa Morant. Kuzma has a $22.4 million cap hit this season and a $20.3 million cap hit in 2026-27.
“Kuzma has started 73% of the games he has played in since 2017-18 but has fared better as of late coming off the bench. In 23 games as a reserve this season, he is shooting 54.8% from the field and 36.7% from 3.”
Should Milwaukee move Kuzma ahead of the February 5 deadline, it would be the second time in as many years that the 2020 NBA champion would be traded.
Of course, he was originally acquired by the Bucks in the trade that sent Khris Middleton to the Washington Wizards ahead of last year’s deadline.
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