Frustrated All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ja Morant have been the subject of trade chatter all year. Now, they’re both going to be hurt through this season’s impending Feb. 5 trade deadline. So how will their new injuries affect the NBA at large — and our Chicago Bulls in particular — with trade season in full swing?
Antetokounmpo, a 10-time All-Star power forward, appears to be trapped on a doomed 18-26 Milwaukee Bucks roster that lacks control over most of its future draft picks and is paying Damian Lillard $22.5 million a year over the next five seasons to not play. Milwaukee currently sits behind the Bulls and Atlanta Hawks in the East standings as the No. 11 seed.
Despite years of off-court shenanigans, two-time All-Star Memphis Grizzlies point guard Morant has remained incredibly popular in Tennessee. But as the oft-hurt 26-year-old’s health has led to some athletic decline, he appears to have grown tired of new Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo’s offensive approach.
Sporting an 18-25 record, the Grizzlies are currently the No. 12 seed in the crowded Western Conference, but still just 1.5 games outside of the play-in tournament bracket. Sans Jimmy Butler, the Golden State Warriors seem likely to free-fall out of the postseason race — barring a second straight blockbuster trade at the deadline.
So both Memphis and Milwaukee at least had a legitimate shot at making the play-in with their priciest players healthy, but were likely not good enough to survive long. Now, it’s possible that their postseason hopes could be over.
© Robert Edwards-Imagn ImagesGiannis Antetokounmpo’s Calf Strain Will Kill The Bucks’ Season — Will They Still Risk A Trade?
Antetokounmpo reaggravated his right calf strain late in a 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. According to Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Antetokounmpo himself anticipates being sidelined for at least the next four to six weeks. He noted that the ailment felt like the prior two soleus strains that have limited his availability in the past.
On the immediate plus side for the Bulls, an Antetokounmpo absence means a reserve will be elevated to a starting role at the All-Star Game next month — and another All-Star slot will open up to be named by commissioner Adam Silver.
Bulls point guard Josh Giddey has been making a fringe case for All-Star consideration this season, but his momentum was paused by an 11-game absence due to a hamstring strain.
Antetokounmpo, who missed multiple playoff games in both 2023 and 2024 with injuries, is in the midst of his most health-challenged pro season yet. He’s only appeared in 30 games this year, and will likely struggle to hit 50 for the season when he does come back. His chances of making a 10th straight All-NBA team or a third MVP award are over. Okay, fine, he was never winning that third MVP award, even if he did play in all 82 games. This Bucks team just isn’t good enough.
When he has played, the 2021 Finals MVP has been putting up stellar individual stats, although his defense feels like it has slipped a bit. He’s averaging 28.0 points on .645/.395/.658 shooting splits, 10.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks per bout.
A rumor had been floating around last month that Antetokounmpo might have been more interested in a trade to the Bulls than Chicago was. The 31-year-old’s relative lack of durability recently, and his lack of a long-range jumper as his athleticism declines, may have permanently turned off Bulls president Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley.
Given the fact that it’s been nine years since Chicago has rostered a true-blue superstar, and the fact that Antetokounmpo’s trade price might be dropping, the Bulls should at least consider a deal. They won’t, but they should.
The Hawks have swap rights for the more favorable between the New Orleans Pelicans’ and the Bucks’ first-round picks, while Milwaukee will get the less favorable. Still, the Pelicans have been horrible this year, and the Bucks have been plenty bad, too. So Milwaukee is actually in line for a lottery pick — provided it doesn’t panic-trade at the deadline.
Antetokounmpo feels unlikely to demand a trade this season, now that the Bucks’ chances at even qualifying for the playoffs will be slim. League sources inform Jake Fischer of The Stein Line that they expect Antetokounmpo to be dealt during the draft.
The Miami Heat and New York Knicks, long thought to be Antetokounmpo suitors (although New York has limited draft assets), may now hold off on making Antetokounmpo-sized deals until the offseason.
Golden State could be looking elsewhere to find a win-now piece, as it can’t afford to burn a great season from the soon-to-be-38-year-old Stephen Curry.
The Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Atlanta Hawks have also been linked to Antetokounmpo.
Would any of these teams (at least, aside from Portland) be willing to surrender a boatload of picks for a flier on Bulls forward Matas Buzelis? He’s not the same kind of player as Antetokounmpo, but he is an athletic combo forward with a knack for explosive downhill scoring — plus he’s 10 years Antetokounmpo’s journey. The native Chicagoan is also on a rookie-scale deal, so a trade for his services would require picks more than matching money. The Bulls might value Buzelis, who has All-Star upside, more than these other teams, so he’ll likely be tough to pry away.
The Heat need a superstar, more so than a particular position. Josh Giddey would actually make some sense there, although he’s more at the caliber of incumbent Miami All-Stars like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo than he is a tier above them.
If the Heat opted to, say, ship out the Andrew Wiggins contract and picks for Giddey, would a core of Giddey, Norman Powell, Herro, and Adebayo be good enough to win anything? The Heat would be surrendering too much defense in that scenario, so it feels likelier they would try to ship out one of Herro or Powell — but they would likely be resistant to give up much in the way of picks in such an exchange.
Ja Morant’s UCL Sprain Will Keep Him Out Through The Trade Deadline
Morant sprained the UCL in his left elbow against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday and is set to be out for at least the next three weeks, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. That means he, too, will be sidelined through the trade deadline.
For a hot second, the 6-foot-2 Murray State product seemed to be well on his way to becoming another Derrick Rose. Even though his game was a bit more below-the-rim, he was a dynamic, score-first guard who could light up anybody on the fast break. He does seem to have taken a step back on the court, and the more health issues he absorbs, the more he seems to get stuck in the mud.
His theoretical trade market value was always a bit murky, but as a talented multi-time All-Star point guard still in his mid-20s, he was going to attract interest somewhere. Memphis has reportedly been receptive to Morant trade offers for the first time ever this year, albeit within a cooling market. The Bucks, pre-Antetokounmpo injury, were the exact right level of desperate to make a play for his services, although again, they have limited draft capital under their own control.
Morant’s absence through the deadline could ramp up the phone calls coming AKME’s way. The Minnesota Timberwolves are said to have interest in acquiring any one of Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, or Tre Jones. Morant was unlikely to ever be much of a fit for them anyway, but would the desperate Bucks now come calling, too?
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