The Milwaukee Bucks are no longer waiting to fix this season. According to Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Bucks are actively monitoring two of the biggest names on the trade market: Ja Morant and Zach LaVine. The message behind that interest is clear. The Bucks are ready to swing big.
LaVine has been circling the Bucks for months as a fit, and the logic has never been complicated. He gives you shooting, off-the-dribble creation, and a late-clock option that does not require Giannis Antetokounmpo to bulldoze through three defenders every possession. LaVine is averaging 20.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 48.3% from the field and 37.6% from three. For a team that has struggled to generate clean offense in tight games, that kind of scoring gravity is tempting.
The issue is not basketball. It is money. LaVine is making $47.5 million this season and holds a $48.9 million player option for next year. Any deal requires serious salary gymnastics and long-term commitment. Still, with the Sacramento Kings sitting at 8–30 and clearly headed for a reset, there is incentive on both sides. For the Bucks, LaVine is the safer bet. You know what you are getting, even if the bill is steep.
Morant represents a very different kind of gamble. On the surface, this has been a rough season. He is averaging 19.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 7.6 assists, but the efficiency is ugly at 40.1% from the field and just 20.8% from three. By almost any metric, it has been the worst year of his career. Financially, though, Morant is actually cheaper than LaVine this season at $39.4 million, with two more years left on his five-year, $197 million deal. There is cost certainty, even if the performance has dipped.
What draws Milwaukee in is not what Morant has been, but what he can still be. The Memphis Grizzlies, sitting at 16–22 and flirting with the play-in line has reportedly opened the door to listening for the first time. That alone changes the landscape. When Morant is right, he collapses defenses in ways few guards can. Pairing that kind of downhill pressure with Giannis Antetokounmpo is the sort of idea that keeps front offices up at night. The risk is obvious. The upside is enormous.
Context matters. The Bucks are 17–21, sitting 11th in the East. That is not contention. That is limbo. Standing still is no longer an option, especially after Giannis publicly shut down trade speculation and reaffirmed his commitment to Milwaukee. That clarity gives the front office freedom. They know their superstar is staying. Now the responsibility shifts to them to justify that loyalty.
This is the decision in front of the Bucks. LaVine offers reliability, spacing, and a known offensive profile. Morant offers volatility, star power, and the possibility of something transformative if it clicks. One is safer. The other could change everything.
Either way, Milwaukee is done waiting. With Giannis locked in and the standings tightening, the Bucks are positioning themselves to make real noise. Whether it comes through LaVine’s shot-making or Morant’s explosiveness, the signal is unmistakable. Milwaukee is ready to act, and the rest of the league knows it.
