Will Giannis Be Traded? NBA Teams Reportedly 'Immediately' Met to Discuss Offers

Some teams around the NBA didn't waste time to begin discussing trade scenarios for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo in light of recent events, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

Windhorst posited Thursday on Get Up the New York Knicks should be getting their ducks in a row since they had a path to land Giannis over the summer.

"I talked to other teams yesterday that did immediately schedule meetings to talk about whether they would make an offer," Windhorst said starting at the 3:48 mark of the video below.

This comes after ESPN's Shams Charania reported Antetokounmpo and his agent are once again meeting with the Bucks to contemplate his future.

"A resolution to these talks is expected in the coming weeks, sources said, which will shape whether Antetokounmpo is available ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline," Charania wrote.

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers reiterated — "for the 50th time" in his words — on Wednesday that Giannis hasn't requested a trade:

While that's true, Charania's newest report is pretty foreboding when the Bucks are seemingly out of ways to placate their biggest star.

The desperation of general manager Jon Horst was clear in the offseason when he used the stretch provision to waive Damian Lillard, which facilitated the signing of Myles Turner. Horst was willing to eat a $22.5 million cap hit for five years in order to fortify the frontcourt, and he clearly thought Turner was a talent worthy of using what limited flexibility Milwaukee still had.

Now, the front office has even fewer means with which to improve the roster as the Bucks sit 10th in the Eastern Conference at 10-13. What's the move Horst can plausibly make that will turn them into a serious title contender again?

Antetokounmpo has to be aware of the franchise's bleak short-term outlook. If winning another championship is his top priority, then staying in Milwaukee simply isn't his best path forward.

The Bucks obviously need to maximize their return from dealing the two-time MVP, so they shouldn't settle on a lackluster offer simply to facilitate a trade. But trading him before the Feb. 5 deadline might be the preferable outcome if only to get this all over with for good.