NBA Exec Says Bucks 'Should Be Tanking This Season' amid Giannis Trade Rumors

At least one NBA executive feels the Milwaukee Bucks should start trying to tank amid an 18-25 start to the season and Giannis Antetokounmpo's uncertainty regarding his long-term future with the franchise, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps.

An Eastern Conference executive told Bontemps: "The Bucks should be tanking this season. That would let them start off their rebuild with a high pick in a deep draft."

Were the season to end today, the Bucks would be slated to hold the No. 8 pick in the 2026 draft.

The Bucks have made the playoffs for nine straight seasons with Antetokounmpo, and could conceivably look to add another piece around him in order to make up the 1.5 games currently between Milwaukee and a play-in bid ahead of the deadline.

Bontemps and Brian Windhorst reported last week that "the expectation from a wide range of sources is that Milwaukee remains far more likely to add than to entertain trading the best player in franchise history."

"Horst has canvassed the league in recent weeks for talent at basically any position, again looking to bolster the supporting cast around two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo," Bontemps and Windhorst wrote.

Some doubt has been cast on that conclusion, however, by the Bucks' recent slump and their relative lack of trade assets, as well as what appears to be Antetokounmpo's discontent with his longtime franchise.

The Bucks currently have just one tradable first-round pick, in 2031 or 2032. The franchise won't gain access to more until the day of the 2026 NBA draft.

Milwaukee has meanwhile dropped four of their last five games, all in blowout losses, while receiving criticism from their franchise star.

Antetokounmpo said after a Wednesday loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder his teammates were "being selfish" and that the team's "chemistry's not there."

When asked about his level of confidence that he would be finishing the season in Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo answered, "I don't know. I take it day by day."

The Bucks have just under two weeks left to decide on this team's direction before the trade window closes Feb. 5 trade. How the team fares during their next seven games, starting with Friday's home matchup against the Denver Nuggets, could play a role in whether general manager Jon Horst considers his team a buyer or seller at the deadline.