The Milwaukee Bucks' start to the new NBA season hasn't gone according to plan. After being bounced in the first round of the playoffs last year, Milwaukee is hopeful that a full offseason and training camp together would change things.
However, the team has started 1-3 on the season. Their year could already be at risk of spiraling out of control. They haven't looked like an elite team in the Eastern Conference, with their perimeter defense looking especially choppy.
The issues on the court could spell more trouble for the Bucks franchise than just this season if they can't get it together. It could also mean the end of star Giannis Antetokounmpo being on the roster.
Before the season started, Antetokounmpo hinted at this if the Bucks were to fail again this year. But many took it as normal pressure coming from one of the NBA's greatest talents.
He spoke with Sam Amick of The Athletic and broke it all down.
"If we don't win this year, would you get fired?" the Bucks star asked a staffer, according to Amick's reporting. "Do you have it in the back of your mind, like, '(What) if this year doesn't go well?' Yeah, if we don't win a championship, I might get traded. Yeah, this is the job we live. This is the world we're living in. It's everybody."
But now with the potential for the Bucks' season to come undone, it seems that the reality of Antetokounmpo being moved has been lit. According to Bill Reiter of CBS Sports, teams are circling the Bucks star and are hopeful of him becoming available.
He spoke with some executives around the NBA to discuss the availability of Antetokounmpo.
"Teams are circling -- and hopeful," one Western Conference team executive said.
One executive thinks that a deal could happen by the trade deadline if Milwaukee doesn't get things together.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it happened by the trade deadline," said a top executive of a team that could be in the mix.
For the Bucks to trade their franchise player, they would likely have to hit rock bottom. But with an aging core of players around him, it could be for the best.
Antetokounmpo holds all the power as he can ask for a trade out of Milwaukee. But the Bucks could elect to move him somewhere that gives themselves the best deal.
The Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets are teams that could show interest in Antetokounmpo, but almost every team would likely throw their hat into the ring. It remains to be seen if Milwaukee will end up trading him, but this story seems to be growing with each passing day.
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