Milwaukee's desperation is reaching dangerous levels. The Bucks have reportedly explored trading for Ja Morant, and it's exactly the kind of all-in gamble that could destroy whatever future they have left.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype: "The Milwaukee Bucks have canvassed the trade market in search of talent upgrades around Antetokounmpo, including the possibility of acquiring Morant. In trade discussions for Morant, the Grizzlies have desired Milwaukee's 2031 or 2032 first-round pick and Most Improved Player of the Year candidate Ryan Rollins."
After the Damian Lillard era ended with a waived contract and a torn Achilles, the desperation is valid. But let's be brutally honest: this trade would be franchise suicide. Let's break it down.
Ja Morant would be the straw that breaks the camel's back
Ja Morant is obviously still a fine player to have on your roster. But for a team that was vocal about its prioritization of fit and cohesion around Giannis Antetokounmpo early this season, it simply doesn't make sense on a basketball level. If it goes through, the Bucks end up with two athletic, non-shooting slashers in their starting lineup.
Then you move on to what it will take to get him, which essentially means losing key parts of the future for the off chance that Morant hasn't actually severely regressed as a player. Those are terrible odds for a franchise already on thin ice with their superstar.
Rollins is cheap, controllable, and ascending, which is everything Morant's profile isn't right now. An argument can even be made (at this point in time) that Rollins is the better player when you factor in availability. Morant's making max money while only having played 18 games this season. Rollins is producing elite numbers on a team-friendly contract.
It'll also see the Bucks making the same mistake they always have. Trading Rollins for Morant is just another move chasing a big star name instead of building around what actually works. It's the same desperation thinking that led to the Damian Lillard disaster, except this time the risk is even higher because Morant's health is a massive question mark.
At that point, if things keep going this way, Giannis demanding out is an inevitability, and the Bucks have zero assets left to rebuild with. They find themselves with no young talent, no picks, nothing. Complete organizational devastation.
This writer isn't blind to the reality that the Bucks need to do something, anything to save this dying season. But a trade like this is how desperation trades end eras. Teams panic, make one last push with a high-risk acquisition, it fails, and suddenly the entire franchise is in purgatory for a decade. Milwaukee's one bad Morant trade away from that exact scenario.
What moves are left to make once they truly sell the farm to get Morant? The answer is nothing meaningful. The cupboard would be completely bare, leaving them with two superstars and a roster of minimum contract players with no path to improvement.
It will leave the Bucks with two superstars in complete purgatory, unable to add pieces because they have no assets, unable to rebuild because they're paying max contracts, just stuck watching their window close in real time.
The Bucks need to walk away from this conversation immediately. Morant's upside doesn't justify the downside risk when you're already this close to organizational collapse. One more failed star trade and it's over. Giannis leaves, the rebuild begins, and Milwaukee's looking at years of irrelevance.
Rollins is the exact player championship teams crave: young, cheap, improving, and available every night. Trading him for Morant is gambling that player for someone who might never stay healthy enough to matter.
Walk away. Keep Rollins. Find a different path forward that doesn't risk destroying the entire future for a broken star.