When the 2026 NBA free agency began, there were only a few names most fans were expecting to get moved: players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant.

What came instead was arguably one of the greatest NBA free agencies in history, with multiple NBA champions and superstars getting moved at a rapid pace. One of those superstars who was moved was 26-year-old guard Ja Morant.

Morant found himself unexpectedly getting traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, but there were actually murmurs of him reportedly getting traded to the Milwaukee Bucks long before free agency.

According to a report from The Athletic, the Milwaukee Bucks were actually engaged with the Grizzlies about a Morant trade as early as January, because that's when Morant was first listed on the market. 

The Athletic also claimed that those discussions continued periodically up until Monday of free agency, when the Bucks chose not to go through with the trade.

"Those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the deliberations, said discussions continued periodically up until Monday, when the Bucks chose not to go through with the trade," the Athletic said.

It's worth noting that last season, Morant only played in 20 games and had one of the worst seasons of his career, averaging 19.5 points, 8.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds on 41/24/90 shooting from the field. In the past three seasons combined, Morant has played only 79 total games.

The Bucks pulled the plug on Morant for likely a multitude of reasons. For starters, the fact that they were asking about Morant in January suggests that they were reaching out to pair him with Giannis Antetokounmpo in order to get their superstar to stay. Morant could have been looked at as a Damian Lillard replacement.

Coincidentally enough, now Morant and Lillard are now on the same team together.

Once it became even clearer that Giannis was going to leave, it made less and less sense for the Bucks to engage in any trades for Morant. With the way the Bucks are currently looking, it doesn't seem like they're trying to be competitive and rebuild at the same time - so Morant doesn't fit the timeline anymore.

The Bucks may have also been hesitant to pull the trigger in January solely because of Morant's lack of availability. It's tough to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay by bringing in a player who has only played 79 games in three seasons.

Unfortunately for the Bucks, they put themselves in a position where Giannis Antetokounmpo felt like leaving was the only option to win another championship. Once that happened, any and all Ja Morant conversations were dead - as are the Bucks' championship chances.