The Milwaukee Bucks are expected to undergo big changes in the offseason as Giannis Antetokounmpo will likely be traded. 

Any trade involving Giannis will alter the franchise for the foreseeable future as they would be losing one of the five best players in the league, the face of the franchise for the last decade, and a former MVP. 

Instead of having championship aspirations coming into the season, the Bucks will be looking at a rebuilding phase. 

While all signs point to Giannis being traded, there is a world where the Bucks decide to pivot, add talent around him, and keep their franchise superstar in hopes of repairing the relationship and remaining competitive. 

The Bucks were linked to Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies going into the NBA trade deadline when they were in a similar scenario as they are now of trading Giannis or trying to add talent around him. 

They didn't trade him at the deadline, but they also didn't make a move to add talent around him outside of signing Cam Thomas after he was waived by the Brooklyn Nets. 

Now, the Morant to Milwaukee rumors are back in play. 

Brett Siegel of Clutch Scoops recently stated, "If this thing does 180 and Giannis magically stays with the Bucks, maybe it is something they look to explore because Taylor Jenkins is his former head coach, they left on good terms, Ja Morant didn’t necessarily want him fired even though he recognized change needed to be made in Memphis."

Taylor Jenkins was hired to be the Bucks new head coach this offseason, replacing Doc Rivers. Jenkins coached Morant in Memphis from his rookie year in 2019 until he was fired with nine games remaining in the 2024-25 season. 

If they want to appeal to the competitive side of Giannis, they might not have a choice. Giannis has made it clear that he wants to compete for a championship, and the Bucks current roster, in his words, is further away than ever based on where they finished this season. 

Morant has his injury issues, playing in just 79 games combined these past three seasons, but he's a talent upgrade over anyone on the Bucks roster. 

To make the money work, Milwaukee would have to give up two of Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma, or Bobby Portis. The Grizzlies probably don't have a ton of interest in any of those three players as they head towards a rebuild, but they'd likely get draft compensation and potentially a third team involved to expand the trade, as Kevin Porter Jr or Ryan Rollins might be included with Morant coming in. 

It's not a straightforward deal for Milwaukee, but it might be their only hope if they want to keep Giannis.