Bucks predicted to make 'desperate' push for $175 million superstar to help Giannis Antetokounmpo

Jeremy Beren

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Bucks predicted to make 'desperate' push for $175 million superstar to help Giannis Antetokounmpo image

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The Milwaukee Bucks are feeling the heat as they try to force their way into championship contention and erase any questions about the future of superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

While the Bucks have been telling teams that Antetokounmpo is off the market four weeks before the trade deadline, the player's future effectively is in his hands as he mulls whether staying in Milwaukee is his best move.

The Bucks are 14-20, 1.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the final Play-in Tournament spot in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee is over the NBA's salary cap, but if they want to take a big swing before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, they might be able to do so.

MORE: Giannis Antetokounmpo trade prediction involves Miami Heat, Tyler Herro but no Knicks or Lakers

Zach Lowe thinks the Bucks will be in on Anthony Davis, the All-Star big man who appears ticketed for a trade out of the Dallas.

Davis has been closely linked to the Atlanta Hawks in recent days, and the Hawks might be willing to include 2024 top draft pick Zaccharie Risacher in a deal for the future Hall of Fame inductee.

But to match salaries, the Bucks could offer up a package that includes Kyle Kuzma and Myles Turner, who only joined Milwaukee as a free agent last summer.

Dallas could consider a package around those two players as enough to help them make a quick return to playoff contention in the Western Conference, while Milwaukee would land another star sidekick for Giannis. A healthy Davis would greatly improve the Bucks' defense as they try to leap up the East standings.

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Staff Writer