Bucks Reportedly Interested In Ja Morant
The Bucks are among the teams with interest in Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, multiple league sources tell Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscription required).
Morant, a two-time All-Star who has been plagued by injury and off-court woes in recent years, will miss his fifth straight game on Sunday vs. Brooklyn due to a right calf contusion, per the NBA’s official injury report.
This is the first report we’ve seen definitively linking Milwaukee to Morant, who is on the trading block.
In order to match salaries with Morant, who is earning approximately $39.5MM this season and is under contract through 2027/28, an outgoing Bucks package would likely start with Kyle Kuzma ($22.4MM). There are multiple ways to make the money work from there with additional players added.
While Morant makes some sense as a buy-low candidate for the Bucks, who are trying to get back into contention in the Eastern Conference around two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, his on-court fit seems shaky. For starters, Morant has never been a great shooter, and Milwaukee’s two best players this season outside of Antetokounmpo have been point guards Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr.
The Bucks also continue to be intrigued by Kings shooting guard Zach LaVine, Owczarski reports. Milwaukee has been connected to multiple players on Sacramento’s roster, though the two teams reportedly weren’t engaged in active trade conversations as of last week.
Latest On Ja Morant
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Friday that the Grizzlies are listening to trade offers for Ja Morant, but also said the team is open to keeping him on the roster past the February 5 deadline. John Hollinger of The Athletic, a former high-ranking Grizzlies executive, confirms the team is fielding offers for Morant but is dubious Memphis will retain the 26-year-old beyond Feb. 5.
As Hollinger observes, it’s rare for a team to publicly advertise it’s open to moving one of its top players unless the club already intends to move him. Just a few days after the Hawks were said to be working on a trade with Trae Young, they ended up sending him to Washington. It’s quite possible Memphis already has a deal lined up for Morant and is waiting to see if anyone will top it, according to Hollinger.
Hollinger confirms the Kings and Timberwolves are unlikely to pursue Morant, describing their interest as “lukewarm at best.” While he admits it’s informed speculation, Hollinger points to the Raptors (Immanuel Quickley and other assets) as a team that might be a fit, and calls the Nets a potential “deep dark horse” suitor.
A league source tells The Athletic that Michael Porter Jr. is a “lock” to be traded by Brooklyn ahead of the deadline, with Hollinger suggesting three-team frameworks that send Porter to either the Raptors, Heat or Bucks, Morant to the Nets, and various assets to the Grizzlies.
Here are several more rumors related to Morant:
- There’s a sense around the league that the Grizzlies might be able to get more value for Morant than the Hawks did for Young, according to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. That could require Memphis to take on long-term money in return, but the team seems more willing to go that route than Atlanta was.
- Still, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) hears the Grizzlies don’t have unrealistic expectations about a potential return package. Fischer confirms they’re looking for young players and draft assets, but says Memphis isn’t expecting anything close to what it received for Desmond Bane over the offseason.
- According to Fischer, while Morant may have never formally requested a trade, it seems both sides were in agreement about seeking a change of scenery. Fischer also hears the Grizzlies want to build around Jaren Jackson Jr., but says that won’t stop opposing teams from calling about his availability and trying to determine through back channels whether the former Defensive Player of the Year is open to a possible exit. Hollinger has heard similar rumblings about Jackson, with Fischer wondering if the Raptors or Hawks might pivot to a pursuit of the 26-year-old big man in the wake of Anthony Davis‘ hand injury.
- Although there were some suggestions early in the season about a potential Morant-LaMelo Ball trade between the Grizzlies and Hornets, that scenario appears unlikely now, Fischer writes.
- The Raptors offered Quickley and unspecified draft compensation to the Hawks for Young prior to last year’s deadline, sources tell Fischer, and maintained a level of interest in the four-time All-Star in 2025/26. The Hawks weren’t interested in taking on Quickley’s contract, as they were instead focused on financial flexibility, but perhaps Memphis would feel differently.
- The Heat have had internal discussions about pursuing Morant, Fischer reports. Morant didn’t like playing under the Noah LaRoche‘s offensive system last season with Memphis, Fischer notes, but Miami has a history of expressing interest in star players regardless of their injury or off-court histories.
- Both Hollinger and Vecenie are skeptical about the Bucks pursuing Morant, but the possibility can’t be ruled out entirely. “They’ve thought about everyone,” one rival executive told Fischer.
Ja Morant Notes: Trade Ideas, Possible Suitors, Injury
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Friday that the Grizzlies are entertaining trade offers for Ja Morant and will consider moving the two-time All-Star point guard prior to the February 5 deadline.
Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com hears from sources who say the 26-year-old still feels miffed about the team-issued one-game suspension he received at the beginning of the season. In the wake of that suspension, Morant told opposing players and some of his former coaches that he no longer wanted to play for Memphis, according to Wright.
Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal says Morant has not requested a trade (Twitter link), but the distinction might not matter much if the Grizzlies are open to dealing him anyway. For what it’s worth, Morant is present at Friday’s game vs. Oklahoma City, tweets Cole.
Here’s more on Morant:
- The ESPN.com story that includes the sourced notes from Wright is largely centered on trade ideas involving Morant, who is under contract through 2027/28. Insiders Zach Kram and Kevin Pelton pitch theoretical trades, and those proposals are evaluated by former front office executive Bobby Marks. A deal that sends Immanuel Quickley, Ochai Agbaji and Toronto’s top-14 protected 2026 first-round pick to Memphis and Morant to the Raptors is the most appealing trade for the Grizzlies, in Marks’ view.
- Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) is skeptical that the Raptors would have much interest in Morant, however, pointing out that head coach Darko Rajakovic is close to Taylor Jenkins, who was fired by the Grizzlies toward the end of last season. Rajakovic was an assistant under Jenkins in Memphis for three seasons prior to landing Toronto’s head coaching job.
- In a subscriber-only story for The Memphis Commercial Appeal, Cole lists five potential landing spots for Morant, including the Timberwolves, Heat and Bucks.
- Morant missed his fourth straight game on Friday due to a right calf contusion. However, unlike the previous three games, when he was initially deemed questionable before being downgraded, he was immediately ruled out for Friday’s contest. Asked before the game whether Morant had experienced a setback, head coach Tuomas Iisalo said “no,” as Cole relays (via Twitter).
Trade Rumors: Morant, Ball, Bucks, Kings, Kuminga
The Hawks‘ return for a four-time All-Star like Trae Young may look awfully modest, but a scout who spoke to Sam Amick of The Athletic suggests it may be equally difficult for other teams with defensively limited point guards to extract real value for them. That group includes the Grizzlies with Ja Morant and the Hornets with LaMelo Ball.
“Ja, Trae and LaMelo don’t have that much value because the game has changed around them,” that scout said.
According to Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, rival executives have conveyed a similar sentiment, pointing to Young’s maximum-salary contract and the league-wide depth at the point guard spot as reasons why they think Atlanta made out reasonably well in the deal. Conversely, some of those execs questioned the Wizards‘ decision to trade for Young.
“I know from a value proposition why you look at it,” an Eastern Conference scout said. “But if I’m the Wizards, just keep being bad, and stuff will figure itself out. I’m not sure why they felt the need to do this.”
“Offense is so easy now,” a Western Conference executive added. “One of the worst teams in the league can still easily put up 115 points in a game. … It’s hard for these small point guards to have real value with how the game is played now.”
We have more trade notes and rumors from around the NBA:
- While the Bucks have been connected to multiple Kings players, including Zach LaVine and Malik Monk, there were no active discussions between the two teams as of earlier this week, league sources tell Amick. Amick also confirms that the Bucks are among many teams believed to have interest in Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. and that they’ve conveyed interest in Anthony Davis, though they don’t appear to have a realistic path to a deal for the Mavericks big man.
- Checking in on the Jonathan Kuminga situation, Amick writes that the Kings are still widely viewed as the frontrunner to acquire the Warriors forward, but are no longer willing to offer the protected 2030 first-round pick that was on the table during the offseason, echoing a similar report from ESPN. Additionally, since Golden State has registered no real interest in Sacramento’s veterans, a third team may be necessary to make a deal that gets Kuminga to the Kings, Amick adds.
- ESPN’s Kevin Pelton and Zach Kram suggest six hypothetical trades they think make sense for all involved parties, with cap expert Bobby Marks analyzing each proposal. Their ideas range from bigger moves like the Bucks getting Porter or the Warriors landing Trey Murphy III to more minor deals like the Raptors acquiring Brook Lopez.
Central Notes: Kawamura, J. Smith, Pistons, Turner
The medical condition that prompted the Bulls to waive two-way guard Yuki Kawamura in October was a blood clot in his lower right leg, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter links). The team re-signed Kawamura earlier this week.
As Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune (subscription required) writes, head coach Billy Donovan explained on Wednesday that the Bulls always intended to re-sign Kawamura once he had recovered, and that the 5’8″ guard remained in Chicago to work with the team’s medical staff despite not being on the roster. According to Donovan, Kawamura was able to participate in on-court basketball activities during his recovery process, but didn’t take any contact until he received medical clearance.
“You always take those things seriously,” Donovan said. “He’s worked really, really hard. I’m happy for him because at that point, when you have something like that, you just don’t know what that’s going to look like in the future. I’m just happy it all worked out well for him.”
Victor Wembanyama, Ausar Thompson, and Brandon Ingram are among the current NBA players who have recovered from blood clots in recent years. Wizards forward Cam Whitmore is currently sidelined due to a blood clot in his shoulder.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Exploring Jalen Smith‘s impact on the Bulls, Spencer Davies of RG.org notes that the team has lost all seven games that the big man has missed this season and has a 17-13 record when he plays. Smith’s +3.5 net rating is the best mark of any player on the roster. “I think he’s been really, really good for us,” Donovan told Davies last month. “… The thing that I appreciate about him, he doesn’t mind playing the center spot and power forward spot. He just wants to go out there and play, and I respect that about him.”
- With a 28-9 record and a four-game cushion in the race for the Eastern Conference’s top seed, the Pistons are better off betting on continuity than making a major move at the trade deadline, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required). Still, as Sankofa details in a separate subscriber-only story, Detroit holds a $14MM traded player exception that could be used to add another rotation piece. Sankofa considers a few players the team could target using that TPE, including Sam Hauser, Bobby Portis, Georges Niang, and even Zaccharie Risacher.
- After he spent his first 10 NBA seasons in Indiana, Myles Turner‘s numbers in his first year with the Bucks are down across the board, but he’s doing his best not to let that bother him, telling Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscription required) that he views any feelings of discomfort as a challenge to be overcome. “I’ve been comfortable the past three, four years. It’s something I’ve known,” Turner said. “I think true growth happens in uncomfortable moments. I’m rolling with the punches. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy making a change like that, so just embracing the uncomfortable part of the role right now.”
Giannis: No Plans To Leave Bucks, Asking For Trade ‘Not In My Nature’
Speaking to Sam Amick of The Athletic after Wednesday’s loss to Golden State, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo reiterated that he’s “locked in” with the team and said he plans to remain in Milwaukee for the rest of his career.
“There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment that I will come out and say I want a trade. That’s not … in … my … nature. OK?” Antetokounmpo said, pausing between those last few words for emphasis.
Antetokounmpo has been the subject of trade speculation since last spring, when Milwaukee was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for a third straight year and Damian Lillard suffered a torn Achilles tendon. The Bucks made drastic changes to their roster during the offseason, including waiving Lillard and signing center Myles Turner, as they attempted to construct a supporting cast for Antetokounmpo that is capable of making a deep postseason run.
However, an October report indicated that the Bucks and Knicks had briefly discussed the possibility of an Antetokounmpo trade during the offseason after Giannis conveyed that he had some interest in New York. In December, a report stated that Antetokounmpo’s camp had reopened conversations with the Bucks about his future.
Antetokounmpo told reporters later in December that those talks with the Bucks involved agent Alex Saratsis, not him. He referred to Saratsis as “his own person” and suggested that he “can’t control” the conversations that his agent has with the club. Giannis repeated that message to Amick.
“I keep on saying (that) conversations that are happening between other people, third parties, it’s something that I can’t control,” Antetokounmpo said. “I can’t control what you’re going to say with my agent, or with my best friend, or with my chef. I can only control what comes out of my mouth. And not one time have I shown that I’m not invested in this team.
“If there was a time on the basketball court where you’ve seen that, ‘Oh, Giannis doesn’t look like he wants to be a part of this team no more,’ I want you to pinpoint that. There’s never been an interview where I’ve said that. So I don’t know why people discredit what I say. Like, even when your article will come out … people will say, ‘Yeah, but. Yeah, but.’
“… I am not (going anywhere). I am invested in this team. I want to turn this team around. I want to play good basketball. I want to be healthy. I want to help my teammates. I wanna win games. The last six games we’ve played, we’re 4-2. We have a lot of games in front of us. I’m locked the f–k in. I’m locked in. My priority is just staying healthy.”
Antetokounmpo’s statements to Amick represent his most emphatic commitment to the Bucks in recent months and suggest that teams waiting to see if he’ll request a trade before the February 5 trade deadline probably shouldn’t hold their breath. Still, his comments weren’t entirely unequivocal.
Asked by Amick if he has definitively decided that he doesn’t want out of Milwaukee, Giannis replied, “As of today. You know how they say this thing about your significant other, or your wife, you always have to say, ‘As of today.'”
When Amick pointed out that remarks like that are the reason why fans believe he’s “leaving an out” to change his mind about his future with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo said that doesn’t bother him.
“I don’t care. I really don’t. It doesn’t affect me at all,” he said. “What I care about is basketball. I want to be good at what I do. And there’s some things that I have to do, which I will do on the basketball court.
“But until today, my guy (Bucks director of content) Nick (Monroe) has been with me for 13 years, and it’s been great. Tomorrow, when I wake up, it may not be great. Today, our relationship is great. Tomorrow it might be different. It’s the same thing with my wife. Until today, my wife is great. She’s a great mother. She’s a great partner. She supports me. Until today. Tomorrow, she might wake up and be like, ‘I don’t want this. I fell out of love.’
“Until today, me and (Bucks general manager) Jon (Horst) have a good relationship. Tomorrow, (Horst) might think there’s something else out there, and he might have to do whatever he has to do.
“You know, for me, right now, today, I am committed — not 100 percent, but one million percent to my teammates, to my craft, to this team, and to this city. One million percent. I don’t look right. I don’t look left. I look only to the next game, which is the Lakers, and I want to win the game. I want us to stack wins before the All-Star game to get ourselves back to the race. We’re what, 11th now? This is not who we are, you know? So that’s the only thing in my mindset.”
While the Bucks are 16-21 on the season and remain one game back of the Bulls for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, they have a 13-10 mark when Antetokounmpo has been on the court. He has performed at his usual MVP-caliber level in those games, averaging 29.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in 29.0 minutes per contest, with a .645/.406/.655 shooting line.
Antetokounmpo is making $54.1MM this season and is owed $58.5MM in 2026/27, with a $62.8MM player option for ’27/28. He’ll be eligible for a contract extension beginning in October.
NBA’s Future With Main Street Sports Group In Doubt After Missed Payments
The future of the NBA’s relationship with Main Street Sports Group is uncertain after the company failed to make its January payments to several teams, sources tell Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal.
Main Street, which is in the process of being sold to DAZN, also missed a payment to Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals last month. According to Friend, that prompted the NBA league office to contact all 13 teams doing business with the company to warn them that their January payments may not arrive as expected. Friend reports that at least several of those teams didn’t receive scheduled rights fee payments this week.
The missed deadline won’t have an immediate effect, as telecasts will continue on Main Street’s FanDuel Sports Networks. Sources tell Friend that default notices have already been sent to Main Street, which will have a 15-day cure period once they are received.
“Main Street Sports Group is in dialogue with its team and league partners around the timing of rights payments as we progress discussions with strategic partners to further enhance our long-term capital position,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to Sports Business Journal.
According to Friend’s sources, the 13 teams have safeguards in their contracts with Main Street that will make them the primary payees from the company’s creditors if it were to go out of business.
Friend hears that Main Street lost about $200MM in 2025 and owes the teams a combined $180MM for this season. The potential sale depends on several conditions, he adds, such as DAZN wanting the teams’ digital rights, hoping to negotiate extensions through at least the 2028/29 season and trying to get teams to accept lower fees for their broadcast rights.
If the sale can’t be completed in January, sources tell Friend that Main Street officials plan to shut down the business after the NBA and NHL seasons conclude, but they hope to continue game broadcasts until then. However, team sources aren’t convinced that Main Street has the financial means to keep producing the games, so the 13 NBA teams will need to develop emergency backup plans.
“The league has the capacity to put them on, to stream them, and all the teams are certainly equipped to go over-the-air to do it,” one team source tells Friend. “But now the revenue gets crushed. Hopefully a lot of people have already gotten paid at least 30 to 50% of this year’s revenue. But you’ll never get the rest of that money back, you’ll never recoup the money.’’
Friend notes that if Main Street dissolves, digital rights would revert back to the teams, which would make a national streaming Regional Sports Network much easier to accomplish. If DAZN completes the deal, not much will change except for the brand name. However, the company will have to address the issue of extensions, as contracts with the Grizzlies, Hornets and Magic expire after the current season, and deals with the Thunder, Clippers, Timberwolves, Pacers, Hawks, Heat, Cavaliers and Bucks only run through 2026/27.
According to Friend, here are the 13 teams under contract with Main Street and their rights fees payments for 2025/26:
- Atlanta Hawks: $32M
- Charlotte Hornets: $16.57M
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $34M
- Detroit Pistons: $25.78M
- Indiana Pacers: $17.47M
- Los Angeles Clippers: $34.59M
- Memphis Grizzlies: $11.41M
- Miami Heat: $55M
- Milwaukee Bucks: $24M
- Minnesota Timberwolves: $24.88M
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $16.67M
- Orlando Magic: $26.19M
- San Antonio Spurs: $19.92M
Bucks Waive Mark Sears
The Bucks waived guard Mark Sears on Wednesday, according to NBA.com’s official transaction log. The move ensures that Milwaukee won’t be on the hook for Sears’ full salary, having cut him prior to the league-wide salary guarantee date.
Sears, a college star at Alabama, reached an agreement with the Bucks on a two-way deal shortly after going undrafted in June and finalized that agreement in July.
The six-foot guard remained on that two-way contract for the first half of this season but didn’t have a regular role in the Bucks’ rotation, logging a total of 26 minutes in seven NBA appearances. He racked up 22 points in those 26 minutes, but was playing almost exclusively in garbage time.
In 12 games for the Wisconsin Herd at the G League level, Sears averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 assists, and 2.8 assists in 31.0 minutes per contest, posting a shooting line of .422/.328/.839.
The Bucks are now one of three NBA teams with a two-way contract slot open, joining the Hawks and Knicks.
Siegel’s Latest: Sabonis, Raptors, Bucks, Warriors, Nets, White, Lakers
After buying low on Brandon Ingram at last season’s trade deadline, could the Raptors seek out a similar move this February? According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, Kings center Domantas Sabonis is one name that has been continually linked to Toronto. The Raptors’ interest in Sabonis was first reported in December by Jake Fischer and has since been corroborated by several other outlets.
Malik Monk is another player who has intrigued Toronto in the past, Siegel writes, noting that Kings general manager Scott Perry drafted current Raptors veterans RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley when he was in New York’s front office. While there’s no indication that the two teams have seriously discussed such a deal involving those four players, Siegel suggests that sort of framework could be worth keeping an eye on.
If Toronto does end up moving Barrett in that sort of bigger move, he’d likely draw interest from several teams besides Sacramento, Siegel writes, given the lack of high-level wing talent on the trade market. The Bucks, for example, expressed interest in Barrett last season, per Siegel.
Here’s more from Siegel’s latest NBA rumor round-up:
- The Warriors have internally discussed many possible center trade targets, including Myles Turner and Bobby Portis of the Bucks, per Siegel. A number of teams around the NBA are curious about Milwaukee’s plans for Portis, Siegel continues, with the Hornets and Suns also considered possible suitors, perhaps in multi-team scenarios.
- Suns guard Jalen Green is among the players the Bucks have inquired on, but Phoenix isn’t interested in moving him at this point, says Siegel. Given that Green has only played two games this season due to hamstring issues, the Suns view him as a sort of trade-deadline addition themselves, Siegel explains.
- Although the Nets are fielding inquiries on players like Michael Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton, they aren’t actively looking to move them. In order for Brooklyn to consider a deal involving either player, the starting point for a package would have to be a “true” unprotected first-round pick, Siegel writes.
- The Mavericks and the Clippers are among the teams with interest in Bulls guard Coby White, sources tell Siegel, who reiterates that the Timberwolves also remain interested and notes that some league insiders have speculated that the Hawks could be a destination for White in the event of a Trae Young trade.
- With higher-level options like Herbert Jones potentially out of reach, players like Bulls forward Isaac Okoro, Kings guard Keon Ellis, and Nets wing Haywood Highsmith are considered more realistic possibilities for a Lakers team seeking defensive help, according to Siegel. Mavericks forward Naji Marshall is another possible trade candidate to add to that group if Dallas commits to becoming a seller.
Latest On Anthony Davis
Although the Mavericks will continue fielding calls on Anthony Davis, team sources insist to Christian Clark and Sam Amick of The Athletic that the front office feels no urgency to move the star big man. As Clark and Amick explain, the Mavs have signaled that they’d like to see Davis play alongside Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg and can envision a scenario in which he stays in Dallas long-term.
A report earlier this week indicated that Davis’ preference would be to remain in Dallas and sign a contract extension with the Mavericks. However, AD’s representatives at Klutch Sports, led by CEO Rich Paul, aren’t convinced the Mavs are interested in extending their client and wouldn’t mind getting him to a team more likely to pursue a new contract agreement, league sources tell The Athletic.
While Davis and his camp haven’t requested a trade, Clark and Amick suggest that Paul has encouraged the Mavericks to be “more aggressive” in gauging the 32-year-old’s market rather than waiting for teams to call.
Here’s more from The Athletic’s latest report on where things stand with Davis:
- As previously reported, the Hawks and Raptors are among the teams with Davis on their radar, but it’s unclear how motivated either team will be to get a deal done with Dallas. Atlanta wouldn’t want to take on Davis’ contract without moving Trae Young, who doesn’t appeal to the Mavericks, Clark and Amick write, while a deal with Toronto would require the Mavs to take on significant multiyear money.
- As Amick wrote last week, the door isn’t completely closed on the idea of a trade sending Davis to Golden State. However, with the Warriors still “staunchly” opposed to giving up Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green in such a deal, there’s no feasible path to a salary-matching fit.
- The Bucks are among the teams to convey interest in Davis, league sources tell Clark and Amick. Milwaukee is probably a long shot though, since the club is short on appealing assets and also lacks sizable contracts for matching purposes.
- Many league insiders believe the Mavericks will have to wait until the offseason to find a deal they like for Davis, but there’s also a sense that the lack of dominant teams in the Eastern Conference could make one of those potential contenders more inclined to take a shot on Davis during the season, per Clark and Amick. “Every team in the East believes they’re an Anthony Davis away from making the (NBA) Finals,” a high-level source explained to The Athletic.