Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talks loom as Milwaukee Bucks meet Washington Wizards

WASHINGTON – With the NBA season already past the halfway mark, teams across the league are starting to understand where they sit in the play-off landscape.

As the Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Wizards prepare to face off in the nation’s capital on Thursday (Friday morning, Singapore time), both organisations are beginning to focus on the future than the present.

For the Bucks, their future appears likely to be without star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is sidelined with a calf injury. According to ESPN, he is “ready for a new home” and Milwaukee have started to take trade offers with the Feb 5 trade deadline looming.

If Antetokounmpo is dealt over the next week, it would create a seismic shift around the league. For Milwaukee, it would mark the start of a new era without Antetokounmpo, who delivered an NBA title to the Bucks and is one of the most dominant players in franchise history.

In the last meeting between the two teams on New Year’s Eve, it was Antetokounmpo who led all scorers with 33 points even though the Bucks lost to the Wizards 114-113.

But as Milwaukee continue to navigate the trade market, their focus will be on what happens on the court at the present moment. And for them to get back on track, it will depend on Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma, Bobby Portis and Ryan Rollins – not Antetokounmpo.

In a 139-122 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, those four players combined to score 89 points.

“I love (what we did) offensively, which has been our concern,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said.

Before the game, he had flamed the Antetokounmpo trade rumours when asked about Philadelphia star Joel Embiid, whom he coached when he was in charge at the Sixers.

“I was telling a very, very, very Hall of Fame player that I coached, that Joel’s the most talented player that I ever coached,” Rivers said on NBC Sports Philadelphia. “And he was like, ‘What?’ And I was like, ‘He is’.”

How Antetokounmpo feels about those comments remains to be seen. For now, the focus in on the Wizards.

Since the last meeting against the Bucks, Washington also look a bit different. They no longer have CJ McCollum, who was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Trae Young, who has yet to suit up for his new team.

The additional available touches have given the Wizards’ young players more opportunities. Alex Sarr has taken advantage and led the team with 29 points, plus 12 rebounds and six blocks in Tuesday’s 115-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

“It’s a really unique skill set that he has,” Wizards head coach Brian Keefe said. “That’s a unique player and he does unique things.”

Meanwhile in NBA action on Wednesday, Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points and Jaylon Tyson added 20 points and six assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 129-99, extending their season-long winning streak to five games.

Stephen Curry scored 27 points and Moses Moody added 26 as the Golden State Warriors notched a 140-124 victory over the Utah Jazz at Salt Lake City. It was their highest point total of the season. REUTERS