Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Being Linked to Rival Squad as Trade Rumors Swirl

The Milwaukee Bucks are entering an extremely crucial offseason following another early playoff exit. Milwaukee fell short in the first round against the Indiana Pacers, being knocked out in five games.

More Bucks news: Wild Prediction Has Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Land With Fringe Contender

Adding insult to injury, the Bucks lost star guard Damian Lillard to a torn Achilles in the series. Lillard is now likely to miss the majority of the season next year, putting a very dark cloud over the Bucks franchise.

Even with Lillard in the lineup, the Bucks struggled to contend this season. But with this news, it has many around the NBA believing that Milwaukee could look into a potential trade for star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Trading Antetokounmpo could net the Bucks some real pieces that could help them start to rebuild toward contention. But parting with the star won't be easy, as he has been the face of this franchise for years.

If the Bucks were to make Antetokounmpo available on the trade market, the majority of teams acorss the NBA would line up to land him. But insider John Hollinger of The Athletic has linked Antetokounmpo to one specific Eastern Conference rival, the Miami Heat.

"So what do those options look like? We’ll first pause to consider yet another Lillard injury irony: It could possibly force the Bucks to trade [Giannis] Antetokounmpo for the Tyler Herro-Jaime Jaquez Jr.-Duncan Robinson package from Miami," Hollinger said.

Antetokounmpo landing with the Heat would be interesting, especially considering where Miami currently is. The Heat made the postseason as the No. 10 seed, and Antetokounmpo could just be going to another struggling team that he could need to carry.

But for the Bucks, the package that Hollinger discusses would be interesting. Milwaukee wouldn't have to fully rebuild since Herro would be the main piece coming back.

The Bucks would also likely get some draft picks in the deal, and it could set them up nicely for the future. It remains to be seen how the Bucks will play things this offseason, but this could be the first time that Milwaukee seriously at least considers moving on from the star forward.

More Bucks news:

Bucks News: Old Giannis Antetokounmpo Comments Resurface Amid Trade Rumors

Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Looking to LeBron James For Inspiration Entering Offseason

Bucks' Doc Rivers Listed Among NBA's Worst Coaches in Player Poll

Wild Trade Proposal Has Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Landing With Warriors

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