Bucks Urged to Make Blockbuster Trade, Acquire $163 Million All-Star Point Guard

An insider is rooting for the Milwaukee Bucks to make yet another major personnel move amidst an offseason of roster churn.

Brian Sampson of Forbes lays out a case for Milwaukee doing whatever it can to trade for San Antonio Spurs All-Star point guard De'Aaron Fox.

"The Milwaukee Bucks are clearly going all in for the present," writes Sampson. "That became crystal clear when they waived and stretched an injured Damian Lillard to free up enough cap space to sign Myles Turner in free agency."

Lillard, 35, tore his Achilles tendon during an ill-fated first-round playoff series matchup against Turner's Pacers. Bucks general manager Jon Horst opted to stretch-and-waive his $112.6 million contract across the next five seasons, carving out cap space to sign Turner to a four-year, $108.9 million deal.

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As a surprise free agent, Lillard inked a three-season deal to return to his beloved Portland Trail Blazers.

Lillard's absence, however, has greatly downgraded Milwaukee's lead guard situation, Sampson opines. The Bucks do intend to empower nine-time All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo as their primary facilitator even more this year, and while he has a solid handle, he's not an elite point forward type like LeBron James or Jimmy Butler — which is why the 2023 addition of Lillard seemed so tantalizing.

"But moving on from Lillard created a different kind of problem—beyond the financial burden of his stretched contract," Sampson adds. "The Bucks now lack a legit starting point guard and a reliable second scoring option."

Sampson observes that Milwaukee as currently comprised will have to replace Lillard piecemeal, with Kevin Porter Jr., Cole Anthony and Ryan Rollins fighting for minutes.

The upside of that trio of essentially reserve point guards is fairly limited. That's why bringing in an established figure like Fox — who may eventually be feeling some long-term rotational squeeze as he grapples with an influx of talented, high-upside young guards — would go a long way towards helping Milwaukee re-open its a championship window.

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"Fox checks every box for what the Bucks need: an elite playmaker, a proven scorer, a dynamic backcourt presence who can take pressure off Giannis," Sampson writes. "He would instantly become their No. 2 option and elevate the team’s ceiling in the Eastern Conference."

The caveat, however, is that Milwaukee lacks high-level trade assets, this side of Antetokounmpo.

"The Spurs just sent out a mountain of picks to get Fox," Sampson allows. "The Bucks can’t match that. The most they can offer is an unprotected 2031 first-round pick, a 2032 pick swap, and a 2031 second-rounder. That’s it. That’s the entire war chest."

Cobbling together matching salaries could also prove difficult, Sampson suggests. Forward Kyle Kuzma's contract would likely need to be included in a deal, although his horrific play last season wouldn't exactly endear him to any prospective trade partner.

But Fox's long-term days in San Antonio might be numbered anyway, Sampson cautions. San Antonio has a glut of talented young guards now, led by reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and 2025 No. 2 pick Dylan Harper.

"So yeah—it would take a miracle," Sampson allows. "The assets don’t line up. And all signs point to Fox signing a long-term extension with San Antonio anyway."

"But even if it’s a long shot, this is the kind of move the Bucks should be chasing," Sampson writes.

Fox played sparingly after being dealt to the Spurs from the Sacramento Kings in a midseason trade, averaging 19.7 points on .446/.274/.819 shooting splits, 6.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in his 17 healthy games.

The 6-foot-3 University of Kentucky product's 2024-25 run ended in March, when he had surgery to address a damaged tendon in his left pinkie.

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