Ryan Rollins should be untouchable in Milwaukee Bucks trade talks

The Milwaukee Bucks are always active ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline, and this season may lead to their biggest splash in the Giannis Antetokounmpo era. The Bucks just suffered abysmal consecutive blowouts and need a spark to try and get back into the postseason picture.

That spark should not come at the cost of promising young guard Ryan Rollins. Rollins is one of the few players who became trade-eligible on January 15, along with the oft-discussed Jonathan Kuminga, and he could be a real asset for the Bucks as they go big game hunting.

Players who became trade eligible today (after re-signing with over-the-cap teams using Bird Rights to get raises >20%):

S. Aldama MEM
J. Giddey CHI
Q. Grimes PHI
I. Jackson IND
J. Kuminga GSW
T. Mann CHA
S. Merrill CLE
D. Mitchell MIA
P. Reed DET
N. Reid MIN
R. Rollins MIL
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 15, 2026

In fact, just one day after Rollins became trade-eligible he was reportedly a target of another team. Per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Memphis Grizzlies desire both Rollins and a first-round pick from the Bucks in exchange for mercurial star guard Ja Morant.

Let’s put aside whether that’s a fair ask or not. (Given the Trae Young return for a similarly distressed asset at point guard who’s has less issues with his team than Morant. who was suspended by the Grizzlies earlier this season, it doesn’t seem to be. But that’s an article for another day.)

Let’s focus on the Rollins trade eligibility piece of this. Should Milwaukee entertain trading the potential Most Improved Player for Morant, or any of their other targets?

Rollins is currently stuck in a brutal slump, shooting 22.7% from the field and averaging just 7.3 points per game in the Bucks last four contests. Milwaukee is 1-3 in those games, including a three-game losing streak after they weathered Rollins’ bad shooting night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

That slump has coincided with another one, as Rollins’ backcourt-mate Kevin Porter Jr. was 0/9 from the field in the Bucks rout at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs and 4/17 in their close loss to the depleted Denver Nuggets. The Bucks offense is basically dead on arrival with both of those players struggling, given their lack of other playmaking and shot creation besides Giannis Antetokounmpo.

While Milwaukee’s current losing streak may indeed point to the Bucks needing the juice of a guard like Morant, a move like that should not come at the cost of Rollins.

Unlike Porter Jr., Rollins is under contract for two seasons after this one (one of them a player option) and he’s still just 23 years old. While he hasn’t had gaudy counting stats since Porter Jr.’s return, Rollins continues to be an analytical darling due to his efficient scoring at the rim and on pull-up threes, plus his hard-nosed point of attack defense.

No NBA player this season has forced more deflections on defense than Rollins, who is two ahead of Dyson Daniels at 184 through the games played on Thursday. Additionally, the list of players who have taken at least as many above-the-break threes as Rollins and are shooting at or above his percentage of 38.8 is an impressive one: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anfernee Simons, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Maxey, Tim Hardaway Jr, Kon Knueppel, Norman Powell, and Jamal Murray. This is despite Rollins not even serving as his team’s main option at point guard for much of the season since Porter Jr. returned from injury.

There are also simpler cases to make on Rollins’ behalf. You can throw niche stats away and just watch his dominant 32-point performance against the Golden State Warriors back in October, where he walked down Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler to get a win without Giannis in the lineup.

There’s something special within Rollins. The Bucks under Doc Rivers aren’t optimizing anybody in the lineup right now, and Rollins has slumped even outside of coaching consideration.

Still, the glimpses have been too tantalizing to send Rollins away in a desperate lunge to save this withering Bucks season. Making no move feels impossible given Milwaukee’s awful play of late, but making the wrong move could dig this Bucks team into an even deeper hole.