The Milwaukee Bucks are 18-26 following their 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. They are now 2.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference, the last seed that is included in the play-in tournament of the NBA Playoffs. Unfortunately, it seems like a long-shot that they will even reach that level.
To add to the disappointment of last night’s loss, two-time NBA MVP and 10-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo injured his calf again and is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks.
Without their star player, Milwaukee faces an even tougher uphill battle to be competitive this season, and one of their former head coaches believes the organization should cut their losses and move on.
Former Milwaukee Bucks coach George Karl believes team should trade Giannis Antetokounmpo
It is no secret that, even when Giannis has been healthy, the Bucks have played woefully uninspired basketball this year. Even their superstar player, despite his claims that he is playing to win and plays harder than anyone on the team, has drawn criticism from observers for appearing not to give his full effort.
Milwaukee was playing so poorly on Friday night that one of their past head coaches, George Karl, posted on social media that the Bucks should just trade Giannis and start rebuilding the team:
Time for the Bucks two-step.
Trade Giannis
Fire DocOr they can keep up this shitty play.
— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) January 24, 2026
As one can see, he also called on Milwaukee to fire head coach Doc Rivers, something that Bucks fans themselves have been clamoring for.
For their part, though, the Bucks organization does not have any plans of trading Giannis. Despite his injury, they still want to be aggressive at the trade deadline in an effort to transform their roster into one that can compete and win games while their star heals.
Unfortunately, if they have not fired Rivers at this point, they likely are not going to, at least not during the season.
That being said, the upcoming off-season is likely going to be one of reckoning of both the roster and coaching staff. The big question will be if Giannis wants to stick around or not.
More Milwaukee Bucks news from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
- Concerning Giannis injury news emerges after 102-100 loss to Nuggets
- Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo allays fears with emphatic move
- Taurean Prince reveals basic adjustment Bucks must make to address Giannis’ frustration
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