Bucks Trade Rumors Roundup, February 4th: Dark horse candidacy for AD, Thon Maker wants out, & more 

With less than a week to go before the trade deadline(February 7th), the Bucks have taken the opportunity to try their hand out and see if they can shuffle some pieces in order to better their already-strong roster.

The Milwaukee Bucks are sitting atop the Eastern Conference leaderboard, with a league-best 38-13(0.745) win-loss record, currently 1.5 games clear of the second seed Raptors. Common opinion would suggest satisfaction on the front office's part, as the side looks steady enough to make a deep playoffs push this time around.

But, contrary to the above-mentioned belief, the franchise has been making recent waves on the trade market, showing positive signs of a possible players exchange. Having won nine of their last ten games and being led by East's All-Star team Captain and Coach, there's not much that escapes Milwaukee's resume at this point in time.

However, the postseason is a whole different ball game. Past experience screams of the records where teams that lead the conference in the East don't usually go on to make it big in the playoffs. And, the Milwaukee Bucks camp is aware of that, hence, the unending need for reinforcements.

Let's head to Milwaukee and sniff out some prominent trade storylines as the deadline nears.

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#1 Milwaukee willing to go all out for Anthony Davis, but leave Giannis out of it

Anthony Davis has expressed a strong desire to move out of New Orleans.

According to The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor,

New Orleans has options right now. The Lakers, Knicks, Bucks, and Raptors are expected to make trade offers for Davis ahead of the deadline, according to multiple front-office sources.

While all the attention was focused on the Celtics and Lakers and what offer could they possibly cook up to land Davis, the Milwaukee Bucks have emerged as dark horses in the race as well lately. One expected condition being that the Greek Freak shall remain untouched whatsoever.

The Bucks have entered the Anthony Davis sweepstakes and, according to sources,, have offered the Pelicans any players on their roster not named Giannis.

— Gery Woelfel (@GeryWoelfel) January 29, 2019

In some parallel universe, Davis could be traded for a package containing Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon and All-Star Khris Middleton. But that would mean giving away three of your top four scorers and leaving the superhuman pairing of Giannis and Davis in the frontcourt without any support.

Although it seems hard to imagine a good enough offer by the Bucks to trigger an AD trade, Milwaukee does provide one of many possible destinations for Davis in the recent future.

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#2 The Bucks are in talks with multiple teams for Thon Maker trade

Thon Maker is averaging less than 12 minutes a game this season

Last week, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the following,

The representative for Milwaukee Bucks center Thon Maker has told management that he would prefer the franchise to trade Maker to a team that would provide a larger role for the former lottery pick, league sources told ESPN on Saturday.

Since then, Maker has not taken part in Milwaukee's last five contests as the franchise is actively looking for landing spots for the former 10th pick of the 2016 NBA draft.

Maker remains in play in several trade scenarios, league sources say. Bucks are talking to several teams on possible deals. https://t.co/DjOffpJhQz

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 3, 2019

Increase in usage minutes of forward DJ Wilson has resulted in a diminishing role for Maker in recent times as he averages 10 minutes and 3.8 points since January 1.

Maker's contract will see him through a $3.6 million deal for the 2019-20 season, as the 21-year-old is also eligible to negotiate a rookie contract extension this offseason.

#3 All-stars Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo's undying loyalty for Milwaukee

Milwaukee's surge to glory has produced two All-Stars this season.

The Bucks are in a good place right now.

"Giannis has been here his whole career and he hasn't told us or made us think he wanted to leave. From everything I've heard, he wants to be here his whole career and I feel the same way. For us, it's not being in the right market, it's being on the right team. This organization - they've done everything they can to make sure we succeed," said Middleton.

With the way things are turning out, this seems like a squad with a committed Championship winning mentality. Led by a couple of quality All-Stars who are radiating both physical and mental stability in the locker room, the team looks set to take on the best in the game and compete at a high level.