NBA insider breaks down roadblocks for Bucks in making a trade amid worst season start since 2000

After injuries impacted the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2023 and 2024 playoffs, the team entered this season eager to erase those memories and capture another championship. So far, however, the Bucks are off to their worst start since the 2000 season, posting a 2-6 record through the first eight games.

During that time, head coach Doc Rivers has fielded considerable criticism while Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton deal with injuries. On Friday's episode of ESPN's NBA Today, insider Brian Windhorst shed light on the situation.

According to his sources, the Bucks have been calling pretty much every team in the league. While they aren't looking to trade Antetokounmpo or Lillard, they are looking to bring the duo some assistance given the uncertainty surrounding Middleton's return date.

Given that the team is up against the salary cap's second-apron, their hands seem to be tied.

"The Bucks are doing something that we don't see very often, which is scouring the trade market in the first week of November. ... The Bucks are hemmed in on this is a second apron team, the new rules. They cannot aggregate players together. They can't put, like two or three players together to make a trade.

"They can't do a trade where they bring back more money. They have traded away the next six first-round picks, either the picks or the swaps. They have traded away the next six second-round picks. There's $75 million in the luxury tax right now. I don't think help is on the way through the trade market, but they are making calls."

Antetokounmpo's return fuels a Bucks win Thursday, but where is Middleton?

After missing time in the postseason due to injuries the past two years, Antetokounmpo put on an impressive display during the Paris Olympics. While his individual play remained impressive to start the regular season as he logged six straight double-doubles, he was forced to the sidelines with a calf injury.

After flirting with a triple-double in the Bucks' one-point loss to Cleveland on Nov. 2, Antetokounmpo watched from the sidelines as Milwaukee dropped a two-point loss to the Cavs on Nov. 4, bringing the team's record to 1-6.

On Thursday, however, he returned to action when the Bucks hosted the Utah Jazz, contributing 31 points and 16 rebounds in a much-needed 123-100 win.

With Antetokounmpo set to be a game-time decision for the second leg of Milwaukee's doubleheader tonight, the team is hoping to build some momentum. With that in mind, the big question on the minds of fans has been, 'When will Middleton return?'

On Nov. 5, NBA insider Shams Charania provided an update on Middleton, saying that he still hasn't been cleared for 5-on-5 scrimmaging yet.

With Milwaukee's season off to a slow start, the return of Middleton can't come soon enough. The Bucks will continue to monitor the trade market but as Windhorst noted, it's unlikely they find a favorable deal given their salary cap situation.