The NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline is just 10 days away, and even with a number of teams clearly interested in upgrades ahead of the second half of the season, the market continues to be stuck at a standstill. That’s because Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee remains uncertain, and no team wants to give up anything that could get them in the Giannis sweepstakes before getting a firm answer on his availability. As a result, we still have seen just one trade this season — Trae Young getting sent from Atlanta to Washington for C.J. McCollum and Corey Kispert. 

At some point teams will have to start making moves with an eye on this year’s postseason push, but it could be a quieter than usual deadline because even if the Bucks hold on to Giannis through this season, the pursuit of the All-NBA forward will pick back up in June around the NBA Draft. 

So, where do things stand on the ol’ NBA rumor mill with the trade deadline rapidly approaching? Giannis remains at the forefront of every conversation, despite his latest calf injury, while the two middling teams appear set to be among the league’s most active teams at the deadline. 

Giannis’ calf injury hasn’t impacted interest

When Antetokounmpo went down with his latest calf injury that he expected to cost him 4-6 weeks — which would put him out through the trade deadline and All-Star break — there was a wonder of how it might impact his market. The answer, according to Marc Stein, is apparently none. 

Teams are still pursuing Giannis aggressively and hope the Bucks will change their stance on trading the star before Feb. 5. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, because acquiring Antetokounmpo would be a play for long-term postseason relevance by any team trading for him, not the immediate impact he could have in February. 

Until the Bucks make up their mind on whether they’ll trade Antetokounmpo prior to the deadline, teams will continue circling back to Milwaukee with calls and check-ins in hopes that the Bucks finally open the lines to actual negotiations. 

What makes Giannis holding up the market particularly fascinating is that we’ve seen what these superstar trade negotiations look like, and it’s almost never a matter of truly opening things up to the best offer. The Bucks, if they trade Antetokounmpo, will likely work with him to identify a handful of preferred destinations and then work with those teams to try and get the best offer. That doesn’t stop the rest of the league from dreaming right now, but it’d be shocking if when the time does come, more than a handful of teams are actually in the mix for his services. 

Kings, Bulls both expected to be active at the deadline

The Kings and Bulls have become viewed as cosmic brethren of sorts in the NBA — two franchises trapped on the dreaded treadmill of mediocrity — who have only grown closer since the Zach LaVine trade. It’s fitting then that they are two of the teams expected to be the most active at the deadline, whenever other teams stop daydreaming of Giannis and start getting down to business. 

Per Stein’s latest reporting, Kings guard Keon Ellis is known to be drawing ample interest and a trade involving him is viewed as an “inevitability.” The real question is whether the Kings will get the first round pick in return that they’re asking for currently. 

As for the Bulls, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are both names garnering buzz on the market, as the Bulls look to solidify their core group for the future and clarify their rotations. 

For both teams, they may have to wait until deadline week itself for activity on the market to really ramp up. In the meantime, the league will wait with baited breath to find out if the Bucks will truly open up the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.Â