Bucks refused to include key young guard in trade talks for Grizzlies’ Ja Morant: Report originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It has been a disappointing season thus far for the Milwaukee Bucks as they currently sit 11th in the Eastern Conference standings with a 31-47 record.
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Of course, the Bucks had high expectations entering the season, though they failed to live up to them as they will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Now Milwaukee will enter the offseason with some key decisions to make regarding their roster, including the future of superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
While the Bucks are expected to make some major changes to their roster in the offseason, a report was released on Tuesday that revealed one trade that fell through for them ahead of this season’s trade deadline that would have landed them another star.
Bucks refused to include Ryan Rollins in trade talks for Ja Morant
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies had trade talks centered around Ja Morant, though the Bucks refused to include Ryan Rollins in a potential package.
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With the Bucks refusing to include Rollins in trade talks for Morant, the two sides were unable to agree on a deal, which ultimately led to Morant staying in Memphis for the remainder of the season.
For the Bucks, this was a massive decision for them to make and it is clear that they view Rollins as a key piece of their future.
Of course, Rollins has put together the best season of his career thus far as the 23-year-old guard is averaging 17.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.9% from three.
Because of Rollin’s breakout campaign, Milwaukee now clearly views him as a major part of their future as he will likely become one of the key players they will build around in the offseason, especially if they decide to move on from Giannis.
On the other side, the Grizzlies will likely shop Morant on the trade block once again in the offseason, though the star guard did not draw much interest ahead of this season’s trade deadline.