Insider: 4 Milwaukee Bucks Becoming Trade Candidates

The Milwaukee Bucks are off to a brutal start to the season at 1-6, and while the Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors have been making the rounds—could he be moved by the trade deadline?—there are other, more likely trade candidates on the roster to try and make some improvements.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report says don't expect them to fire head coach Doc Rivers, who was only brought in in the middle of last season, but do look for them to move one of their other core pieces (outside of Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton, whose contract situations make them very unlikely to be traded):

If the Bucks are going to get better... it's most likely going to be a piece of their core, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, someone who plays meaningful minutes, someone who plays roughly 30 minutes a game going out the door. And that's going to be something the Bucks are going to have to look at long and hard before doing it.

And while Milwaukee denies that Lopez could be dealt, Fischer says, "They already started to gauge Brook Lopez's trade value last summer (with the LA Lakers)..."

Portis and Connaughton have held crucial roles for the Bucks going back to and even before their 2021 championship team.

Fischer also adds to that list a young player who doesn't seem to have a future with the team.

"Marjon Beachamp is the most real potential domino I see happening in the interim. But as we get closer to December 15th (when trades can really start happening, contract-wise), keep an eye on (those other three veterans)," insists Fischer.

Beauchamp is a first-rounder from 2022 who hasn't really claimed a full-time spot in the rotation yet in Milwaukee, now in his third season. The Bucks have declined to pick up their option on him for next season.