A pair of big reports just destroyed the chance of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ja Morant being traded before next month’s NBA trade deadline.
After the Washington Wizards made a surprising trade for Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young earlier this month, there are no bigger names in trade speculation than the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies stars. Yet, the trade chatter may soon become non-existent for both multi-time All-Stars.
During their 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night, Antetokounmpo suffered a calf injury in the first quarter that knocked him out of the game. Following a sixth loss in their last eight, the Greek superstar revealed some bad news. He apparently has a calf strain, and the injury could sideline him for as much as a month and a half.
Yet, oddly enough, that is not where the injury news ends. In the Grizzlies’ 124-122 setback against the Hawks earlier this week, incurred an elbow injury. It was revealed on Saturday that the two-time All-Star has a UCL sprain, and he will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
Giannis and Morant trade markets now dead after new injuries?
Heading into the week, the latest reports on the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade market have been that if a deal does happen, it probably wouldn’t be until the Summer. Since the two-time NBA MVP has not pushed management to send him elsewhere, and they won’t consider a move until they are forced to.
Nevertheless, teams like the New York Knicks and Miami Heat are allegedly holding on to their trade assets until they are completely sure a deal isn’t happening before the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline.
Antetokounmpo has only played in 30 of the Bucks’ 44 games this season due to injuries. This latest one is sure to make interested teams wait until he is completely healthy in the summer because there is just too much risk in giving up a king’s ransom for him during another injury-filled season.
As for Morant, recent reports have suggested the market for his services was already weak. Due to various off-court issues and injury woes over the last three years. He has played in just 79 games over the last three seasons and will miss a bunch more over the next month.
If there were any teams still interested in him, they also will probably wait until the summer to rethink a potential trade.
