Bucks should be in no hurry to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are getting closer to a trade that might send him out of Wisconsin. But the Bucks should be in no hurry to send away the best player in franchise history.

Any trade for Antetokounmpo wouldn't take place until after he returns from a calf strain he suffered on Wednesday, which won't be for two to four weeks. Even then, the Bucks should be patient when it comes to dealing the Greek Freak.

The Eastern Conference remains wide open

The Bucks may not feel good about their season so far, where they've started 10-13. However, they're fortunate enough to play in the Eastern Conference, where the presence of four teams that aren't trying to compete makes it hard for the Bucks not to at least make the play-in tournament. The Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers are bound for the lottery, while the 11th-place Chicago Bulls are 4-12 in their last 16 games.

There's no dominant team in the conference. While the Detroit Pistons have started strong and the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors are exceeding expectations, there's really no team that seems unbeatable if Antetokounmpo and his teammates are healthy. Unless Antetokounmpo outright demands a trade, Milwaukee still has the best player in the conference and thus a decent chance to win any given playoff series.

There's no benefit to losing because the Atlanta Hawks own the swap rights to their first-round pick (and that of the New Orleans Pelicans).  Milwaukee may as well try to finish ahead of Atlanta and make that swap meaningless. Who's to say they can't make a playoff run?

Trading Giannis Antetokounmpo is easier in the summer

If the Bulls started shopping Antetokounmpo now, they're limited in who they can trade for. Players who signed contracts this summer generally can't be traded until Dec. 15, while players who signed rookie extensions are very difficult to trade in the first year of those deals.

For example, if the Orlando Magic were to entertain a deal built around swapping Paolo Banchero for Antetokounmpo, they couldn't do it until July because of base-year compensation rules that make it unwieldy to trade Banchero's maximum rookie extension. The same would be true if Oklahoma City wanted to put Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren into an Antetokounmpo trade.

Waiting until next summer means teams have more salary cap space, potential contracts coming back are shorter and the NBA Draft picture is settled. It's a lot easier to trade a future Hall of Famer for a package of draft picks when the Bucks know where some of those selections actually are.

Antetokounmpo gave the Bucks a title. They're certainly grateful, but their own experience should teach them a lesson about how much to compromise on a trade.

Two summers ago, Damian Lillard demanded a trade to the Heat. Instead, the Portland Trail Blazers sent him to the Bucks, which is how the Blazers own the rights to the Bucks' first-round picks from 2028-30. Did they alienate Lillard? If they did, it didn't stop Lillard from re-signing with the Blazers after Milwaukee waived him this summer.

The Bucks might need to trade Antetokounmpo. They don't have to do so on anyone else's timetable other than their own.