Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade, Giannis Antetokounmpo, milwaukee bucks
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Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during a 105-101 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on January 09, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
In a stunning development, the Milwaukee Bucks have informed teams around the league that Giannis Antetokounmpo is not available ahead of the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline, according to ESPN’s Jamal Collier.
The report comes amid the Bucks (17-24) sitting in 11th place in the East, and facing the realistic possibility of not making the play-in, let alone the playoffs.
In recent weeks, several insiders have suggested that the Bucks — who own only one tradeable first-round pick — have been aggressively seeking the market to add an impact player to pair with Antetokounmpo. The likes of Ja Morant, Michael Porter Jr., Zach LaVine, Jerami Grant, Andrew Wiggins and Miles Bridges have all been earmarked as potential Bucks trade targets, per beat writers covering the franchise.
Bucks Vow to ‘Pull Something Off’
Collier, while quoting team sources, confirmed that the Bucks are”actively searching” the market and remain confident about giving Giannis Antetokounmpo a new co-star.
“We always manage to pull something off,” a team source told ESPN.
Furthermore, a team source told the Bucks that they’d be willing to trade their only tradeable first-rounder (2031 or 2032) to bring in star-level reinforcements.
“We’re looking for the next guy,” the source told Collier.
One Eastern Conference executive feels that the Bucks will be digging themselves a bigger hole by sacrificing their only remaining draft asset, especially since Antetokounmpo’s days with the franchise could be numbered.
“At some point, you’re just digging deeper and deeper,” the exec said of the Bucks. “There might not be light at the end of the tunnel. It might just be a hole.”
Giannis Trade On Hold — For Now
In fairness to the Bucks, they’ve swung for the fences several times in the last few years to try to appease Antetokounmpo and convince the two-time MVP to stay put. They traded two first-round picks for Damian Lillard back in 2023, a move that did not pay off due to injuries and a lack of chemistry between Lillard and Antetokounmpo.
When Lillard went down with an Achilles tear, they made the bold move of waiving and stretching the remaining $103M left on his deal to faciliate the free-agency signing of Myles Turner. The latest move has also flopped, with Turner averaging his fewest points (12.2) and blocks (1.5) since 2015-16 and a career-low 5.3 rebounds. Also, Turner has a negative net rating (-0.7) when on the floor through his first 40 games.
While the Bucks are determined to delay a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, they may be forced to change their stance over the summer, per multiple insiders. The “Greek Freak” has a Player Option for 2027-28 and could test free agency in 2027. As such, the Bucks could be better served by trading him beforehand and securing future assets.
The ESPN report highlighted the Bucks won’t move Antetokounmpo until he explicitly requests a trade, something he has yet to do.
“League sources have told ESPN they believe Antetokounmpo will have to put significant pressure on the Bucks to force a trade,” wrote Collier. “However, as a league source reiterated to ESPN, Antetokounmpo values his standing in Milwaukee and doesn’t want to alienate the fan base by requesting to leave.”