The NBA trade deadline is where rumors turn into reality and front offices show their true intentions. Every season, one situation looms larger than the rest, threatening to tilt the league’s balance overnight. This year, that spotlight is drifting toward the Milwaukee Bucks and their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo’s name is circulating in trade conversations as the Feb. 5, 2026, deadline approaches, with league sources indicating that multiple teams have presented strong offers to the Milwaukee Bucks.
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The organization is not formally putting its superstar on the market. But executives around the league believe Milwaukee is more willing than before to hear serious pitches.
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Per Shams Charania, “Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is ready for a new home at the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline or in the offseason as several rival teams make aggressive offers to the Milwaukee Bucks for him, and the franchise is starting to listen, league sources tell ESPN.”
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Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is ready for a new home at the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline or in the offseason as several rival teams make aggressive offers to the Milwaukee Bucks for him, and the franchise is starting to listen, league sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/OejatbQjDy
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 28, 2026
Per ESPN, People familiar with the situation say Antetokounmpo has been communicating to the Bucks for months that he feels it may be time for both sides to move in different directions after more than a decade together. That belief has made the possibility of a trade more realistic than at any point in recent years.
With Milwaukee at 18–27 and outside the playoff picture in the East, the franchise is facing serious long-term decisions, prompting direct, transparent discussions between Antetokounmpo and the organization about what comes next.
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Those who have engaged the Bucks recently sense a shift in tone. There is openness to discussion, yet no urgency to finalize anything in the coming days. Milwaukee has indicated it is comfortable allowing the process to extend beyond the deadline if proposals do not meet its valuation.
Milwaukee could be asking for a huge return if it even considers trading Giannis. Not just decent players. They would want a young future star, a lot of draft picks, or both together. The price is set so high that only a few teams could realistically afford it.
And there’s no pressure to rush. If offers now don’t match that level, the Bucks can wait until the offseason. By then, teams will know exactly where their draft picks land and may have more trade assets available, which could lead to better and more complete offers for a player of Giannis’ caliber.
Antetokounmpo remains one of the NBA’s most dominant stat-line producers. In the 2025–26 regular season, he’s averaging roughly 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game on an elite 64.5% field goal percentage, showing his continued all-around impact even as defenses key in on him.
Over the course of his career with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo has averaged about 24.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game across nearly 900 regular-season appearances, underscoring his long-term consistency at an MVP-caliber level.
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