The Milwaukee Bucks leaked that they “are starting to listen” to trade offers for Giannis Antetokounmpo— a sign to the rest of the league that, for the first time, the door is actually open to an Antetokounmpo trade. While the smart money is still betting on this trade to happen during the offseason, Milwaukee opening that door has led to a flood of trade rumors. Here are some of the latest.
Which team is the frontrunner?
Which team is the frontrunner to land Giannis Antetokounmpo? Depends completely upon who you ask.
League sources NBC Sports has spoken with lean toward Golden State because it can offer up to four first-round draft picks (ones that could be very valuable after Curry retires, Antetokounmpo fades, and the Warriors struggle). Anthony Slater at ESPN reports the same thing.
“The quicker Milwaukee acts, league executives believe, the better chance Golden State has to win the bidding war.”
Other people are hearing other things — welcome to the Wild West of rumors.
“Miami and — surprise — Minnesota,” if you ask NBA insider Marc Stein. Miami has been waiting for this moment, he added on his Substack.
“You’ve surely noted that the Heat have held back on making the best possible trade offers it could have for players such as Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant and, most recently, Ja Morant. Miami has been clinging to its most coveted draft capital for the right All-Star pursuit. And this appears to be it. The Heat’s best offer is presumed to be a package headlined by Wisconsin native Tyler Herro, rising big man Ke’lel Ware and tradeable first-round picks in 2030 and 2032.”
Miami’s best offer would be Herro, Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, Terry Rozier’s expiring contract, and Miami’s two tradable first-round picks, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
Minnesota makes this list because Antetokounmpo reportedly likes the idea of teaming up with Anthony Edwards. The problem is the Bucks want a ton of draft picks back in a trade and Minnesota can only offer a swap or two, but that’s it.
KAT frustrated with trade rumors
Giannis Antetokounmpo forced the Bucks and Knicks to talk trade late in the offseason, but those discussions went nowhere.
Those discussions still had repercussions. In those rumored talks, Karl-Anthony Towns was headed to Milwaukee in the trade, which led to some “hard feelings,” reports Sam Amick at The Athletic.
Just ask the Knicks, whose talks with the Bucks about Antetokounmpo last summer led to hard feelings with Karl-Anthony Towns that, per team sources, remain to this day. That’s the double-doozy that every team seeks to avoid — the failure to land the player they’re pursuing that is followed by a step backward, relationship-wise, with the player who learned he was nearly sent packing in the process.
Towns has earned the ire of Knicks fans this season for his inconsistent play — even though he is likely an All-Star when the reserves are announced Sunday — and his defense. Plenty of New Yorkers are ready to trade him, although how much the Bucks want him is the other half of the equation.
When will Antetokounmpo be traded?
This is not the sexy thing to say, it does not draw in viewers or drive clicks at the trade deadline, which is why discussion of it seems to get buried. It’s also the reality, according to league sources NBC Sports has spoken with:
An Antetokounmpo trade is more likely to happen this offseason than at the trade deadline in a week. Far more likely.
Not everyone sees it that way. For example, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on the network’s show Get Up that front offices he has spoken with “all believe” the Bucks will trade Antetokounmpo before the Feb. 5 deadline. Read into that whatever you wish.
The vast majority of people NBC Sports has spoken with who expect this to be just the start of a longer process. Eric Nehm, the very well-connected Bucks writer for The Athletic, summed it up this way in The Bounce newsletter:
“It’s hard to imagine a situation in which the Bucks actually maximize their return for Antetokounmpo before the deadline. There just aren’t many teams out there that have the flexibility with the cap, the young player with superstar potential and the draft picks needed to make an enticing offer before the deadline. That means the Bucks will need a team to make a desperation offer without proper competition or accept an offer that does not meet the standard for a two-time NBA MVP and 10-time All-Star.
“That should make it unlikely for a trade to happen in the next week, but teams are not always dictated by logic in these situations.”
Marc Stein added this on his Substack:
Milwaukee’s early communication to teams making Antetokounmpo trade inquiries has led several front offices to surmise that the Bucks might be trying to establish price points for each particular buyer now in order to more thoroughly conduct a trade auction during this summer. “They’re asking for the moon,” one general manager told The Stein Line on Thursday morning. “All of your young players and all of your draft picks.”
Maybe things change in the next week, but there is zero reason for Milwaukee to rush this decision. Any move GM Jon Horst makes is going to be met with backlash from the fan base — Antetokounmpo is the beloved best player in franchise history who won them a title in 2021 — so he needs to make the best trade possible to help with that (just ask Nico Harrison). There is more value to be had this summer.
Other Antetokounmpo trade notes
• Atlanta could assemble the most Bucks-friendly trade package if they want, with Jalen Johnson — who should be an All-Star this season — and control over a number of the Bucks’ future draft picks. Except, the Hawks refuse to put Johnson in any offer and are not jumping into the fray, reports Marc Stein on his Substack. This is absolutely the right play by Atlanta — the goal would be to pair Johnson and Antetokounmpo, not swap the young All-Star for an older one.
• The Houston Rockets are not jumping into the Antetokounmpo fray, reports ESPN’s Tim MacMahon on the Hoop Collective podcast.
“I’ve been told that the Rockets will not be bidders. Now, hey, nobody was under oath, but I’ve been told that repeatedly, and I’ll say that they’ve got a pretty good track record of shooting me straight.”
Houston made their big swing last summer with Kevin Durant, and going after Antetokounmpo would mean surrendering key parts of their young core — such as Amen Thompson — which is rightfully too high a price for a team already a threat in the West.
• San Antonio, a team linked to Antetokounmpo last summer, also is not getting in the mix, MacMahon added.
“I have been told by folks with the Spurs, ‘We’re not a home for Giannis.’ And there’s been a lot of smoke going back to the summer, but everything in San Antonio is about the Wemby [Victor Wembanyama] timeline, and this is a decade past the Wemby timeline when you bring in Giannis at his age.”
• Philadelphia has not jumped in to chase Antetokounmpo, but he and Tyrese Maxey share the same trainer (Drew Hanlen) and that has the 76ers on Antetokounmpo’s radar, according to Jake Fischer.