Per Jake Fischer, Giannis doesn't actually want to go to Portland despite the Blazers and Lillard's interest in securing him in a blockbuster trade.
As the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes continues leading to Thursday's trade deadline, the Portland Trail Blazers emerged as the newest surprising team that is interested in the superstar big man.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo
MIN: 29.11
PTS: 28.29 (65.48%)
REB: 9.89
AS: 5.64
ST: 0.89
BL: 0.71
TO: 3.29
GM: 28
Jake Fischer reiterated this on his latest Bleacher Report livestream appearance, further noting that Damian Lillard, who served as Giannis' co-star in Milwaukee, is also helping the Blazers "behind the scenes" to work a trade.
"The Blazers themselves are trying to get into the mix to bring Giannis Antetokounmpo to Portland to play alongside his former teammate Damian Lillard, who, of course, has been someone who's been trying to make this happen behind the scenes. His former teammate Jrue Holiday is, of course, still in Portland as well," Fischer noted.
"And the Blazers do have a pretty clear pathway from a salary-matching standpoint with Jerami Grant's $35-plus million [contract], and some other mid-tier salaries like Robert Williams."
Although the Blazers also have the Bucks' future draft picks from the 2023 Lillard trade, Fischer argued that Giannis doesn't actually want to go to Portland, and Milwaukee might get unconvinced of what the Blazers can offer in terms of young talent with Scoot Henderson struggling and battling injuries.
These stand as significant hurdles for the Blazers in locking Antetokounmpo's commitment, who will be under contract for the next two seasons, with 2027-28 being a player option worth $62.7 million.
"But at this point, we can confidently put Portland right in the mix of teams that are trying to get Giannis," Fischer added. "We'll see again if they can overcome the factors working against them: the fact that they don't really have a clear-cut blue-chip prospect and that Giannis, by all accounts, does not want to head to that marketplace despite the connections with Jrue Holiday, despite the connections with Damian Lillard."
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