The Giannis Antetokounmpo trade saga will find some sort of resolution soon enough.
If the Milwaukee Bucks finally decide to part ways with the franchise superstar before Thursday's deadline, it would end a long stretch of questions regarding the Greek Freak's future. If not, then the saga will live on for months and get revisited many times in the offseason.
Several teams have been heavily linked to Giannis over the past few weeks. The New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, and the Minnesota Timberwolves have all been mentioned as suitors for Antetokounmpo. On Thursday, ESPN's Brian Windhorst threw a dark horse into the mix: the Portland Trail Blazers.
A 10th-seeded team in the Western Conference doesn't seem like an easy sell for the guy who made it clear that he wants to compete for a title, but the Blazers might be closer than many think. At 23-28, the Blazers have shown some solid flashes this year.
It's been rough lately, as they've lost six games in a row, but nobody expected the Blazers to be any better than a Play-In squad. All eyes are on next season when Damian Lillard fully recovers from his Achilles injury.
The connection here is easy to make. Giannis and Lillard teamed up in Milwaukee for the past two seasons. After Lillard went down with his Achilles injury in the postseason, the Bucks stunned the league by waiving the veteran guard. Reports indicated that Antetokounmpo was unhappy with the decision. He valued Lillard's presence.
The Blazers seem to have some level of interest in attempting to pick up where the Bucks left that duo off, but there might not be enough time to secure the former MVP.
As expected, Giannis isn't going to come at any bargain cost. With the Bucks already being hesitant to move off Giannis, the Blazers would have to come to the table with an offer that would blow them away. All signs are beginning to point to the Bucks brushing off the idea of a deadline deal and placing focus on the offseason, when more teams can get involved with competitive offers.
The Knicks seem out on Giannis at this time. The Miami Heat have been consistently linked to Antetokounmpo, but they don't seem to have a package that's strong enough to move the needle right now. The Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly have the attention of Giannis, but they are in a similar boat as Miami. Windhorst suggests they are moving on from the sweepstakes for now.
At this point, count the Golden State Warriors out as well. On Wednesday night, the Warriors shifted their focus to Kristaps Porzingis. The Warriors struck a deal with the Atlanta Hawks to acquire the one-time champion after feeling their chances of getting Giannis slipping to unrealistic levels.
The state of the Antetokounmpo market seems to be drying up as far as deadline deals go. It could be another drama-filled offseason regarding the Bucks and their top star.
Newsweek