Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
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Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been linked to major NBA cities amid trade rumors.
The Milwaukee Bucks are widely expected to hit the reset button in the 2025 offseason after three consecutive seasons of first-round playoff flameouts. The rebuild will likely begin with the team trading away longtime franchise star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who, per reports, is open to seeking a fresh start.
In light of the reports, the team at Heavy.com has put together the following trade proposal, which would send Antetokounmpo to the San Antonio Spurs, forming a new Big 3 comprising the “Greek Freak,” Victor Wembanyama, and De’Aaron Fox.
Spurs would receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Bucks would receive: Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Harrison Barnes, four first-round picks (including No. 2 pick in 2025 NBA Draft), two pick-swaps
The proposed trade would allow the Bucks to enter the post-Antetokounmpo era with a host of young players, including Ace Bailey or Dylan Harper (with the No. 2 pick), and other promising players like Vassell and Sochan, who could be franchise cornerstones.
Vassell averaged 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists in the 2024-25 season while making a respectable 2.5 threes per game. Sochan was his steady self off the bench, providing the Spurs 11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds from 25.3 minutes.
Bucks Have No Incentive to Tank
The four future first-round picks would also tantamount to a jail-free card for the Bucks, who don’t control any of their first-round picks until 2031. As such, the franchise has no incentive to tank for higher first-round picks.
It also doesn’t help that All-Star guard Damian Lillard is expected to miss most of the 2025-26 season after suffering an Achilles tear at the end of the 2024-25 season. ESPN’s Bobby Marks expects the Bucks to reshape the roster not just by trading Antetokounmpo, but letting a host of free agents walk.
Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, Taurean Prince, Kevin Porter Jr. and Gary Trent Jr. could all become free agents in the 2025 offseason, with only Portis and Porter owning a Player Option.
Spurs Also Linked to Kevin Durant
As for the Spurs, the mere thought of an Antetokounmpo-Wembanyama frontcourt should terrorize the league, and rightfully so.
One Eastern Conference executive made a tall claim when discussing the potential pairing.
“If the Spurs paired Giannis and Wemby, they would be the favorite to win the title next year,” he told The Athletic. “They’d have two guys who might be top-five players in the league next year on the same team. Plus, they fit. They’d have a dominant defense that no one would be able to score against inside, and they’d have the ability to play five-out in an even more devastating way than the Bucks did with Brook Lopez if they surrounded Giannis and Wemby with the right wings.”
The Spurs, flush with draft assets, have also been linked to 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant. According ESPN’s Shams Charania, there is “mutual interest” between the two parties about potentially linking up ahead of the 2025-26 season.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons believes a trade may have already materialized.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if KD to the Spurs is done already… like they’ve agreed on the specifics and they’ll just announce it the week of the [2025 NBA] Draft,” Simmons said on his podcast on June 9.