On Monday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Milwaukee Bucks are seeking trade offers for star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. The on-again, off-again trade cycle that has loomed over the NBA for the past year may mercifully be coming to an end.
Antetokounmpo will be eligible for a contract extension in October. Bucks owner Wes Edens has said the team will either extend him or trade him, and fellow owner Jimmy Haslam has set the NBA Draft as the preferred timeline for resolution.
What The Bucks Are Looking For
A team reasonably capable of competing for the 2027 championship. Antetokounmpo is 31 and suddenly somewhat injury-prone. This is not a long-term project. If you're trading what it takes to get him, you're doing it to win here and now.
Ideally, a team in the Eastern Conference. The Athletic's Sam Amick has reported that Antetokounmpo's preference is believed to be remaining in the East.
A trade partner who can send the Bucks a top young player, a multitude of draft picks, or a present-day star in his prime. Ideally, the Bucks would get all three.
Somewhere Antetokounmpo is willing to extend. Nobody is trading all it will take to get this thing done without assurances that he would be willing to stay there.
Potential Trade Destinations
There are 30 teams in the NBA. One of them is the Bucks. The other 29 would probably like to trade for Giannis. Here is a ranking of all 29 by their likelihood of pulling it off.
28. New Orleans Pelicans
It's further East than Sacramento. So that's something. Zion Williamson wouldn't be the worst consolation star for the Bucks.
27. Washington Wizards
They have nothing to trade. They control none of their own first-round picks until 2033. Devin Booker is a bad contract. Jalen Green is a bad contract. They're in the West. They're not a contender. Nothing to see here.
26. Memphis Grizzlies
It was a fun concept when they had Jaren Jackson Jr. given how easily he and Antetokounmpo could've fit together. Now, the Grizzlies are full steam ahead into a rebuild. They're years away from appealing to a veteran star on the floor.
25. Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are in the same boat as the Grizzlies. They're at square one. Antetokounmpo isn't looking for a square one roster. Good work getting out ahead of things though with an "actually, we're the ones who didn't want YOU" rumor last winter.
24. San Antonio Spurs
One of the few teams that falls into the "feasibly could, probably won't" category. The Spurs have the assets. Antetokounmpo would probably sign off on playing for them even in the West if winning is his true goal. But even Victor Wembanyama seems to be against this.
23. Oklahoma City Thunder
The same logic applies for the Thunder as the Spurs, with the caveat that if the Thunder lose to the Spurs, either now or later, it is feasible that they do something drastic specifically to prepare for future Wembanyama matchups.