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 that 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.
If Antetokounmpo does not signal a willingness to extend in the coming weeks, the time for a trade has likely arrived. The draft order is set. The whole league is gathered in Chicago for the NBA Draft Combine. Let the rumors begin.
What Are The Trade Partner Requirements?
Factor 1: 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.
Factor 2: 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.
Factor 3: 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.
Factor 4: 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 Ranked
There are 30 teams in the NBA. One of them is the Bucks. The other 29 would probably like to trade for Giannis. So we're going to rank all 29 of them by their likelihood for actually 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. Sacramento Kings
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. "I know Brian (Wright) knows who we are and trusts the process. He should get Executive of the Year also for not making a move," he said after San Antonio's first-round victory. He's been consistent in wanting the Spurs to build internally and patiently. They have no reason to deviate from that course.
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.
He's already beaten them four times this season. If he does so in the playoffs, that likely won't trigger an all-out panic in Oklahoma City, but it will raise enough eyebrows to get ideas like this to the table.