Speaking to Adam Mares on the All NBA podcast (YouTube link), veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein said the Bucks are unlikely to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason unless he specifically asks for a trade. Stein acknowledged that neither side is eager to go down that path, but pointed out that the Bucks don’t have a realistic way to build a legitimate contender around the two-time MVP, particularly in the wake of Damian Lillard‘s torn Achilles tendon.
“The rumbles that you always hear are that just having Giannis is so important to them financially,” Stein said (hat tip to RealGM). “They’re not going to trade him unless he pushes it.
“… The whole league is on edge waiting to see will Giannis’ representatives go to the Bucks and say, ‘It’s time. Move us, hold the auction, and start over.’ I don’t think the Bucks want to do that. You could make the case that they should want to do that, that they should say, ‘Let’s go out and get the largest haul we can get back for Giannis,’ but I don’t think the Bucks are there. We’re going to see where Giannis is.”
Here are a few more notes from around the Central:
- If the Bucks do trade Giannis, what would a hypothetical deal look like? Bucks beat writer Eric Nehm of The Athletic evaluates fake proposals from his colleagues David Aldridge, Eric Koreen, Tony Jones and Sam Vecenie. One three-team proposal involves Houston and Portland, with the Bucks receiving Amen Thompson, Jalen Green, Cam Whitmore, Donovan Clingan, three first-round picks and having their 2028 and 2030 pick swaps with Portland extinguished; the Rockets acquiring Antetokounmpo and Jerami Grant; and the Trail Blazers getting back Alperen Sengun and Jock Landale.
- Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland is dealing with a sprained left big toe and his availability for Game 1 vs. Indiana is uncertain. If Garland can’t play Sunday, will the Cavs stick with Sam Merrill or turn to someone else? Joe Vardon of The Athletic explores that topic, noting that head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t tip his hand one way or another. “(Merrill) can create advantages, not in the pick and roll but with off-ball screen stuff, and then he can hold his own defensively,” Atkinson said. “But you could argue, do you go with a bigger body? Do you go with a (Tyrese) Haliburton matchup? This series is different.”
- The Bulls have three centers under contract for next season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if two of them get traded this summer, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “There are some good young pieces that can be built around,” Nikola Vucevic said in his exit interview last month. “A lot of questions when you are a team not fighting for the top. I have trust in them and believe they want to do what’s best and build a good team that wants to win, so we’ll see. Obviously, I am at the stage in my career where I am trying to win now, play in the playoffs and hopefully deep playoff runs. It’s a young team and it does take time. It all depends on what their timeline is and how they see this team.”
Who is more crippled by having two superstars and not much else with not many resources to build around the two… Bucks or Lakers? For now, I’d say Milwaukee because of Lillard’s injury…
They’ll never get a bigger haul for Giannis than they would right now. I think if they don’t move him this offseason, they’ll grow to regret it.
Ok Nico
That Rockets trade is crazy. I know it’s Giannis but trading Amen AND Sengun? Those should be the two untouchables on the team. Or, at the very least, Amen is untouchable.
No way Houston trades Amen. Once that guy learns to shoot, he will be a top 5 player in the league.
Yeah. A deal straight up with Portland might make more sense, tho the Blazers are lacking in draft capital. Either way, it’s not likely that Giannis gets traded.
That Houston trade proposal is horrible. What’s the point in getting Giannis if you have no one left on the roster to support him?
Obviously, it would be good for them if they could regain control of one of their picks from New Orleans, but that is hard to imagine. I am, however, somewhat intrigued by the idea of seeing if Beal would agree to an off-season trade to Milwaukee. It would seem that a Beal for Lillard trade might work if the Bucks need a live body for 2025-26, and he might agree to slink away in the off-season for a chance to play with Giannis.
LOL. Nothing is more comical than media proposed 3 team trade proposals. They just don’t get it. 3rd teams don’t get involved as a public service. They come in late to extract disproportionate value for facilitating a deal that two other teams want but can’t get through a snag. Not to make the deal qualitatively better for the two teams. 3rd teams don’t rearrange their entire roster to get involved in a deal. Basically, leave POR alone. If MIL wants their picks back, then let them come back after a Giannis deal, when hopefully they’ll have extracted enough FRPs and swaps from their trade partner that they can give POR 2 of them for every 1 MIL pick POR sends back. That was the HOU-BKN structure.
lmfao that houston deal is craziness.
I like it! Although they lose two key players, they do receive back Clingan who is potentially a future all-star, grant who had a bad year but is a solid player and a guy who is a few players off being MVP and who’s persona will bring so much money to the organisation.
I can see why the rockets would say no but also yes…
Would prefer he went elsewhere