The Cavaliers‘ concerns about whether Giannis Antetokounmpo would sign an extension in Cleveland will likely keep them out of the trade sweepstakes for the Bucks star, according to Jake Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (subscription required).
There has been some speculation that the Cavs might be willing to part with Evan Mobley to acquire Antetokounmpo and maximize their title chances by teaming him with Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. However, sources tell Fischer and Stein that Cleveland “should be regarded as unlikely to factor into the trade chase” for Antetokounmpo.
The authors note that Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman seemed to verify that sentiment as his end-of-season press conference Friday morning when he stated that Mobley is “part of our future.” Altman sidestepped a specific question about Antetokounmpo, telling reporters, “We’re not going to speculate on any player outside these walls.”
The report from Fischer and Stein gels with a weekend story from Joe Vardon of the Athletic claiming that Cleveland hasn’t expressed any interest in a Mobley-Antetokounmpo swap.
Antetokounmpo will earn $58.5MM next season and holds a $62.8MM player option for 2027/28. The ability to opt out and become an unrestricted free agent next summer gives him a degree of control in choosing his next team. It also makes potential suitors reluctant to part with valuable assets such as Mobley without an assurance that Antetokounmpo plans to stay long-term.
Fischer reported earlier this month that the Cavaliers might be viewed as a reasonable destination for Antetokounmpo if they encountered playoff disappointment again. The team wound up reaching the Eastern Conference finals, but mostly wasn’t competitive during a four-game sweep by New York.
Fischer and Stein also state that the Cavs are reluctant to part with Mobley because he’s only 24 and can provide “a legitimate bridge to a successful post-Mitchell future.” They add that team officials haven’t forgotten how difficult it was to rebuild after LeBron James left Cleveland in 2010 and 2018 and they’re hesitant to part with Mobley unless it’s a “sure-thing trade.”
The Cavaliers gotta do something. They aren’t good enough to just run it back
“bUt tHe cAvS cAn oUtBiD tHe WaRrIoRs!!!”
ANOTHER ONE OFF THE BOARD
Unless Boston goes batcrap nuts and offers Brown and 4 picks…. I can’t see him going anywhere but Miami now… the question after that… where do other dominos fall? (Lebron to Miami? Kawhi to Boston? Brown to Clippers? Ja to Miami as well possibly?)
LaMelo Ball, Moussa Diabate, Tidjane Salaun, Liam McNeeley, #14 overall pick, Mia’s 2027 1st, Cha’s 2028 1st & Cha’s 2030 1st to Milwaukee
Giannis Antetokoumpo & a future 2nd to Charlotte
Hornets have even more they could give Milwaukee but this seems about fair. 4 1sts, 4 young guys that could all be in the Bucks rotation next yr, including a possible franchise type player at pg who’s alr been an all-star & only going into his 25yo season. Also get an extra lottery pick in this strong draft as well as a big time off rebounder in Moose & a couple young forwards that could def be dif making role player types in Liam & Salaun. They could put Miles in this deal or they keep him & offer him to Detroit or some other team that could use a scoring boost at the forward spot.
Giannis goes to a city/region that has never had any type of real success on the pro level. But they are arguably the best basketball fans in the world. North Carolina may not be the huge market that people expect, it would sorta go with Giannis’ overall vibe. They’d need to add another ball-handler but Coby & Tre ‘young AI’ Mann would def be able to score from the perimeter & Kon would flourish next to prime Giannis. They’d still have the #18 pick to replace some of the young talent they’d lose to Milwaukee. And they’d still have Kalkbrenner to help Giannis protect the paint. Brandon Miller continues to ascend into all-star status & while Giannis’ presence may halt that a bit, Miller should def be an elite role player at worst in this scenario.