Discussing the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade market during the latest episode of the Milwaukee Bucks Point Forward podcast, Bucks beat writer Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel suggested that the lack of concrete updates recently may, paradoxically, suggest that talks are getting more serious.
“I’m not reporting anything, but the quiet is eerie,” Owczarski said (Twitter audio link). “And what I mean by that is that means something’s happening. And that’s just being on the beat for six years. That’s how (Bucks general manager) Jon Horst operates. Jrue Holiday appeared out of thin air. Damian Lillard appeared out of thin air. Trading Giannis Antetokounmpo is not something that is going to be leaked and sort of bread-crumbed out in public. That’s just not how this is going.
“I think the lack of news…and the quiet on a story that’s been pursued nationally for so many years indicates that all of the parties involved have gone omertà. The code of silence. You generally don’t do that unless you’re trying to get something done.”
Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam stated about four weeks ago that the team hopes to have resolution one way or the other on the Antetokounmpo saga by the draft, and there’s no indication that timeline has changed. As Owczarski notes, if Milwaukee does trade the star forward, the team would like to be able to add at least one pick in a loaded 2026 draft.
Of course, Haslam didn’t say that a trade must happen by the draft — it’s also possible that Antetokounmpo could make a long-term commitment to the Bucks and tell the front office he plans to sign a new contract when he becomes extension-eligible in October. However, Owczarski says he’s not sure how much the team has explored the possibility of trying to acquire another star player to pair with Giannis.
Here are a few more Giannis-related items of interest:
- Later in the Point Forward podcast, Owczarski discussed what a package from the Heat for Antetokounmpo might look like and speculated about what the Magic would have to offer to get Milwaukee’s attention (video link via The Journal Sentinel).
- The Heat‘s interest in acquiring Antetokounmpo remains just as strong as it was before February’s trade deadline, league sources tell Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who says Bam Adebayo is the only Miami player “off limits” in the team’s trade talks with the Bucks. The Heat already have a good idea of which of their players Milwaukee likes, Jackson writes, noting that it’s “doubtful” Miami would draw the line on any specific role player. Jackson says that any trade is more likely to happen sometime after the NBA Finals end, in case more suitors emerge in the coming weeks, and adds that the Heat aren’t concerned about the offensive fit of a potential Adebayo/Antetokounmpo pairing.
- While the Celtics loom as a potential wild card in the Giannis sweepstakes, Jay King of The Athletic considers whether taking that sort of swing would be in Boston’s best interest, pointing out that president of basketball operations Brad Stevens could aggressively reshape his roster this summer without targeting Antetokounmpo.
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, who has been putting together several hypothetical trade packages for Antetokounmpo in recent weeks, ranks those hypothetical returns for the Bucks, suggesting that the Cavaliers would be well positioned to win the bidding if they change their stance on Evan Mobley and become more willing to discuss the big man with the Heat.
MN about to shock the world haha
Yeah, Giannis going to Minnesota or Boston would be a lot more interesting than him going to Miami. An Adebayo-Antentokounmpo tandem doesn’t do it for me, other than the fact their last names start and end with the same letters.
Bam isn’t even their best player, I don’t get why he is considered “untouchable.” People forget how good Tyler Herro is, after missing most of last year. I’d rather MN get Kyrie and for Julius and TJ and Keep Rudy
Bam is most definitely their best player it’s not even a question. Herro is a 3 level scorer, but can’t stay in front of his man on defense. Bam is a reliable, durable and smart two way player. He’s also expanded his game as his career has gone on. Herro, other than his scoring and occasional playmaking doesn’t have the same impact. I promise the Bucks aren’t going to take Herro for Giannis but they’d take Bam
As a Heat fan since Shaq arrived in 2005, that’s a terrible take. Bam is wildly inconsistent. Elite D sure, but Herro is a bucket. Luka is the best player on the Lakers and his D is suspect too. Herro had improved every year in the L until last year’s injuries. I personally want Herro in MN to be the obtainable playmaker beside Ant.
They would definitely shock the world if they traded for Giannis . What would that offer look like?
We are now reporting on the absence of reporting and how that might be a sign there’s actually stuff to report but we can’t report about it because we don’t know if anything is happening or not or even if it’s truly a sign of anything, reportable or otherwise. Only that it’s eerie.
Where would we all be without our daily Where’s Giannis going article? Lost I guess. Tell me when it goes down, Until then I could care less. LMAO
What kind of BS story is this.
“It’s quiet, A little Too Quiet”. Lol
In other words “slow NBA news day no updates on the Greek Freak”
All Quiet on the Western Front ;)
Giannis to Miami would be a disaster. If Myles Turner is to be believed, then Giannis’ has gotten used to doing whatever he wants, when he wants, showing up and leaving when he wants. That attitude doesn’t sound like it would fit in with ‘Heat culture’.
Something to consider in a Giannis trade is Jimmy Haslam. He has a long and storied history of meddling in his teams personnel transactions. Any Giannis trade isn’t going to be the best trade for the team, it’s going to be the trade Jimmy Haslam wants to make.
For the record, I think they should trade him to Boston for Brown because I feel it would be easier trade Brown for a bunch of 1st round picks than it would Giannis.