Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks ready to move on? Here are 3 paths forward, plus potential trade scenarios
Trade machines were still overheating from a bombshell report that Giannis Antetokounmpo was evaluating his future in Milwaukee when he collapsed just 180 seconds into Wednesday night’s game. It was a calf strain on the court, but it felt like the universe telling the Bucks that the countdown clock had begun.At Antetokounmpo’s request, the Bucks called the Knicks about a trade this offseason, but no deal was reached. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the list of suitors will go “well beyond just the Knicks” if Giannis decides over the next few weeks that he wants to move on from Milwaukee.AdvertisementAnd frankly, it has to. New York has little to offer but the bright lights that Antetokounmpo suddenly craves. This is what their best possible offer might look like:Bucks get: KAT, OG Anunoby, 2030 swap, 2032 swap, seven second-round picksKnicks get: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyle Kuzma, Thanasis AntetokounmpoSwap in Mikal Bridges for Anunoby if you’d like, or send KAT to a third team with different assets coming to Milwaukee. No matter the iteration, New York is a destitute trade partner, having already emptied its chamber for Towns and Bridges.If Giannis wants to end up with the Knicks, he’s going to have to use all the leverage he can to get there: Age 31, signed only through the 2026-27 season, and now dealing with an apparent injury, he could steer his way where he wants to go by threatening to leave for a team with cap space in 2027.But you’d think something would’ve happened by now if there was a deal that worked, or if the Knicks were really that excited about pairing Giannis with Jalen Brunson, which is no guarantee to be a match after witnessing the Giannis/Damian Lillard pairing flop hard. And crucially, Giannis doesn’t have a no-trade clause.When a player of Antetokounmpo’s magnitude is traded, the team owner will have something to say about how they go about it. You have the old guard, Wes Edens, who has owned the team since Giannis was a skinny teenager and has been there to approve every major decision of the recent era from dumping Khris Middleton in Washington to shipping away Jrue Holiday for Lillard. Maybe he’s still feeling a moral obligation to do right by the player who won his franchise a championship and was the engine that increased Milwaukee’s valuation from $550 million to $4.3 billion in just over a decade.AdvertisementThen you have the new money, Jimmy Haslam, who bought a 25% stake in the team in 2023 at a premium price, but due to a quirk in the team’s bylaws, Edens retains lead control of the team through 2028. Haslam inherited a Bucks franchise that has been slowly hollowed out by decisions that Giannis himself pushed for. Haslam has seen the firing of Mike Budenholzer, the disaster of the Adrian Griffin hiring, the panic-pivot to Doc Rivers, and the Dame trade that gutted the team’s assets. Every time the franchise gave Giannis the keys, the car got a few more dents. All while his general manager, Jon Horst, has whiffed on almost every single draft pick he’s made in recent years, failing to provide the cheap, young rotation pieces necessary to support a supermax payroll.(Get more Bucks news: Milwaukee team feed)Haslam knows exactly what a bloated, asset-poor roster with no future looks like. He already owns the Cleveland Browns.This Bucks ownership group desperately needs to be aligned, especially given what happened earlier this year when Patrick Dumont fell asleep at the wheel in Dallas. The Mavs owner treated a superstar exit like a standard transaction, and woke up to a cratered franchise and a fan base calling for his head. It is the exact scenario Milwaukee has to avoid.AdvertisementIf it turns out it’s time for Antetokounmpo to move on, Edens and Haslam are not just choosing a trade package, they are choosing a philosophy. Milwaukee will have three distinct paths. Here are each of them, including some fake trades to detail what those returns could resemble:Path 1: The Win-WinRemember when the Thunder traded Paul George to the Clippers? George got exactly what he wanted by being sent to Southern California. And even though everyone thought the Clippers would be annual contenders by pairing George with Kawhi Leonard, it turned out it was the Thunder who received the best player in the trade in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plus a big pile of draft assets. So maybe the Bucks can thread the needle by sending Giannis to a team he wants to go to and get a haul.Fake Trade: Giannis to the SpursBucks get: Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, Kelly Olynyk, 2026 Hawks first, 2028 Celtics first, 2030 Mavs or Wolves first, 2031 Kings swapSpurs get: Giannis, ThanasisAdvertisementHarper, the second pick this June, has superstar upside. And Vassell is a good player today with youth on his side. Even if the Spurs refused to give up Harper, maybe that means Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle would be included. And even if Castle were off the table, the Spurs can put more highly valuable picks on the table.Fake Trade: Giannis to the RocketsBucks get: Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Fred VanVleet, Dorian Finney-Smith, 2027 Nets first, 2028 Rockets first, 2029 Mavs or Suns first, 2031 Rockets firstRockets get: Giannis, AJ Green, ThanasisAmen could become a star. Smith looks like a quality player with potential untapped upside. And this is a good group of draft assets. The Rockets also have other pieces that could be swapped in, whether it’s Reed Sheppard or different draft picks.AdvertisementThough neither team is a glamor market that might appeal to him given his known interest in the Knicks, Giannis would be wise to include both Houston and San Antonio on his list. These teams are ready to take the next step. Giannis and Victor Wembanyama could form the most freakish duo in NBA history, while Giannis would be a tremendous upgrade over Houston’s outgoing youth.But it takes two to tango anyway. Maybe the Spurs decide it’s too early to cash in so many assets. Maybe the Rockets angle for roster tweaks rather than a big splash. These types of returns might end up feeling like a fantasy.Path 2: The Gold Watch Send-OffThis is when you look at the guy who carried your franchise for a decade, and you decide to do him a solid by sending him wherever he wants to go. And you do it even if it means taking 60 cents on the dollar because you don’t want the ‘Curse of the Greek Freak’ hanging over your team for decades to come. So you hug, you cry, and you pretend you’re happy with the above average players and the picks that’ll bring in more above average players.AdvertisementWe know for sure Giannis likes the Knicks. The other teams are currently unknown. But we can at least take some guesses:Fake Trade: Giannis wants to team up with Steph CurryBucks get: Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, 2026 first, 2027 swap, 2028 first, 2029 swap, 2031 swap, 2032 firstWarriors get: Giannis, Kuzma, ThanasisPretty gross for Milwaukee. The Warriors often look better without Kuminga and Moody. Butler would also need to be shipped to a third team. This deal stinks.Fake Trade: Giannis wants to team up with LukaBucks get: Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht, 2028 swap, 2030 swap, 2031 first, 2032 swapLakers get: Giannis, Cole Anthony, ThanasisActually not bad considering Reaves has turned into a 30/6/6 player. But he can also be a free agent next summer, so there’s a risk that he’d walk. Plus, only getting one real first in the trade is kind of a joke. Pass!Could Giannis being eyeing the Lakers as a landing spot? (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) (Patrick McDermott via Getty Images)Fake Trade: Giannis wants to take his talents to South BeachBucks get: Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier, 2029 swap, 2030 first, 2031 swap, 2032 firstHeat get: Giannis, Thanasis, Bobby Portis, Gary HarrisAdvertisementWare and Jaquez would be a solid haul. But are either of them going to be a star? Probably not. Miami’s firsts also probably won’t be any good, and Herro can become a free agent in 2027. This deal is a pass.The Bucks can clearly do much better. None of these deals match the draft equity that’s been sent for recently traded superstars. And Milwaukee should be seeking both quality talent that helps now and assets that help later.Path 3: The Ugly BreakupMaybe the Bucks aren’t worried about feelings, much like the Trail Blazers weren’t when they sent Lillard to Milwaukee instead of Miami. Or the Spurs when they sent Kawhi to the Raptors. And so on. We’ve seen this story before. Business is cold. Maybe it’s time to stop giving Giannis what he wants.AdvertisementFake Trade: The Bucks want their picks backBucks get: Trae Young, 2026 Bucks or Pelicans first, 2027 Bucks or Pelicans first, 2029 Hawks first, 2031 Hawks firstHawks get: Giannis, ThanasisTrae could at least make the Bucks look competent. But the main allure here is getting your own draft capital back so they can tank properly over the next two years. And as it stands, the Bucks are just a few games removed from the bottom feeders so increased lottery odds are in range with a loaded 2026 draft class serving as the prize.Fake Trade: The Bucks want a proven starBucks get: Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, 2026 first, 2030 swap, 2031 first, 2032 swapCeltics get: Giannis, ThanasisYears ago, Brown was offered by Boston to San Antonio for Kawhi. But the Spurs preferred a deal with the Raptors, which involved a far more proven DeMar DeRozan. This type of deal would follow that logic to a greater extreme since Brown is a former Finals MVP having a career year. Plus he’s in the second year of a five-year contract, so they’d have time to make things work with him. So while the Bucks can and should do better, this deal is actually not that awful.Fake Trade: A random trade goes all-inBucks get: Ace Bailey, Jusuf Nurkic, Kyle Anderson, Georges Niang, as many picks as it takesJazz get: Giannis, ThanasisAdvertisementThese are the types of returns the Bucks have to pray for. A lottery pick and a huge load of draft picks. The Jazz can trade up to nine firsts. The Nets can give up to nine as well. The Hornets could give up to eight. These are the teams that could in theory be so desperate to go from worst-to-first that they’d unload for a chance at a future Hall of Famer at Giannis, even if he would be initially unhappy to be there.Fake Trade: OKC decides to end the NBABucks get: Isaiah Hartenstein, Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, Nikola Topić, as many picks as it takesThunder get: Giannis, ThanasisSam Presti has been hoarding draft picks. For what? In part, to keep hitting in the draft so he can replace pricey role players with cheap ones on rookie-scale contracts. But how sustainable is SGA’s astronomical usage? Could there at least be some thought put toward acquiring a second superstar when OKC can offer up to 10 first-round picks? If Presti decides to push the button, nobody can outbid him.But will a GM go all out? Antetokounmpo is a hard player to build around due to his lack of a reliable jumper, especially integrating him midseason. And on the wrong side of 30 with a player option looming for the 2027-28 season, there needs to be some confidence that he’d be there for the long haul. Or else a deal for Giannis could become less of a blockbuster and more of a gamble.AdvertisementHow does this movie end?If the Bucks choose Path 1, it requires a trade partner acting irrationally generous. And if it’s Path 2, they likely doom themselves to basketball purgatory. If they choose Path 3, they might replenish the war chest, but they risk becoming the team that treated its greatest hero like any other asset. Then again, history has a funny way of rewarding the cold-hearted.In 2013, the Celtics traded Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets for a bunch of middle schoolers. It was widely criticized as a betrayal of loyalty and a premature death of the relationship. But those middle schoolers grew up to be Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. And after a decade of sustained winning, they finally won the championship.AdvertisementIn 2018, the Raptors shockingly traded their face of the franchise in DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard, who was just a rental. But they took the risk anyway and ended up winning their first title in history.Sentimentality gets you standing ovations, but ruthlessness raises banners. So, there is a different route the Bucks could take here. And that’s the preemptive strike.The Bucks don’t have to wait for Giannis to make a choice. They can decide to take control of their own timeline. They can decide that the window is closed, the roster is broken, and the only way out is by ending this relationship themselves. And maybe, deep down, that is exactly what Giannis wants: The freedom to leave, without the guilt of being the one who said goodbye.
Publicado: 2025-12-05 16:52:00
fonte: sports.yahoo.com
