Giannis Antetokounmpo is maybe, possibly, conceivably getting traded from the Milwaukee Bucks this summer. Bucks ownership has indicated that it will trade the 31-year-old superstar before entering the final year of his contract if he does not sign an extension this summer. There are a number of potential landing spots for Antetokounmpo, but two teams are emerging as the most aggressive suitors according to long-time NBA insider Marc Stein.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 2 biggest trade suitors revealed with deal zone nearing
These two teams are chasing Giannis the hardest.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Stein reports that the Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat are the two teams pushing the hardest for Antetokounmpo behind the scenes. Stein also mentioned the Orlando Magic as a potential fit after the team hired Sean Sweeney as head coach last week. Sweeney comes over from the San Antonio Spurs, but also spent time in Milwaukee, where he grew extremely close with Giannis.
The Heat and Trail Blazers both always made sense as teams that could want to swing a bold trade for Antetokounmpo. Miami has been tied to the Greek Freak for years as a preferred destination. The Heat always chase stars under Pat Riley, and at 81 years old it makes sense that he would want to try for one more big fish. The Heat can offer a package including Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis, the No. 13 overall pick in 2026 NBA Draft, a 2030 first-rounder, and a 2032 first-rounder.
The Trail Blazers made their first playoff appearance in five years this season before getting knocked out in the first-round by the Spurs. Portland has a new owner in Tom Dundon, and while his cost-cutting measures have been getting all the attention, he’s also hinted that he might be more inclined to approve big trades than the previous owners.
The Blazers are natural trade partners for Giannis because they own first-round swap rights with the Bucks in 2028 and 2030 from Milwaukee’s failed trade for Damian Lillard. It’s fair to wonder if those picks are more valuable or less valuable under the NBA’s new lottery reform, and it’s worth noting that we could have a completely different system by 2030. Portland’s package could start with returning the pick swaps, adding Jerami Grant for matching salary, then sending a talented young player like Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe in the deal. Since Grant is widely considered a bad contract at this point with two years, $70.6 remaining on his deal, the Blazers also might need to add their unprotected 2032 first-round pick.
Will the Thunder get involved for Giannis after their Western Conference Finals flameout? Probably not. Sam Presti usually takes the longview, and his team wasn’t at full strength this year without injured stars Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell for most of the series. The Thunder need to cut money for next season, not add an older player on a max contract.
I wouldn’t be shocked if this ends with Antetokounmpo accepting a max extension to end the trade speculation once and for all. It just feels more likely that he finally gets traded given how far away the Bucks are from contention.
Stein reports that an Antetokounmpo trade could happen within the next three weeks. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst once termed that “the deal zone.” It sure seems like the deal zone for a Giannis trade has fully arrived. Stay tuned.
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