Should the Trail Blazers Trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo?

No, the Blazers should not trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Portland Trail Blazers are not one player away from being title favorites, even if that player is Giannis.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on pace to be the best NBA team of all time. Even if Portland were to add Giannis to its roster, the Thunder’s best player would be better than the Blazers’. So would their second-best player, as well as their third-best player — all the way down to the end of the bench.

Adding Giannis would catapult Portland into the upper-Western-Conference discussions, sure. But that theoretical squad would be dependent on a roster of young players with zero playoff experience, a Damian Lillard who is coming off an Achilles tear, and a Jrue Holiday who has played in half of the Blazers’ 22 games this season.

And that’s ignoring the fact that to make the trade feasible, the Blazers would have to give up Jerami Grant, at least one of their young, budding prospects, and likely one other role player. That thins out Portland’s depth drastically.

The Blazers have far too many boxes to check and milestones to complete before they can consider themselves one move away — even if that one move is adding Giannis Antetokounmpo. The correct path to title contention is to build a strong foundation and wait.

However…

Just because the Blazers shouldn’t trade FOR Giannis doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t try to involve themselves in the Giannis trade.

Get In There and Make It About You, Portland

As part of the Damian Lillard trade to Milwaukee back in 2023, the Blazers own the rights to a pick swap with the Bucks in 2028 and 2030, and currently own the best and worst of the Bucks’, Celtics’ and Blazers’ picks in 2029 (the middle pick belongs to Washington as part of the Deni Avdija trade).

That means Portland owns Milwaukee’s destiny from 2028-2030. If the Bucks want that back, they’re going to have to give Joe Cronin a phone call.

The Blazers can be the middleman of a blockbuster deal, administering the necessary draft capital in return for a roster upgrade from a team that isn’t Milwaukee.

Last offseason, when the Giannis trade rumors were doing warmup stretches on the sideline, Antetokounmpo reportedly signaled that he would like to be traded to the Knicks.

The issue with that deal is that the Knicks have little to no draft assets or young prospects to deal out. The Nets own their future, and their roster is made to win now.

Enter Portland.

The Blazers could include Milwaukee’s draft picks to get a Giannis to New York deal over the finish line. In return, Portland could upgrade its Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Jerami Grant, to a young, All-NBA-defense-team candidate and champion in OG Anunoby.

The math works out if Milwaukee is willing to accept Karl-Anthony Towns in the deal:

New York would upgrade Towns for Giannis without sacrificing their depth. The Bucks would get their future back and what’s left of the Knicks’, and the Blazers get a younger, better wing option to pair with their growing team.

Does Giannis Fit With the Blazers?

Ultimately, if the Giannis deal is on the table at a reasonable price, it’s almost impossible to really say no. The Blazers are likely welcoming a new owner before the 2026 offseason commences; who knows what Tom Dundon wants to do?

Pairing Antetokounmpo with the rising Deni Avdija would make one of, if not the best, duos in the NBA. The size and power the two would bring night in and night out would be daunting. Opponents would leave the Moda Center battered and bruised with the two blasting through the painting to the rim for 48 minutes.

Avdija can shoot the three well, so the spacing isn’t atrocious, but their games do overlap in similarities; the Blazers would make the free-throw line their playground.

It’s a promising strategy, and one that would give them a chance for a deep playoff run.

But in the end, a potential rental on a 32-year-old superstar who has only become more injured as time has gone on is a massive risk.

And even if it were to hit just right, that wouldn’t make the Blazers the favorites in the West.

Portland, like every other team in the NBA, has to make a series of great moves over the next few years and hope the Thunder’s hot streak cools off in the worst way.

The post Should the Trail Blazers Trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo? appeared first on The Lead.

Should the Trail Blazers Trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo?

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