The only way the Milwaukee Bucks will trade Giannis Antetokounmpo is if he requests it. Based on ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania’s report last week that Giannis and his agent were discussing his future with the team, one could happen, especially since the situation hasn’t improved since then. As much as it’d hurt Bucks fans to see Giannis go, there would be a silver lining, depending on what picks Milwaukee would receive in a haul.
Look no further than Christopher Kline’s latest NBA mock draft for FanSided. Milwaukee currently has the 12th-worst record in the league, and FanSided has Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance going No. 12. We’re not here to talk about the No. 12 pick, though, but instead, one of the high lottery picks.
The Pelicans have the league’s second-worst record. Thanks to their draft trade with the Hawks, Atlanta owns New Orleans’ first-round pick, which is the more favorable between the Pelicans and the Bucks. It sure looks like the Hawks will receive New Orleans’ pick, which means Atlanta could have a 14 percent chance of leaving the draft lottery with the No. 1 pick.
You know what the Hawks could do with that pick? Use it in a trade for Giannis.
Would Bucks trade Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Hawks?
Atlanta currently sits No. 9 in the East with a 14-11 record, one of three teams in the conference with that record. The Hawks are 5.5 games back from the No. 1 spot. Their front office should already be looking at ways to upgrade at the deadline to make a deep playoff run.
Knowing the kind of talent that is in the 2026 draft lottery class, Atlanta shouldn’t want to give up what could be the No. 1 pick, not unless, of course, it could be used in a trade for Giannis. He’s the exact kind of player that you consider losing that kind of asset for.
Milwaukee could walk away from June’s draft with Duke forward Cam Boozer, who FanSided has going No. 1 in the latest mock draft. Even if the Bucks do get that pick and it falls somewhere between 2 and 5, they would still get a franchise-altering player, whether that be Kansas’ Darryn Peterson or BYU’s AJ Dybantsa.
The preferable outcome in all of this would be for Giannis to stay in Milwaukee and win another title, but the Bucks have come up very short of reaching that goal in the past few seasons. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that trend will change this season, even though there was hope after they started the season 4-1.
It will never feel right to see Giannis in a non-Milwaukee jersey, but it would make it sting less if the Hawks sent the Bucks their pick from the Pelicans (plus more).