Amid all of the speculation about where Giannis Antetokounmpo might go if he requests a trade, no one is really focusing on how the Milwaukee Bucks would handle the situation.
Speaking to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, one Eastern Conference executive explained that an “overlooked” part of the Antetokounmpo chatter is that the Bucks aren’t incentivized to send him where he wants to go if they can’t get a good deal:
“The thing that people will overlook, and was overlooked in the Dame situation, was that the Bucks are not going to just send him wherever he wants to go for a bad return. Whatever you want to say about Portland, they negotiated and did a great job getting Dame somewhere else. The Bucks will all but certainly do the same thing [with Antetokounmpo].”
It’s not clear if Antetokounmpo will even ask for a trade, much less if one would happen during the season.
One thing pointed out by The Athletic’s Sam Amick is that if Antetokounmpo doesn’t go public with a trade demand in an attempt to expedite the process, the feeling among rival executives is they “will continue to believe that his situation might have to be handled in the offseason.”
The New York Knicks have been a popular subject in the Antetokounmpo speculation because they were reportedly the only team he wanted to play for outside of Milwaukee when he was evaluating options over the summer.
When ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Dec. 3 that Antetokounmpo was meeting with the Bucks to discuss his future, it was noted the Knicks wouldn’t have an exclusive negotiating window like they had in the offseason and multiple teams in addition to the Knicks “would be expected to emerge as suitors” for the two-time MVP if he becomes available.
There are a lot of factors complicating a potential Antetokounmpo trade from Milwaukee’s perspective. The Bucks can’t make moves in an attempt to tank in the short term because they don’t control their first-round draft pick until 2031.
Any potential draft picks the Bucks would look to acquire in an Antetokounmpo likely won’t have a lot of value if they convey in the next few years because he is only 31 and would presumably be going to a team on the brink of contending for a title.
The Lillard trade cited by the executive is a good example of a team holding out for the best deal for itself rather than simply acquiescing to what the player wants.
By his own admission, Lillard wanted to play for the Miami Heat when he requested a trade out of Portland in the summer of 2023. The Blazers held out and wound up getting a deal from the Bucks that includes unprotected pick swap rights in 2028 and 2030, plus an unprotected 2029 first-round draft pick.
Those three draft picks could be franchise-altering for Portland if things keep trending the way they have been going in Milwaukee, especially if Antetokounmpo seeks a trade.
That is the type of deal the Bucks need to get if they are going to move arguably the best player in franchise history, even if it means sending him to a team that’s not necessarily at the top of wish list.