Amid being the top subject of discussions across the league, the Milwaukee Bucks will only consider moving on from Giannis Antetokounmpo if the Greek star formally asks to be traded. That’s what veteran league insider Marc Stein has insisted in his recent appearance on talkSPORT, noting that it will all begin under the final say of Antetokounmpo. “Teams are calling the Bucks, and the Bucks keep telling teams: ‘He’s not available, we’re not trading him.’ The only way there’s gonna be a Giannis sweepstakes — Giannis himself has to go to the Bucks and say ‘I want out.’ He has to firmly say it, and that has not happened,” Stein said. BasketNews | Dec. 13, 2025

NBA Courtside: Chris Haynes: I think the Knicks have interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo. I think the Miami Heat have interest, the Golden State Warriors have had interest in Giannis for a long time. The San Antonio Spurs, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ultimately, I think for Giannis, wherever he lands, I think he’d like to have some sun, I think he’d like to be in a big market. Outside of that, he just wants to be on a team where he can contend for a championship. He’s been big on that being a priority. x.com | Dec. 13, 2025

Notice the names that aren’t there. No Michael Jordan. No LeBron James. No Kobe Bryant (whose best scoring season was 45.6 points per 100 and best rTS% was 107). No Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo. (Wilt Chamberlain led the league in points and field goal percentage simultaneously in four different seasons, so he likely would make the list, but we don’t have per-possession data from his heyday to know for sure). HoopsHype | Dec. 13, 2025

But any Giannis talks are still played by the old rules, according to executives and coaches. “I don’t think you’d see 29 teams make an offer like if, say, Victor [Wembanyama] was available, but there would be plenty of interest and probably two to three teams would be willing to go all-in right now,” an East executive said. “Every player has risk, and he’d have some risk, but this is one you don’t have to work too hard to talk yourself into.” “I’m sure the front office would have pros and cons and all that,” an assistant coach said. “But if you’re asking me, I’d want him on my team in less than a second. He plays hard every night and clearly wants to win and can be unstoppable. This is the kind of player you need to win it all.” ESPN | Dec. 12, 2025

The Miami Heat, for example, are often handicapped by league insiders as a place that Antetokounmpo might be willing to call his new basketball home. Pat Riley and company could offer the Bucks a yacht full of draft assets, all their best young players (All-Star Tyler Herro, promising young big man Kel’el Ware, small forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.) and salary filler (Terry Rozier, if the NBA allows it) to make the numbers work. New York Times | Dec. 12, 2025

Matt Guzman: Speaking with ESPN, Victor Wembanyama was asked who the NBA’s best player is: “Jokić is the best offensive player … I don’t think he’s the best player. (It’s) between Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander). “When I come back to the court, it will be me.” #PorVida x.com | Dec. 12, 2025

Jake Fischer: “But I’d say overall from my conversations with people around the league, with people around Milwaukee, with people around the Antetokounmpo brothers, that the writing is on the wall. And we are in this position right now because Antetokounmpo’s agent, Alex Saratsis, told the Bucks this past summer that they were going to re-evaluate things about 20 games into the year.” YouTube | Dec. 11, 2025

Jake Fischer: “The only player I think in the league that Golden State would be willing to move Draymond Green for would be Giannis Antetokounmpo. That’s the only player. Between him and Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, all of a sudden Golden State probably does have an intriguing package if you’re Milwaukee. But I don’t think that they are going to be pushing Draymond’s salary onto the table — or Jimmy Butler’s salary — for anyone short of him.” YouTube | Dec. 11, 2025