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The Minnesota Timberwolves are major contenders to land Giannis Antetokounmpo in trade rumors, and a new idea pairs him with Anthony Edwards.
The news that Giannis Antetokounmpo is now available in a trade by the Milwaukee Bucks is the leading storyline in the NBA. While teams like the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Miami Heat all remain at the top of the list, lining up to land the superstar, one surprising team is reportedly ready to make a run at the two-time MVP: the Minnesota Timberwolves.
According to Shams Charania, the Timberwolves are a serious threat to land Antetokounmpo. While they wouldn’t be as flashy a team to acquire the top trade target compared to the Warriors, Knicks, Heat, or even the Los Angeles Lakers, the idea of compiling a massive package to pair the Greek forward with Anthony Edwards remains on the table.
Most recently, speaking on ESPN’s Get Up show, league insider Brian Windhorst, after stating that Golden State should be considered front-runners for Antetokounmpo, added that the links between the star and Minnesota are real.
“He has not mentioned that for no reason. This is something that, from what I understand, that Giannis has interest in,” Windhorst said of Charania naming Minnesota as contenders in the Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes. “The Timberwolves don’t have draft picks and don’t have the young players; they’d have to center around veteran players, but that is something we should keep an eye on as well.”
Timberwolves-Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade Idea
It’s fair to say that if they can somehow manage to create a package the Bucks would be interested in, the Timberwolves should be seriously considered as the landing spot for Antetokounmpo.
Writing for The Athletic, Eric Nehm outlined a trade that would see the superstar stay up North and join forces with Edwards for what could be one of the scariest duos in recent NBA memory.
His three-team trade idea would see Minnesota gut their roster, but get back Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, a player the former has expressed interest in teaming up with again.
Bucks receive: Julius Randle and Naz Reid; Portland’s 2030 first-round pick; rights to 2028 and 2032 first-round pick swaps with Minnesota; regain control of their own 2029 and 2030 first-round picks
Minnesota Timberwolves receive: Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday
Portland Trail Blazers receive: Jaden McDaniels and Mike Conley
“The Timberwolves do not have any first-round picks they can trade, but they can give the Bucks the right to swap picks with them in 2028 and 2032,” Nehm added on the deal. “Those swaps don’t have much value, but they are still something the Bucks can take to make the package stronger.”
For Milwaukee, they would get back two strong players in Randle and Reid, while also getting back a haul of picks from Minnesota and Portland, as the latter that has a few of the Bucks’ picks after the trade for Damian Lillard a few years ago.
The Trail Blazers likely don’t need Holiday right now, as their young roster, highlighted by Deni Avdija, has been playing well. McDaniels, a highly touted player around the league, could be a great addition to their burgeoning core.
Minnesota does this deal to get two former NBA champions and the chance to seriously compete for a title for themselves in the West. As Sam Quinn of CBS Sports wrote in a post on X, ‘Giannis and Ant would be so incredible I’d just figure the rest out later.’
My position as Minnesota would be, if Giannis is willing to extend, I would trade anything but Ant to get it done, and I would be willing to put basically as much depth as it takes on the table if needed.
Giannis and Ant would be so incredible I’d just figure the rest out later.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade Rumors And Teams
Minnesota remains behind the Warriors and Heat, and potentially the Knicks, in the overall race for Antetokounmpo. As mentioned, they don’t have the picks, but if the star wants to go to Minneapolis, it’s hard to see the Bucks not doing right by their star and sending him to his preferred destination.
As it relates to the other teams, there are a few concerns that could work in the Timberwolves’ favor.
Golden State would have to trade Jimmy Butler, the now-injured player, whom they’ve said in the past they have no plans on moving.
Like any other team, the Warriors would have to move a bunch of other players as well as Jonathan Kuminga, but if they are serious about Antetokounmpo, it would require them to go back on their word on Butler and send him to a deal that has no plans of contending for titles in the near future.
“Everyone else is gonna have to try to beat a strong Golden State offer [for Giannis] if it comes.”
@WindhorstESPN explains why the Warriors would be a major player if Giannis ever becomes available 👀
For the Knicks, they are in a similar boat, likely having to move either Karl-Anthony Towns or a combination of OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. They’ve committed so much to their current roster that if any moves were made, they wouldn’t have a lot left to work with.
They’ve been at the forefront of trade rumors surrounding the star, but an overpay would likely be necessary, severely hogtying them to just Brunson and Antetokounmpo, which, while that could be a strong duo, there might not be a lot left over in terms of talent on the team.
The Heat are the ones to watch out for, as they’ve bowed out of a trade for Ja Morant and are focusing everything on Antetokounmpo. They have some picks, a ton of talented players, and will likely be extremely aggressive in the market, whether that’s before the deadline or this summer.
As it stands now, they have the fewest restrictions on a deal, and while that could include their young talent and either Tyler Herro or Bam Adebayo, they should be serious contenders for Antetokounmpo. Like the others, the only concern is what players they’d have left, as they’d be forced to move a sizable amount of their current talent to get the trade market’s grand prize.
BREAKING: The Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves are in direct pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, with Miami as the leading suitor, per @TheSteinLine & @JakeLFischer
(📷SJZIP)
While a few other teams remain in the mix, Charania confirmed these four should be the ones to watch as the Antetokounmpo trade rumors heat up once again.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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