Giannis Antetokounmpo could be interested in the Philadelphia 76ers as a potential landing spot should he ultimately be traded by the Milwaukee Bucks, NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported Thursday.
According to Stein and Fischer, “the prospect of teaming up with Tyrese Maxey… does have the 76ers on Antetokounmpo’s radar.”
It’s not clear if the Sixers plan to pursue a trade of Antetokounmpo, even in the wake of a Wednesday report from ESPN’s Shams Charania that the star is “ready for a new home” and the Bucks are “starting to listen” to offers.
Stein and Fischer reported Thursday that the Sixers “have not contacted Milwaukee about a possible Antetokounmpo deal in the wake of a better-than-expected first half.”
The 76ers are heading into Thursday ranked No. 6 in the Eastern Conference with a 25-21 record thanks to both a career-best 29.2 points per game from Maxey and a resurgent 25.2 points per game from Joel Embiid.
Antetokounmpo is currently sidelined with a calf injury with an uncertain return timetable. Assuming both he and Embiid can stay healthy, pairing those two with Maxey would make the Sixers a legitimate postseason threat this spring.
Any Sixers move for Antetokounmpo would be complicated by his $54 million cap hit for this season.
In order to match salary, the 76ers might theoretically have to move out one of their most expensive contracts in Embiid ($55 million cap hit this season) or Paul George ($52 million cap hit).
Fischer recently reported that “lots of front offices” expect trades to involve three or four teams this winter, and that there is “a growing belief leaguewide” the Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets and Utah Jazz would be willing to take on salary in exchange for draft capital.
Should the Sixers decide to ultimately pursue a trade for Antetokounmpo, involving at least one additional team could help with salary cap restrictions.
In that case, the Sixers would need to decide by Feb. 5 whether pursuing Antetokounmpo would be worth the cost of parting ways with draft capital and whichever young stars would likely be sent to Milwaukee in exchange.