The Brooklyn Nets are one of the teams that will be navigating this offseason with the ability to make a bunch of different moves in the pursuit of improving the roster significantly. Brooklyn has four first-round picks to use in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, but they are reportedly still interested in trading for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. They may have to compete with another team to acquire him.
“You mentioned how the Spurs, it’s going to be an uphill climb to top their offer for Giannis, but maybe the Nets could be a facilitator,” NBA salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan said to Brian Lewis of the New York Post during a livestream where the two discuss the upcoming offseason for Brooklyn. The Nets could have more than $50 million of salary cap space and a surplus of draft capital that could allow them to swing a big offer for someone like Antetokounmpo.
“If the Bucks don’t particularly want a lottery pick as the centerpiece of their trade, maybe there’s a way they can get veterans from another team,” Gozlan continued. “The Bucks, I think they’re going to want to stay good and relevant now. Maybe there’s a way for the Nets to capitalize on that. I think there’s a lot of opportunity here, but I would expect them now to be even more active in this draft to try to fulfill their goals.”
Given that it is still early in the offseason, it is hard to determine what kind of package the Nets could offer the Bucks in exchange for Antetokounmpo since Brooklyn and Milwaukee still have to decide who will be under contract for next season before any players can be used in a potential deal. More to the point, Gozlan mentioned that Brooklyn may not be able to outbid the San Antonio Spurs, who came away from the Lottery with the second overall pick.
As such, while the Spurs may be able to offer the Bucks the players and/or draft capital that they are looking for if they end up trading Antetokounmpo, that doesn’t mean that the Nets can’t get in on the action. In this scenario, Brooklyn would not be bringing Antetokounmpo to Brooklyn, but they could get something from either team, probably a combination of players and draft capital, that could make it worthwhile to be a facilitator in the deal.