On Monday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that perennial All-Star forward and Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo is finally open to playing for teams outside of Milwaukee. Now 30 years old, the two-time MVP has played his entire NBA career to date with the Bucks.

Expect the Houston Rockets to do their due diligence.

Advertisement

In the aftermath of a 52-30 regular season (No. 2 in the Western Conference) and a first-round loss in the playoffs, Houston is open to both internal and external paths when it comes to taking the next step. Regarding the external options, The Athletic’s Kelly Iko and Sam Amick write:

Of all the possibilities this summer might bring, the idea of the “Greek Freak” donning a Rockets jersey is seen as the most intriguing within the organization. The cost most certainly would be exorbitant, with a collection of draft picks, veterans to make the money work and a young talent or two likely to be part of the package. And because of how Antetokounmpo best operates, as a primary playmaker and a hub of the offense, the prospect of him playing alongside Alperen Şengün in the frontcourt — if he wasn’t dealt — would come with its challenges. But not only is Antetokounmpo widely considered one of the league’s top three players, but also he’s still young enough at 30 that the runway for a Rockets future would be long.

A 6-foot-11 power forward, Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points (60.1% FG), 11.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game this season. With Milwaukee’s elimination from the first round of the East playoffs and the Achilles tear suffered by co-star Damian Lillard, speculation over Antetokounmpo’s future has ramped up in recent days.

Amen Thompson is widely viewed as untouchable on Houston’s end, even in trade talks for a marquee name such as Antetokounmpo. However, other young players and future draft equity could certainly be in play.

Advertisement

The next step will be learning whether Antetokounmpo formally asks for a trade and, if he does, whether Houston is on any list of desired destinations. He has a player option to enter free agency in the 2027 offseason, which could make it less likely for a team that isn’t on such a list to surrender enough assets to make the deal worthwhile to Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo will make $57.6 million next season, so any team trading for him would need to send out close to that much in salary to Milwaukee to make the deal work under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. That likely won’t be a problem for the Rockets, since players such as Sengun and Jalen Green will have significantly higher salaries in 2025-26. Houston could also theoretically use veteran guard Fred VanVleet as a salary matching piece, since the deadline date to decide on his 2025-26 team option was pushed back until late June.

More: ESPN: Look out for Rockets as potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade suitor with Bucks

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Report: Rockets open to pursuing Giannis Antetokounmpo deal with Bucks