Do The Sixers Have A Realistic Shot at a Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade?

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s long-term future in Milwaukee is back in question. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday that Antetokounmpo and his agent are having conversations with the Bucks about his future and “are discussing whether his best fit is staying or a move elsewhere.”

In other words, he’s soft-launching a trade request via a media leak.

Charania has spent the past few months reporting on Antetokounmpo’s uncertainty about the Bucks’ long-term direction. Now that he’s expected to miss the next two to four weeks because of a right calf strain, the Bucks could be poised to go into free fall, which might be the final nail in the coffin of his tenure in Milwaukee.

If the Bucks do eventually pull the ripcord and listen to offers on Antetokounmpo, it isn’t expected to be a clandestine operation limited to only one team, a la the Dallas Mavericks with Luka Dončić this past February. They figure to open the bidding to any team that’s interested and comb through the offers from there.

That begs the question: Would the Sixers have a realistic shot of landing the Greek Freak?

What Can The Sixers Offer For Antetokounmpo?

Antetokounmpo is earning $54.1 million this season. Since the Sixers are less than $1.1 million below the first apron, they’d need to send out nearly as much salary as they take back in any trade. So, for simplicity’s sake, let’s say they need to send out at least $53 million in any Antetokounmpo trade.

They have only one of three ways to get to that figure. They’d have to trade one of Joel Embiid ($55.2 million), Paul George ($51.7 million) or Tyrese Maxey ($38.0 million).

Given the current state of Embiid’s knees and the length of his remaining contract—his three-year, $188.2 million extension doesn’t even start until next season—he likely has negative trade value at this point. George’s value might not be quite as subterranean, although it’s hard to imagine a rebuilding Bucks team having much interest in a 35-year-old George who still has two years left on his contract beyond this season.

The Bucks presumably would have interest in Tyrese Maxey, who’s in the midst of an All-NBA-caliber leap this season, although he might be the one player whom the Sixers deem off-limits. That means conversations would turn to VJ Edgecombe, the No. 3 overall pick from the 2025 NBA draft.

Sixers fans might recoil at the thought of giving up Edgecombe, but keep in mind the type of offers they might be competing against. The Atlanta Hawks could offer some combination of Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher and the better of the Bucks or New Orleans Pelicans’ fully unprotected 2026 first-round pick, which figures to land in the mid-lottery at worst. The Houston Rockets could offer one (if not more) of Amen Thompson, Alperen Şengün or Reed Sheppard. The San Antonio Spurs could offer De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and/or Dylan Harper.

In other words: If the Sixers aren’t willing to include either Maxey or Edgecombe in Antetokounmpo trade talks, they might be dead on arrival.

When it comes to draft picks, the Sixers’ hands are somewhat tied by previous trades. They already owe a top-four-protected first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2026 and a top-eight-protected first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets. That means the can only trade their 2030 and 2032 first-rounders, although they can also trade swaps in 2027, 2029 and 2031.

However, the Sixers also own the Los Angeles Clippers’ fully unprotected 2028 first-round pick, and they have the right to swap first-rounders with the Clippers in 2029 so long as their pick falls outside of the top three. Given the current state of the Clippers, those picks may have more trade value than they did prior to the start of the season.

Even if the Sixers were willing to offer Edgecombe, George, the Clippers’ fully unprotected 2028 first-round pick and the right to swap picks with either the Sixers or Clippers in 2029, it’s unclear whether that’d be enough. That depends on how much other teams are willing to offer. If it’s not, the Sixers could also sweeten their offer with Jared McCain, although doing so would leave them short-handed in the backcourt aside from Maxey and Quentin Grimes.

While the thought of Maxey and Antetokounmpo rampaging through the East might be appealing, it’s fair to wonder if the cost of doing business would exceed the expected rate of return on a Giannis trade. As long as Embiid is cycling in and out of the lineup, having a $50 million albatross on their books might preclude the Sixers from joining the upper tier of title contenders no matter who else is on their roster.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst did say that teams are more reluctant to give up massive hauls of draft picks because of the NBA’s new apron era, so perhaps the Sixers could sneak into trade talks for the Greek Freak. But if Edgecombe is off the table, they’ll likely have a tough time beating the offers that some other teams could potentially make.