As the Milwaukee Bucks stumble toward the playoffs without Damian Lillard — and face plenty of questions even if Lillard returns this season — there are teams across the league keeping an eye on Giannis Antetokounmpo's situation. As has been reported at NBC Sports before, he is on top of most teams' "superstars to monitor" list because he is so competitive and Milwaukee seems to be sliding away from contention.
Add rebuilding Brooklyn to that list of interested teams, reports Brian Lewis at the New York Post.
"Multiple league personnel that have spoken with The Post say Giannis Antetokounmpo has been and remains Plan A for the Nets. If Antetokounmpo gets traded elsewhere this summer, that may make GM Sean Marks' path simple, tanking for another year and building through the lottery."
Let's provide some context for this report.
• The Bucks will not trade Antetokounmpo unless he demands it, league sources have told NBC Sports on multiple occasions. Milwaukee has no motivation to make a trade. Antetokounmpo is a top-three player in the world who drives winning on the court and drives the business model for the Bucks off it — fans pay for tickets to see him, sponsors pay to be associated with the franchise because of him.
• Antetokounmpo has not requested a trade.
• Antetokounmpo signed a three-year contract extension with the Bucks a year ago that does not even kick in until next season. He is under contract with the team until the summer of 2027 (he has a player option for the season after that).
• Milwaukee cannot trade Antetokounmpo and pivot to a rebuild because the Bucks don't control their own pick until 2031 (and even if a team sent them five first-round picks in a trade, how good would those picks be as Antetokounmpo lifts said team into the playoffs and likely contention).
• With his contract extension, even if Antetokounmpo requested a trade, the Bucks could slow-play finding a deal, instead looking for a way to upgrade their roster and keep Antetokounmpo happy and in Wisconsin.
• Antetokounmpo has fueled rumors more than once by saying that competing for a ring is the most important thing. The current iteration of the Bucks does not look like a title contender, and the roster is getting older.
• If Antetokounmpo requested a trade, literally every team in the league would at least call and kick the tires on a potential trade. Antetokounmpo is a two-time MVP in his prime, players like that do not become available in a trade.
• If Antetokounmpo requested a trade, he would want to be dealt somewhere he makes the team a legit title contender. Brooklyn would have a lot of other work to do to get there.
All of which is to say Brooklyn GM Sean Marks may have Antetokounmpo as "Plan A" but he had better have a "Plan B" and "Plan C" ready to go, too. Plan A is a real long shot.
Kyle Terada-Imagn Images