It's all anyone is talking about in NBA circles right now — the Milwaukee Bucks are listening to trade offers for Giannis Antetokounmpo. That is a massive change from where they were just weeks ago, but the smart money is still betting on the entire saga continuing past the Feb. 5 trade deadline and into the offseason. That hasn't stopped teams from calling Milwaukee to try to find a deal. Here are some of the latest rumors.
The Warriors pushing for trade now
Milwaukee seems to be sitting back, taking its time, and assessing the market as trade calls come in. The Bucks are seemingly in no rush, fully comfortable if this saga rolls past the deadline and into the offseason. There are some in league circles who think Milwaukee is just getting a survey of what's available before getting serious this offseason.
Golden State is in a rush — it is the team pushing hardest to get a deal done now and pair Antetokounmpo with Stephen Curry, league sources told NBC Sports. That's because if Milwaukee wants to trade Antetokounmpo before the Feb. 5 deadline, the Golden State Warriors have the best offer: Up to four first-round picks, a pick swap, Jonathan Kuminga, Jimmy Butler (for the salary matching) and more. If this drags into the offseason, teams such as the Knicks and Heat will have improved offers with more draft picks available.
The Warriors will go all-in to make this happen, reports Monte Poole at NBC Sports Bay Area.
The Warriors, according to multiple NBA sources, are indeed making a compelling pitch to add the Greek Freak, who has been a fantasy for years. Giannis might not have a bigger fan, outside his family, than Warriors CEO Joe Lacob...
"The Bucks don't have to do anything before the deadline," one league source said Thursday. "Now it could get uncomfortable if they keep Giannis for the rest of the season when everybody knows he wants out. That's an option if they don't like what's offered. But any team that makes a deal with them will have to give up a lot. A whole lot."
The Warriors are offering what they see as a whole lot right now. Whether it is enough remains to be seen.
Brooklyn Nets expected to make offer
For years, reports have come out of Brooklyn that general manager Sean Marks saw landing Giannis Antetokounmpo as the franchise's next big turning point. He's been collecting draft picks and young players in part just for this moment (and in part for the ongoing rebuild).
Combine Brooklyn's fascination with Antetokounmpo and Brooklyn targeting next season to end the teardown part of the rebuild — they want to start winning — and it all comes together. Expect the Nets to jump in and make a bold offer, reports Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Brooklyn has 10 first-round picks it can trade (11 if you wait until they select on Draft night and include the player they select in the mix), as well as Michael Porter Jr., Nic Claxton, Terance Mann, and other interesting talent. It's enough to make a very serious offer.
This raises the question of how much the Bucks are going to work with Antetokounmpo to get him to a team on his list. Is Brooklyn on his list, and would he sign a contract extension there? (Note, we are not sure which teams are on that list, we only have educated guesses.) Does Milwaukee care about that list? (Probably, they don't want to punish him on the way out the door, but the Bucks also need an elite return in this deal.)
Add the Nets to the list of teams to watch.
Lakers in mix this summer?
If a superstar is switching teams, it's required by law to discuss how the Lakers could land that player.
The Lakers are "a team to keep an eye on from Giannis' standpoint, just as another team of interest," The Ringer’s Howard Beck said on the Zach Lowe Show podcast. Ignore the question of how two ball-dominant players like Luka Doncic and Antetokounmpo would fit together and just think star power.
Any Lakers trade would be in the offseason. Right now, they could offer one first-round pick, but this summer the Lakers could offer whoever they draft this year (in a post-draft trade), along with two future first-rounders. Austin Reaves would have to be in the deal, and basically anyone else on the Lakers' roster who isn't from Slovenia. That still may not be enough to get it done unless Giannis puts his hand on the scale and forces it, but it is something to watch.
Don’t expect trade in coming days
As noted above, the Bucks are being very patient in this process. Which led Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst at ESPN to write this:
In conversations with sources around the league over the past 48 hours, the widespread expectation is that the Giannis saga will drag out until at least Thursday. Then, Bucks general manager Jon Horst and his staff will have to decide whether to make a move now or wait until the offseason. Three sources said they expect the trade drama in Milwaukee to stretch into the summer.
"I'm just not sure why it wouldn't make sense to wait," an East scout said. "They can see where the draft [lottery] is, and survey their options then."
Most league sources NBC Sports has spoken with expect this to be an offseason trade, when more teams have more draft picks available and there is more roster flexibility.
Could Giannis re-sign with Bucks?
The Milwaukee Bucks do not want to trade Antetokounmpo. He has said he would never ask for a trade.
All of which is another reason it's advantageous for the Bucks to wait until the offseason to make any decision — they might be able to make a trade that brings in more talent and gets Antetokounmpo to re-sign and stay in Milwaukee. It's something Jim Owczarski wrote about at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Trade rumors have their own momentum, but every other time Antetokounmpo has been up for a contract extension (as he is this offseason, a $275 million max extension), he has signed it while 29 other teams stood waiting. Antetokounmpo used the extension to leverage the Bucks into making a big trade (Jrue Holiday one time, Damian Lillard another), then he signed the deal to stay.
Maybe the relationship between Antetokounmpo and the Bucks has run its course. But this offseason, Bucks GM Jon Horst would have a couple of first-round draft picks, some more money under the tax, and the ability to make a bold move to bring in a player. You can be sure he will try — at the very least, he will present a path forward in Milwaukee to Antetokounmpo. Maybe Antetokounmpo says it's time to part ways, but leaving the Bucks re-signing him completely off the table is a mistake.
Edgecombe off table
Philadelphia GM Daryl Morey is a big-game hunter, and based on his track record, we should all expect the 76ers to at least lurk around and see if there is an Antetokounmpo trade to be had.
If there is, rookie VJ Edgecombe is off the table, a source told Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.
They would be idiots to do so. The 76ers have one of the best and most promising backcourts in the league in Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey, and Maxey is the older player at just 25. What the Bucks want back in a trade is a lot of draft picks and one "blue chip" young player who can become a star — Edgecombe is that. Still, trading a 20-year-old Edgecombe for a 31-year-old Antetokounmpo with an injury history is some serious short-term thinking that Morey should avoid.
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