The Milwaukee Bucks’ self-imposed deadline of deciding on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the team is rapidly approaching, as the first round of the NBA draft is June 23. General manager Jon Horst has been gathering information on Antetokounmpo’s trade value, even as four teams are still competing in the playoffs.
But, how many teams are actually in the market to acquire the 31-year-old, two-time MVP?
It’s a legitimate question, because his arrival would signify a “win now” push not only for the 2026-27 season, but the immediate future that would also require a $275-million contract extension and the trading of several core players and future draft assets.
It is fair to say 29 other teams would love Antetokounmpo on their team, but the reality is not every organization is prepared to make a move for him. And, would the Bucks want to send Antetokounmpo to an Eastern Conference team to perhaps see their former franchise legend beat them in the playoffs?
“Are you going to get a Godfather offer from a team you’re willing to send him to?,” a league source asked when talking to the Journal Sentinel about the Bucks’ options.
“In terms of whether the whole league will come; I think it’s going to be fewer than 18 [teams]. I think you can probably count on two hands the number of teams that are actually going to make an offer that makes sense, that’s even going to be worth presenting [to the Bucks]. There are going to be teams that talk about it internally but they don’t make any sort of real offer, because you’re never going to win with that offer so why even make it? It’s going to be a limited pool.”
Let’s swing around the league and see what other executives have said about their appetite for a big move this summer (Editor’s note: Teams cannot openly speak about a player under contract with another team).
Yes, we want Giannis (4)
Orlando Magic
The Magic called the Bucks at the trade deadline, and former Bucks GM John Hammond is an influential voice in the Orlando front office. The Bucks would likely seek Paolo Banchero and Anthony Black, along with future first-round picks.
“Do we really want to break into this core? Because if we’re going to make a major move, then you’re going to break into the core. So, we have to see what major moves are in front of us. We have to see what smaller nibbles we can take. I will say this, short of acquiring a star player, I do believe that the greatest impact you can have on a team is to bring in a new coach.” – President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors have long been interested in acquiring Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee would likely ask for rising star Scottie Barnes along with future picks.
“We’re always going to be opportunistic in any trade market, it’s the reason why we have kept all of our first-round picks, it’s to be able to have that. Financially, we’re well-positioned in the future to take on money if we have to.” – GM Bobby Webster
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers have made clearing cap space for the summer of 2027 a priority in the event they could sign Antetokounmpo outright. Despite not having much real success under bombastic owner Steve Ballmer, the Clippers remain dedicated to acquiring stars. Milwaukee would likely look for Darius Garland and future first-round picks.
“Because as we build that bridge from competitive to contender, we’ve put ourselves in a very good position with emerging young players, draft capital and cap space going forward.” – President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank
Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland was reportedly interested in landing Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline, but such a move would likely require them to move on from 2025 defensive player of the year Evan Mobley and future first-round picks. The Cavaliers may also be entertaining yet another reunion with LeBron James while having to re-sign 36-year-old James Harden. The team may also be looking to trade Donovan Mitchell, who like Antetokounmpo, is eligible for an extension in the offseason.
Teams that want Giannis, but … (4)
Miami Heat
The Heat have long been interested in Antetokounmpo and had a trade offer rejected by the Bucks at the deadline.
“It doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be aggressive as hell or we’re not going to be aggressive as hell to try to make the team better. It’s all I’ve ever tried to do since I’ve been here.” – President Pat Riley
But, Riley said Bam Adebayo is effectively untouchable, and a trade package centered around Tyler Herro and draft picks was not enough to even pry away Damian Lillard in the summer of 2023. Also, Herro is in line for an extension the Heat have had no interest in giving him, so if the Bucks make this move they believe he is a franchise player.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves would like to pair Antetokounmpo with star guard Anthony Edwards, and Antetokounmpo has indicated an interest in playing in Minnesota. The Timberwolves and Bucks did have conversations at the trade deadline.
“I’d rather get fired for trying than sit here and just do the job in survival mode. So risky, I think, is if you’re a championship-level team and make a huge trade. I don’t know what level of risk there is when you’re bounced in the second round. I think we’re open to it. Certainly, we’re not driven by it.” – President of basketball operations Tim Connelly
But, Connelly said Jaden McDaniels is someone they want to keep, as was retaining Ayo Dosunmu in free agency. Though neither are all-stars, they are good young players that the Bucks would likely want to have. Would Milwaukee want 34-year-old Rudy Gobert or 32-year-old Julius Randle? Naz Reid is a good player, but the Bucks have their version of the big man in Bobby Portis Jr.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have also had a longtime interest in acquiring Antetokounmpo to try to extend their championship window alongside franchise legend Stephen Curry. The Bucks and Warriors had discussions at the trade deadline.
“I think a big focus will be on internal improvement… we didn’t get to a point where we played a team where their roster is better than ours. So, [for] that reason we’re more focused on stuff that we can control.” – GM Mike Dunleavy Jr.
But, the Warriors only have injured players and draft picks to send the Bucks in Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, along with draft picks. Perhaps Draymond Green would be part of a deal should he opt into his contract, but Dunleavy said he wants Green to finish his career with the Warriors.
New York Knicks
The Bucks and Knicks engaged in superficial trade discussions last August and the Knicks were interested again at the deadline.
But, acquiring 30-year-old Karl-Anthony Towns (who is also extension eligible and will make $3 million more than Antetokounmpo next season if he picks up his option) would not seem appealing, and no other key Knicks player outside of Jalen Brunson is an all-star. Of the Knicks current core, only OG Anunoby is under the age of 30 and he is not an all-star who makes more than $40 million.
Maybe we’re interested? (5)
Boston Celtics
Boston inquired about Antetokounmpo’s availability in season. But, the Celtics do not have any young players of note. Jaylen Brown would have to be part of any deal, but he would start the 2026-27 season just one year younger than Antetokounmpo and costing just $1 million less. The Celtics have a bevy of future draft picks, but a third team might have to get involved to send Milwaukee young players.
“We had a really hard time generating good looks on that first shot. We’ve got to figure out a way to do better at that. One of the things we’ve got to figure out is how to have more of an impact at the rim and I think we do need to add to our team to do that.” – President of basketball operations Brad Stevens
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets have long had interest in Antetokounmpo, though they currently don’t have any significant young players of value to add to a bevy of future draft picks.
“It depends a little on what becomes available. You just never know. And I think, again, we’ve put this Brooklyn Nets team and franchise in a place to be able to be opportunistic. Does that fit our timeline? Does this particular trade work for us right now? I mean, you can always add talent, but does the talent fit our approach and fit the development of these young guys and fit in with the group that we have and so forth.” – GM Sean Marks
Houston Rockets
The Rockets have frequently been mentioned as a suitor for Antetokounmpo, largely because of a bevy of young players and future draft picks. Would Houston want to further press the gas on a championship push after trading for Kevin Durant last season?
“In terms of the roster, you know, we’ll look at everything over the offseasons and look at all potential deals. But we think that the players in your locker room can win a lot of games and can be very competitive. My firm expectation is – we have players coming back from injury, they will help us – if we bring back largely the same group I think continuity will help us. But the single biggest thing is my expectation is that Tari [Eason], Jabari [Smith Jr.], Reed [Sheppard], ‘Alpy,’ [Alperen Şengün] Amen [Thompson], all need to be way better basketball players next year. I think they should be. That’s on them, that’s on us. But I expect that growth from them. And so, I expect to be an improved team next year regardless of our ability or willingness to bring in any outside talent.” – GM Rafael Stone
Indiana Pacers
Talk about ramping the rivalry up a notch! The Pacers have not been mentioned as a possible suitor for Antetokounmpo, but head coach Rick Carlisle has a deep affinity for the former MVP. The Pacers don’t have a lot of young, emerging stars so this would be a pick-heavy transaction with 32-year-old Pascal Siakam as part of the deal.
“We have some flexibility [in trades]. We have five of our next six years [of first-round draft picks]. Some of those trades where it’s four and five and six picks, they’re out. They’re done. They’ve shoved their chips in and they’re done. And we’ve got a full slate. Five out of six. So when you look at the Pacers, you have to think about this. The draft is important but it’s sort of hope and you’re trying to think how do I get a player for down the line. Even the top players that come in this draft it’s hard to make an impact early on and we’re in win now. We are in win now. And we’re going to try to make moves this summer, maybe around the edges, maybe big, we’ll see about that.” – President of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard
Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers have been linked to Antetokounmpo in large part because they own swap rights on the Bucks’ 2028 and 2030 first-round draft picks as well as the Bucks’ 2029 first-round pick. Portland has a couple of young players who might be of interest to Milwaukee as well.
“Big splash is definitely something that’s intriguing to us, but only at the right price point. We’re not going to completely sacrifice our future for a short-term swing. But at the same time, we plan to be very active and aggressive and explore all opportunities out there. If none of those opportunities present themselves, we’ll be content doing some smaller things, confident that our talent base is strong and that the addition of Dame [Lillard], the internal development, fine-tuning some of these skill-set deficiencies we have, we can take a nice step whether we make a big splash or not.” – GM Joe Cronin
Unknown (3)
The following teams might be interested in Antetokounmpo for a variety of reasons, but at the time of publication it was hard to gauge interest.
Oklahoma City Thunder
First, the Thunder are currently facing a $213 million luxury tax bill for next season. Moves will be made. And though the Thunder may yet win their second straight title after finishing the season as the league’s best team with 62 wins, that size of tax bill is unwieldy. Also, should they lose to San Antonio largely because of an inability to defend against, or score upon, the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, would that be enough for typically patient GM Sam Presti to make a “desperate” win-now move in breaking up a young, championship core for Antetokounmpo?
If so, the Bucks would most likely jump at an offer that should include all-NBA wing Jaylen Williams and potential star guards Cason Wallace and/or Ajay Mitchell, along with future first-round picks.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs won 60 games and are in the Western Conference finals because a very, very young core coalesced quickly around Wembanyama. Many believe they arrived “early” this season.
Even though Wembanyama is just 22 years old, if the Spurs fall short of a title, would they wish to accelerate their championship timeline by trading 29-year-old De’Aaron Fox and one or more of their young guards – along with a bevy of future picks – to acquire Antetokounmpo before Wembanyama’s salary skyrockets in the 2027-28 season?
Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers are currently looking for a general manager, and president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment Bob Myers is running the search for a new top basketball executive. The 76ers have three massive contracts on the books in oft-injured and aging stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, along with all-star guard Tyrese Maxey, and a handful of future draft picks (2028 Clippers and 2030-33 of their own).
“Well we didn’t get it done this year with three guys, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done,” Myers said. “I think it’s a smart question in that ‘What’s the modern roster supposed to look like with the second apron, really, which often operates as a hard cap?’ The truth is depth may be more important than it’s ever been. Maybe that’s the pace of play. Maybe that’s what we require of our players more. Not to say that this model doesn’t work, but we have to look at what happened this year and be honest about it and see if – we’ve got to be honest about, can this model work? And that’s really the question, and also understanding that depth is key, and you only have a certain amount of resources to spend. So that’s something – that’s all part of the questions. It’s all part of what we need to figure out going forward.”
Probably not the right time for Giannis (13)
The following teams are on this list largely because their top decision-maker made a strong comment after the season about the direction of their team. That doesn’t mean their mind wouldn’t change regarding making a real run at Antetokounmpo between the end of the season and draft night, but they offered hints that maybe now is not the right time to go all in.
Atlanta Hawks
“We are not one player away from this, the best iteration of this team is going to be through development and our players currently getting better.” – GM Onsi Saleh
Owczarski’s analysis: The Hawks turned their roster over and traded former franchise player Trae Young to hand the keys to Jalen Johnson, and the team made the playoffs. Johnson, along with wing Jonathan Kuminga or even defensive dynamo Dyson Daniels, plus picks, would be an enticement for the Bucks – but would the Hawks be willing to effectively tear down the team again? It appears unlikely now.
Los Angeles Lakers
“The archetype of the roster we want is going to be retrofitted around Luka [Dončić] and the things he needs. Clearly, he’s that leader and player for the future that we want to build the right way around.” – President of basketball operations and GM Rob Pelinka
Owczarski’s analysis: Of course the Lakers will inquire about Antetokounmpo – star plays wind up in their laps for a pittance on a regular basis. But the Lakers don’t have any emerging young players or a host of draft picks to compete with other teams on the marketplace.
Dallas Mavericks
“We are not going to make decisions based on winning today. I don’t think that would make sense for the organization.” – President Masai Ujiri
Owczarski’s analysis: The Mavericks used to be a team that one had to watch for an Antetokounmpo acquisition, but now all of the power players who were part of those previous plans [majority owner Mark Cuban, general managers Donnie Nelson and Nico Harrison and head coach Jason Kidd] are all gone. Ujiri longed for Antetokounmpo when he was in Toronto, but he has made it very clear they’re not trading Cooper Flagg, and the Mavericks don’t have any young players or picks to move.
Detroit Pistons
“We look forward to coming together with [Jalen Duren’s] representative and getting a deal done, and for him to continue to be a Piston.” – President of basketball operations Trajan Langdon
Owczarski’s analysis: The Pistons are definitely in win-now mode, and need a big man. But Duren is eligible for an extension worth up to $239 million. If re-signing him is a priority, there is no room or money for Antetokounmpo.
Denver Nuggets
“Everything is going to be on the table, outside of trading Nikola [Jokić ]. I think we need to have running it back as a possibility. I think this season, in a lot of ways, is the season that never was. Because this group never fully got a chance to show any kind of rhythm.” – President Josh Kroenke
Owczarski’s analysis: “Everything is going to be on the table” is an interesting line from Kroenke, but the Nuggets have fewer assets than the Bucks in terms of future draft picks. Perhaps younger players like Peyton Watson or Christian Braun would be interesting to Milwaukee, but other teams would have more significant packages to consider.
Phoenix Suns
“Can we win more games? Can we win a playoff series? That’s what we’re going to focus on … I like the culture that we’ve built. We’re not going to do anything silly to mess that up.” – Owner Mat Ishbia
Owczarski’s analysis: Ishbia may finally be exercising some patience with his team, but the only player they could possibly trade for Antetokounmpo is Devin Booker (who makes more money, and Ishbia said is untouchable). Phoenix also has no future draft assets of note.
Washington Wizards
“I would say directly to the fans, the Wizards train is starting to leave the station. It’s not full speed ahead, but we do plan to move with a little bit of momentum.” – GM Will Dawkins
Owczarski’s analysis: A rumor began floating around the NBA draft combine that the Wizards might package the No. 1 pick, 21-year-old big man Alex Sarr and another young player for Antetokounmpo. Another version of that rumor had Anthony Davis coming to Milwaukee with the No. 1 pick. The Wizards have tanked for so long to get these young players, multiple league sources told the Journal Sentinel it just wouldn’t make sense for them to then blow it up and go all-in on a shorter timeline with an older Antetokounmpo and Trae Young.
Utah Jazz
“Jaren [Jackson Jr.] was kind of our big move. So I would say we’ll always be aggressive, looking to improve the team. But, unless amazing opportunities present themselves, we don’t have tons of cap space. It’ll be more additive players.” – President of basketball operations Austin Ainge
Owczarski’s analysis: Danny Ainge, CEO of the Jazz, has long coveted Antetokounmpo. And, Jackson Jr. has history with Bucks head coach Taylor Jenkins. But the Jazz gave up three first-round picks for the former defensive player of the year. Would they be willing to ship him, plus a young guard like Ace Bailey and more future firsts without ever seeing Jackson play with Walker Kessler and Lauri Markkanen? It feels unlikely.
Sacramento Kings
“My philosophy is never to be a team going into a luxury tax unless we were a roster worthy of that, ready to compete for a championship. We’re not there yet.” – GM Scott Perry
Owczarski’s analysis: The Kings just have nothing to offer, and they’re too far away from contending to make such a move.
Chicago Bulls
“We’re obviously going to take our time. This is not going to be something that is rushed. This is the beginning stages.” – Executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham
Owczarski’s analysis: The Bulls may have been an interesting team to watch, but now Graham has to dig out of the hole dug by the previous regime.
New Orleans Pelicans
“We have no intentions of doing that. We’re going into the offseason looking forward to Zion [Williamson] coming back next year and playing great again next year.” − Executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars
Owczarski’s analysis: The appeal of any deal with New Orleans would be to get future picks dealt for Jrue Holiday back, but the Pelicans have since traded those rights to Atlanta. And while Milwaukee may not have wanted Zion Williamson in any potential Antetokounmpo deal, they are too similar of players to pair together.
Charlotte Hornets
“We can’t skip steps. Again, I’ve seen it too many times and it ends up not going the way that you think it goes, in terms of trying to speed things up. Look, we’ve made a ton of progress this season internally, and I’m excited because I know that’s going to continue to happen. But we’ll continue to be strategic and, when the opportunity presents itself, I know we’ll be ready because of the flexibility that we have.” – President of basketball operations Jeff Peterson
Owczarski’s analysis: Because of the presence of former Bucks assistant Charles Lee as head coach, there is a natural connection for Antetokounmpo. But, it would require the Bucks taking on point guard LaMelo Ball, to go with multiple future draft picks. It would appear Kon Knueppel would be off the table in such a trade package as well.
Memphis Grizzlies
“I think if you zoom all the way out and look at the group of young players we already have, coupled with having as many first-round assets as nearly anyone in the league, it’s going to speak for itself soon.” – Executive vice president of basketball operations and GM Zach Kleiman
Owczarski’s analysis: The Grizzlies aren’t even done with their tear down, as they have yet to trade embattled star Ja Morant and it is clear they are wanting to move him as opposed to bringing in Antetokounmpo to play with him. Memphis has collected eight first-round picks in trades for Desmond Bane and Jackson Jr., but have little else on their roster. They’re not ready to go all in yet.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: List of teams that want to trade for Bucks’ Giannis shorter than you think
Reporting by Jim Owczarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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