As we approach the NBA Trade Deadline (February 5th, at 3pm ET), the hottest commodity on the market will be Giannis Antetokounmpo. Since the Greek Freak was drafted back in 2013 by the Milwaukee Bucks he has become one of the tops stars in the league. He has been blessed with a unique blend of size and athleticism; something we have rarely seen from other players in the history of the NBA. His length has assisted him developing into a perennial all-NBA defender, capable of guarding multiple position players. And on top of that he has refined his skills over time developing into one of the best drivers to the basket we have ever seen; which culminated in Milwaukee winning the NBA Finals in 2021.
Entering the 2025-26 season reports started indicating that Giannis was ready to seek a trade out of Milwaukee after 12 seasons and now those reports since are indicating that the Bucks are officially listening to offers. So which teams are able to put the best trade packages for Giannis? Let’s break it down with a few scenarios for the report top four teams interested:
Trade Idea: Milwaukee Bucks trade Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Terry Rozier, Heat 1st round picks in 2030 and 2032, Heat 1st round pick swaps in ’26, ’29 and ’30.
Why: This is a good mix of young talent (Herro and Ware), along with an expiring contract (Rozier), and draft capital for multiple years which will give the Bucks plenty of ammunition to rebuild in the future. These additions could also help the Bucks potentially solidify a spot in the playoffs this year
Trade Idea: Milwaukee Bucks trade Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Bobby Portis to the Golden State Warriors for Jimmy Butler III, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, and 1st round picks in ’26, ’28, and ’32.
Why: The Butler contract would need to be included to make the money work. Kuminga and Podziemski are both young players the Bucks could build around and rumor has it that the Warriors offered the Bucks a similar package to the Bucks before word got out that Giannis was interested in leaving Milwaukee.
Trade Idea: Milwaukee Bucks trade Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Bobby Portis to the New York Knicks for OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Guerschon Yabusele, Miles McBride, Pascal Dadiet and multiple 1st round picks and pick swaps
Why: To get this one to work would be a little crazy as the Knicks would probably need to get a third team involved; perhaps to trade Bridges to and get the 1st round picks back to include in a potential trade for Giannis, but I’m trying to paint this scenario as something that could play out in a one for one trade. The Bucks get back a solid player in Anunoby and some decent role players as Giannis gets to New York which is near the top of his wish list.
Trade Idea: Milwaukee Bucks trade Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and Kyle Kuzma to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, future 1st round pick swaps in ’28 and ‘32
Why: Randle, McDaniels, and Reid are all solid players and would help Milwaukee stay competitive presently. Such as the Knicks trade the Timberwolves are probably going to need to bring a third team in due to Milwaukee’s demand for high value picks.
Final Prediction: The most likely scenario is Giannis ends up in Golden State. It feels like the Warriors will go all in to get one more run out of Steph Curry (who will turn 38 in March). I’ll say they get the deal done the day before the deadline (February 4th) in a similar package that I’ve layed out.
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