The Updated Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade Landscape

I take a look at the teams most frequently linked to Giannis Antetokounmpo, if their best trade package for him improved or declined after free agency, and if they could make a deal now.

It’s been exactly three months since Shams Charania reported that, for the first time, Giannis Antetokounmpo is open-minded about playing somewhere other than Milwaukee. This came on the heels of a third consecutive first-round playoff exit for the Bucks when Damian Lillard tore his Achilles.

The speculation on Antetokounmpo’s future preceded Charania’s report due to various circumstances surrounding the Bucks’ team-building situation. They had minimal draft picks to trade and little to no young players with upside. It was hard for many following the league to envision a path back to contention with those factors and effectively $54 million in dead money on the books from Lillard.

With their backs against the wall, the Bucks went ahead and made an unprecedented move: waiving and stretching the remaining two years, $113 million on Lillard’s contract over five years. That, along with a couple of other moves, gave them the cap space necessary to sign Myles Turner to a four-year, $109 million contract. The Bucks got their Brook Lopez replacement in a move signalling their commitment to competing with Antetokounmpo.

Despite these moves, Charania reports that Antetokounmpo’s situation remains unsettled. He adds that there remain “real conversations” about whether Antetokounmpo believes he can win a championship with this roster. It’s easy to feel uninspired with this group if you read each name and exclude his. And that’s even in a wide-open Eastern Conference.

While Antetokounmpo hasn’t explicitly asked for a trade, we also haven’t received any confirmation that he won’t request one. Nothing will change until then, since the Bucks won’t trade him unless he requests a trade.

At the same time, he’s remained committed in the past without reiterating his commitment. The most likely scenario is that he will start the season with the Bucks, even if he’s starting to reconsider his long-term future. Ramona Shelburne gets the sense that nothing will be decided one way or another until the end of August or September.

A lot has changed around the league since that speculation started. The draft and free agency impacted the team’s trade packages and the timing of when players can be traded. Teams that were considered to have one of the best trade packages for the next available superstar may have changed their situations entirely.

Here is an update on the Antetokounmpo trade landscape featuring several teams he’s been frequently linked to, including their best package for a star, and their viability to get a deal done sooner rather than later.

New York Knicks

The Knicks have been linked to Antetokounmpo for a couple of years now. He was considered one of their targets if they were ever to parlay their surplus of first-round picks for a star. That possibility mostly went away by trading most of their picks for Mikal Bridges. They made it even less likely when they consolidated several tradeable salaries for the max contract of Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Knicks are operating above the first apron and below the second apron. They can still acquire Antetokounmpo by aggregating several salaries as long as they are equal to or are more than Antetokounmpo’s $54.1 million salary. For example, they can swap Towns for him, but the Bucks would likely require more value.

The best way to maximize value for the Bucks is for both OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges to be involved. Such a deal could involve them going to third teams, and those teams sending multiple young players and future first-round picks to the Bucks. Eric Pincus laid out a great example of how that type of trade could look.

However, Bridges signed a near-max extension on August 1 that went above his extend and trade limitations. He cannot be traded for six months, which would seemingly lower the Knicks’ chances at getting a deal done until the week of the trade deadline. But they’re still positioned to make the salary matching work before then, if Antetokounmpo requests a trade sooner.