Superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo may have already played his last game with the Milwaukee Bucks, as the team fell in five games to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs.
This is the third straight year Antetokounmpo played lights-out basketball in the postseason, but the Bucks came up well short of the biggest stage. Milwaukee's franchise cornerstone may be fed up with the lack of success and request a trade this summer.
If that's the case, The Athletic proposes a blockbuster trade between the Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, and San Antonio Spurs that pairs Antetokounmpo alongside Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox.
The full hypothetical trade details are as follows:
Bucks get: Zion Williamson, Keldon Johnson, 2025 first-round pick (Spurs, via Hawks), 2027 first-round pick swap rights (Pelicans), 2029 first-round pick (Spurs)
Pelicans get: Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Pat Connaughton, 2027 first-round pick (Spurs, via Hawks)
Spurs get: Giannis Antetokounmpo
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"Go big or go home. If the Bucks have no choice but to trade Giannis, they make a multi-team deal that gets them a potential superstar to build around in the still-just-24-year-old Williamson and a rotational wing in Johnson," The Athletic's David Aldridge shared.
Aldridge continued, "Most importantly, they get a whole lot of future firsts to give them a chance to rebuild if Williamson can’t overcome his history of injuries, including a ’25 pick at the back of the lottery, and potential control of their own first back in ’27, just as Williamson is entering the last year of his current deal."
Antetokounmpo and Williamson are the same archetype of player. An explosive driving threat who excels by using their athleticism in the paint on both ends of the floor. However, Williamson is roughly six years younger than Antetokounmpo, which could persuade the Bucks to accept this deal.
The Spurs would deplete their depth in this scenario but also create one of the top trios in the NBA with Antetokounmpo, Wembanyama, and Fox. The biggest question mark here is whether or not the Pelicans could find greater return value for the former No. 1 pick, Williamson.
Antetokounmpo is yet to request a trade out of Milwaukee, and until he does, the Bucks are likely to do everything in their power to convince him to stay.
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