If the Milwaukee Bucks stumble out of the gate, or just don’t look like contenders, the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors are going to heat up. It will not matter that it’s unlikely he gets traded mid-season for a couple of reasons, logic has never slowed the NBA rumor mill down.
Antetokounmpo and his agent are preparing for the mid-season option, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on NBA Today (hat tip MrBuckBuck on X).
“Giannis Antetokounmpo, his agent Alex Saratsis, have been figuring out which teams, if this does get to a point of a trade request, which team could find its way — which multiple teams find their way. And I think that process will continue into the season.”
Antetokounmpo and his agent will find that several factors make it highly unlikely he will be traded mid-season. First is the fact that he is making $54.1 million this season, a lot of money for a team to take on, which ties into the next issue. Second, the luxury tax apron era has tied the hands of teams and limited the trade offers they can make because of the apron restrictions. The final issue is the fact that because Antetokounmpo makes so much, and the fact that the Bucks will want multiple young players (along with a boatload of picks) in return for any trade, it becomes a roster numbers game. Milwaukee would have to waive players currently under guaranteed contract to take back multiple players and stay below the 15-player limit during the season (that number jumps to 20 in the offseason, making this trade easier).
There are teams with the combination of young players and picks that would interest the Bucks. San Antonio has that and could pair Antetokounmpo with Victor Wembanyama. Houston, even after signing Kevin Durant, has that. However, both Rockets and Spurs are hard-capped at the first apron this season, making in-season trade construction challenging.
Oklahoma City has the picks and players to make an offer, although the defending champions aren’t really interested, reports Chris Mannix at Sports Illustrated. There would be other teams interested, including the Knicks and Heat (although whether their offers would interest the Bucks is up for debate), with Mannix also mentioning Orlando and Detroit as young teams on the rise who might jump into the mix.
No doubt the rumors will fly, especially if the Bucks get off to a slow start, but that doesn’t change the fact that an in-season Antetokounmpo trade is unlikely. Next offseason, however, feels like a very different story.
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