Expect a lot of trade news surrounding Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo in the coming month and a half.
2 Teams Reportedly Drop Out Of Race For Giannis Antetokounmpo, 1 Emerges As New Favorite
This is nothing new, as these types of rumors have been swirling around Antetokounmpo since last summer. On the plus side, a resolution is expected by the 2026 NBA Draft on June 23. That is when the 33-year-old, who will make $58.4 million in 2026-27, is expected to be traded or agree to a four-year, $275 million extension, which he’s eligible to sign on Oct. 1.
“I just think before the draft is a natural time,” Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam said about the timeline on Antetokounmpo’s future during a smaller scrum after the franchise’s news conference introducing Taylor Jenkins as head coach (h/t Karley Marotta of TMJ4 News). “Because if Giannis does play somewhere else, we oughta get a lot of assets, and that’s [general manager] Jon’s [Horst] job to do it. If he’s here, then you build the team differently.”
So, where could Antetokounmpo land if he decides to leave Milwaukee after 13 seasons? It is really too early to tell. Earlier today, The Athletic’s Eric Nehm and Sam Amick listed six teams as current suitors for Antetokounmpo.
The Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers, and Toronto Raptors are firmly in the mix. But the duo added that the New York Knicks‘, Cleveland Cavaliers‘, and perhaps Minnesota Timberwolves‘ positions may be better known if they are eliminated in the second round.
Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks Aren’t Expected To Pursue Giannis
Nehm and Amick also add that the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic are likely out of contention for Antetokounmpo.
The Magic were considered long shots to land Antetokounmpo, but they did inquire about the possibility of landing the Greek Freak in February, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The Magic finished a disappointing eighth in the East with a 45-37 record as Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs missed significant time. However, they did take the top-seeded Detroit Pistons to seven games in the first round, taking a 3-1 lead, though Wagner sat out the final three games of the season.
As Nehm and Amick noted, despite their early inquiry, acquiring Antetokounmpo would not fix their shooting problem. The Magic ranked in the bottom-third of the league in field goal percentage (.464) and 3-point percentage (.343). They made just 39.7% of their field goals and 32.8% of their 3-point attempts in their first-round series against the Pistons. A team source tells The Athletic’s pair of reporters that the Magic have not engaged with the Bucks since the trade deadline, which makes sense. The day after the Pistons eliminated them from the playoffs, Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman told reporters he didn’t want to tear the team apart (h/t ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk):
“When healthy, we were top five (on) defense and top 10 (on) offense… I think we saw some of what we had hoped to see (against Detroit). So I don’t want to tear this thing down and dismantle it because of the way it ended and certainly one half.”
Like Orlando, Atlanta is not expected to pursue Antetokounmpo because the Hawks like their young core:
“With 24-year-old Jalen Johnson ascending as a major building block, 25-year-old big man Onyeka Okongwu developing into a core piece, the addition of 27-year-old Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the emergence of 23-year-old defensive specialist Dyson Daniels, the Hawks (46-36) managed to finish with their best record since the 2015-16 season,” Nehm and Amick write.
Celtics Now The Favorite To Land Antetokounmpo
While the Kalshi prediction market has Antetokounmpo staying with Milwaukee this season at 27% as of today, if he is traded, the Celtics are now the leading destination. Kalshi gives the Celtics a 24% chance of acquiring Antetokounmpo, followed by the Magic (11%), the Heat, and the Dallas Mavericks. Meanwhile, the Knicks have a 9% chance, and the Trail Blazers have a 7% chance.
Of the teams listed, Boston makes the most sense as a possibility, followed by the Heat, Raptors (2%), and Trail Blazers. However, Nehm and Amick said there is a strong belief that Antetokounmpo prefers to stay in the East:
“Even before Jaylen Brown sparked a conversation about whether he still wants to be in Boston this week, when his online comments about this season being the “favorite season of his career” were confusing at best and controversial at worst, league sources had pegged the Celtics as a team to watch on the Antetokounmpo front,” The Athletic’s duo said.
The Celtics, who were without Jayson Tatum for three-fourths of the regular season, were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games. The Celtics lost three of their final four games to the 76ers, struggling to make shots and get to the free-throw line.
Boston has 14 players under contract, though the Celtics have a lot of flexibility with only eight players holding guaranteed deals. The Celtics are also $13.2 million under the tax threshold.
Potential Trade Celtics-Bucks Proposal
The Celtics and Bucks could do a 1-for-1 trade with Brown being exchanged for Antetokounmpo, though based on Haslam’s comments about getting a ton of assets, that is not a deal Milwaukkee would accept. So, the Celtics could have to include draft picks. The C’s don’t have any draft picks in 2026 and no second-round selections until 2030. They do have six first-round picks between 2027 and 2033 though.
Celtics receive:
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Bucks receive:
2027 first-round pick
2029 first-round pick
2031 first-round pick
2033 first-round pick
Trade exception (Celtics hold two big trade exceptions over $20 million)
Photo Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
