The Brooklyn Nets could be in play for Giannis Antetokounmpo if he and the Milwaukee Bucks decide to part ways.
The Ringer’s Howard Beck dropped the latest rumor surrounding Antetokounmpo’s uncertain future in Milwaukee on “The Zach Lowe Show” podcast on Tuesday.
“I poked around a little bit a few days ago and the initial thing I got from one person was just like some rumblings that it’s already just the big cities: One of the LA teams or one of the New York teams or maybe Miami, not a big market, but a glamour market, mid-size market,” Howard said. “I think they threw Chicago in there. I can’t remember if Houston came up. It should. So first is like, where does Giannis want to go and do they honor that? Because again, back to Damian Lillard, you’re not obligated to honor it.”
Across the Brooklyn bridge, the New York Knicks already have their All-Star big man in Karl-Anthony Towns and they had already emptied their cupboard in the Mikal Bridges trade last summer.
The Nets have the combination of cap space, plethora of picks and tradable contracts that makes them an intriguing trade partner for the Bucks should they decide to enter full rebuild.
Antetokounmpo is and remains the Nets’ Plan A, according to a New York Post report. They are eyeing to get back into playoff contention sooner rather than later.
ESPN’s Jeremy Woo reported on May 6 that the Nets “aren’t planning for a true long-haul tank.”
What’s Working Against the Nets
While the Nets have a strong interest in Antetokounmpo, they do not have another star that can lure the two-time MVP to spend the remaining years of his prime in Brooklyn.
Antetokounmpo made himself clear that he wants to win a second championship.
“I’m trying to win a second ring,” he told his brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo on the “Thanalysis Show” in April. “Everybody plays to win, but me not having a second championship… I look back at my career, and everybody can say, ‘He had an amazing career,’ first-ballot Hall of Famer, but me personally, if I’m not able to win a second ring, I’m letting down myself.”
After Damian Lillard’s season-ending injury, it’s pretty clear the Bucks are getting further away from title contention in the foreseeable future. But the Nets, as currently constructed, are a fringe playoff team even if you add Antetokounmpo. But they have the cap room to absorb Antetokounmpo and sign another star to pair with him.
Antetokounmpo dodged questions about his long-term future in Milwaukee after losing to the Indiana Pacers in the first round.
“I’m not gonna do this,” Antetkounmpo told reporters. “I know how this is gonna — whatever I say, I know it’s going to translate. I don’t know, man. I wish I were still playing. I wish I were still competing and going back to Milwaukee. I don’t know.”
There will be clarity in Antetokounmpo’s future once he sits down with the Bucks in their annual meeting.
Following their early playoff exit, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks will have a meeting in the coming weeks, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Bucks Will Not Trade Giannis Until He Asks
Getty The Milwaukee Bucks will only trade Giannis Antetokounmpo under one condition.
The Bucks are in no hurry to trade Antetokounmpo because having him is “so important to them financially, ” according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
They will only trade their franchise star if he asks for it.
“I don’t think Giannis himself does not want to go to the Bucks and say, ‘Trade me.’ But next year, there’s no way with Damian Lillard carrying a salary of nearly 60 million — they don’t have control of their own first-round pick till 2031 — they don’t have a pathway to build a contender around him at this point,” Stein said on the “All NBA” podcast. “But the rumbles that you always hear are that just having Giannis is so important to them financially. They’re not going to trade him unless he pushes it.”
And if he does, teams will line up at the Bucks’ door. Expect the Nets to be in front of the line.
“The whole league is on edge, waiting to see will Giannis’ representatives go to the Bucks and say, ‘It’s time. Move us, hold the auction, and start over.’ I don’t think the Bucks want to do that,” Stein said. “You could make the case that they should want to do that, that they should say, ‘Let’s go out and get the largest haul we can get back for Giannis,’ but I don’t think the Bucks are there. We’re going to see where Giannis is.”
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