The news of Giannis Antetokounmpo potentially being on the move could see many teams looking to enter trade discussions with the Milwaukee Bucks. Previous reports indicated that Antetokounmpo expressed a desire to join the New York Knicks during the offseason to increase his title chances.
The San Antonio Spurs have been reported as another team looking to make an offer for the two-time MVP if he formally requests a trade. Dallas Hoops Journal reported that San Antonio has already made the decision to “aggressively pursue” Antetokounmpo since they have a lot of assets that could tempt a team looking to rebuild.
A hot start for Milwaukee didn’t keep up as the team already fell out of the tenth seed in the Eastern Conference to currently sit outside of the play-in race. Giannis’ desire to win at the highest level made his status one of the top stories entering this season. Pundits and fans expected Antetokounmpo to demand a trade once the season started to fall apart.
Would Giannis Antetokounmpo Play For Spurs?
Milwaukee is expected to take Antetokounmpo’s opinion into account and will try to work with him on finding an ideal situation. Giannis is already considered the greatest Buck in franchise history to many fans, so keeping a positive relationship on the way out is important. The question turns to if Antetokounmpo will accept the Spurs or any team outside of the Knicks as a destination.
Shams Charania reported that Antetokounmpo will be open to playing for more teams than New York since it is unrealistic to rely on one team. The Spurs clearly want to be involved in this to pair Giannis with fellow stars Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox. Milwaukee would be excited to work with San Antonio due to the young talents they have.
Various future draft picks from the Spurs and owned picks of other teams would be important for the Bucks to rebuild with. However, it is the young talent that San Antonio can offer to provide temptation. Rookie Dylan Harper and second year player Carter Bryant are both expendable. Stephon Castle is the biggest trade piece, but they could easily put together a strong package without him.
Would San Antonio Contend With Giannis?
The Spurs have proved they can take a big step forward this season with the current roster if healthy. Wembanyama already looks like an MVP candidate, but his injury time out has slowed down the team’s red-hot momentum.
San Antonio still holds a top five seed and have expectations to remain there with Wemby back soon. Fox has stepped up and looks like a star guard to continue having him as a top scoring option. Antetokounmpo would give them three elite scorers, with Castle as a fourth if they can keep him on the roster.
New York doesn’t have many young prospects nor draft picks to offer the Spurs, despite being considered the favorite for Giannis personally. San Antonio could easily take advantage of this by offering a strong package and talking Antetokounmpo into forming one of the tallest superstar duos ever with Wembanyama.
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