The NBA is officially in its offseason, which means that organizations are potentially making big moves before this Wednesday’s draft. One story that may be settled soon is with Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak has been rumored to be leaving Milwaukee ever since his Bucks were eliminated in the first round of the postseason by the Pacers.
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But where could the 2021 NBA Champion go? Plenty of spots, but Pardon The Interruption’s Michael Wilbon has a pretty good idea as to what teams would make the most sense to go after the 30-year-old superstar.
“To me, sense means you have the assets enough to trade for Giannis, but you also have enough left to put on the floor and have him be a contender once you get him. Not many teams have that,” said Wilbon. Fortunately, the longtime TV personality did make a pretty great pitch for one particular Texas-based team, the San Antonio Spurs.
“They’ve got the No. 2 and No. 14 picks in the upcoming draft. So not only do you have the 2 and 14, but if you’re in Milwaukee, you’ll gotta say, ‘Wait a minute, I’m not just getting picks, I need two players.'” The 66-year-old analyst clearly did his homework, because he then revealed players the Spurs could give the Bucks along with their draft picks.
Which players? “You have Devin Vassell, you have Keldon Johnson, two guys whose salaries would offset Giannis’s and help you do that,” explained Wilbon. In doing so, the Bucks get a good amount of collateral, and the Spurs still have enough to play a full, dominant squad.
“If you’re San Antonio, when you get Giannis, you’ve got Fox, Castle, Sochan, Barnes, and Wembanyama,” he stated with excitement. “You’ve got a complete team you can put out there. So Milwaukee is not feeling they’ve been taken advantage of.”
It’s a pretty good pitch from Wilbon. The NBA is at its most exciting when the league shakes things up and presents different teams with the opportunity to make a run. The Spurs have had a tough year with the blood clot that ended Wemby’s season and the health scare of Popovich, so this could be the resurgence they need.
However, this would revolve around whether Giannis actually wanted to leave the Bucks. Talks of him departing Milwaukee have cooled down over the last month, and despite reports surfacing stating that he had an “interest” in exploring trade talks, it doesn’t mean he’s ready to commit to them.
Not only that, but Bucks head coach Doc Rivers basically denied that the Greek Freak wanted to leave in the first place. The longtime coach dropped a nail on that rumor during a recent appearance on the Bill Simmons podcast.
“It’s so ridiculous, and you hear all of this stuff. You don’t like it when you hear it because you know it’s not true… I don’t know how many more times Giannis has to say he wants to be a Buck,” Rivers stated.
Of course, anything could happen before the start of the 2025-2026 season. No one expected Luka Doncic to ever leave the Dallas Mavericks, but The Don was dealt to the Lakers in a blockbuster trade right after the All-Star break.
Giannis changing his uniform would not take away from the great things he accomplished in Milwaukee. He turned that small market team into a powerhouse and brought them a title. Many assumed he would have more, but the NBA is so vastly competitive that any team being a dynasty just seems hard these days.
We’ll see what happens after the NBA Draft, but with all signs now pointing to Giannis remaining in the Midwest, Wilbon’s beautiful trade scenario may just end up being fantasy.
