When the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, the entire NBA world was flat-out stunned. Obviously, the return made the deal shocking enough, but what was truly puzzling was that there was no buildup. No rumors. Nothing. It just randomly happened. It looks like that won't be the case if the Milwaukee Bucks trade Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Bucks have opened the Giannis trade floodgates
The Mavericks did themselves a massive disservice by keeping it quiet that they were willing to move on from Doncic. Had there been widespread reporting on their stance, a bidding war might have ensued, and they might have gotten a better package than they settled for. Instead, one of the best players in the world quietly went to the Lakers.
Thankfully for the Milwaukee Bucks, they have squashed the idea of following that same path. ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania has reported that the Bucks are now open to listening to offers ahead of the upcoming trade deadline. Everyone knows that the Bucks are willing to listen to pitches on their star. They are welcoming offers from far and wide, rather than only talking to a specific suitor and not letting the rest of the NBA landscape chip in.
Charania adding in his reporting that the Bucks are more than willing to hold onto Giannis and trade him in the summer to get a better offer is the icing on the cake. By making that clear, it will make any interested party even more determined to get a deal done now before other teams can make their best offers in a few months. Teams know they have to go all-in now or risk losing him later to a team with richer assets.
Whether it happens now or in the summer, the Milwaukee Bucks are set up well to explore options with Giannis and get a return they deem fit from a variety of suitors, as it should be.
It must be noted that this wasn't the case at one time. Per Charania, the Bucks and Knicks had some dialogue last summer about a Giannis trade because that was where he wanted to play. Those rumors didn't come out until a month or two after. Had a deal gone down then, the Bucks would have been in the same position as the Mavericks, who certainly wish they could take back that trade.
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