If Giannis Antetokounmpo ever asks out, and he may very well end up not doing so in the end, the Milwaukee Bucks cannot follow the Dallas Mavericks’ blueprint.
What that means is they can’t get quiet and execute the trade in the shadows. They can’t get loyal. They can’t fall in love with a specific return. And they most certainly can't define their target package before hearing out offers from across the league.
Because if we’ve learned anything from the Luka Doncic deal, it’s this: moving a generational star in silence, with tunnel vision on a particular target, is how you sell low on your future and derail the direction of your franchise. And once you do that, there’s no way back to relevance for a long, long time.
Dallas traded away Luka because they wanted Anthony Davis, and only Anthony Davis. If the time comes that Giannis Antetokounmpo wants out of town, the Bucks would be wise not to emulate the Mavericks front office with how they moved on from their European superstar.
Milwaukee needs to learn from the Dallas Mavericks' mistake
It hurts to admit it, but let's get it out of the way early: there is a world where Giannis Antetokounmpo requests to be traded from the Milwaukee Bucks organization. After all, the Bucks had always found ways to keep him happy and loyal - and they just don't have the flexibility to make another move this time around.
The Mavericks were dead set on a particular trade framework and acted like they were the ones doing the league a favor. They didn’t open the bidding to the full NBA. They didn’t let panic drive prices. They didn’t let desperation leak out of other front offices. That was a mistake. When you’re trading a top-five player in the world, your only job is to weaponize chaos.
The Bucks, if it ever gets to that point with Giannis, have to go the opposite route: full public bidding war. Leak interest to Shams. Start a "Giannis Watch" with countdown clocks. Pit the Knicks against the Lakers against the Warriors against the Heat. Make it messy. Make it expensive.
Why? Because you only get one chance at this. Trading Giannis isn’t just losing a superstar—it’s detonating your identity. It’s resetting your timeline. You don’t do that for one young starter, a pick swap and a future first. You do that for everything. Multiple unprotected picks, multiple pick swaps, premium young talent and enough flexibility to turn the page and have a direction.
And unlike Dallas, Milwaukee would enter that room with leverage. Giannis is under contract through 2026-27 with a $63 million player option in 2027-28. That’s already more than enough runway to spark a market frenzy. Front offices would talk themselves into anything—short-term contention, long-term re-sign chances, whatever it takes. Jon Horst only needs the gumption and the business acumen to realize that.
That leverage only works if you use it. The worst thing the Milwaukee Bucks can do is decide ahead of time where they want to send him. Sentiment cannot matter. Giannis might “want” a trade to one of a few preferred spots—but if the return isn’t good enough, you walk away. This is about the next decade, not the next press release.
Whether Giannis stays or goes will be the first major domino that decides Milwaukee's fate this coming offseason. And in that event, what the Milwaukee Bucks get in return will be the most important decision to make.
Milwaukee already got their title. That banner gives them cover to make cold, calculated decisions. It should also give them the courage to strip this thing down when the time comes. And let’s be clear: that time is not now. There’s no trade demand. There’s no open tension that's actually been verified by reliable sources from within the Bucks organization.
But if the day comes, the Milwaukee Bucks need to be ready to burn it all down the right way.
Dallas blinked when they decided it was time to go out and make their move. Milwaukee can’t afford to do the same.