If the Milwaukee Bucks trade Giannis Antetokounmpo, the return package would have to be substantial, if not historic. With several top suitors whiffing in the draft lottery, however, the playing field remains open.
If the Spurs or Rockets had claimed the top pick and wanted to trade it for Giannis, the odds would be in their favor. San Antonio still has pick No. 2, but now, other teams like the Portland Trail Blazers stand a chance. Damian Lillard's former squad could send the Bucks a decent offer if competitors balk.
Blazers' offer includes solid draft capital
The trade package: Jerami Grant, Shaedon Sharpe, and Robert Williams III plus 2025, 2029, 2031 first-rounders, 2028, 2030 second-rounders (NY) and 2030 first-round swap rights transferred to Milwaukee
Absent an incoming young player with superstar potential, the most important element of any Giannis trade for the Milwaukee Bucks is the draft haul. The Trail Blazers do not have an elite supply of picks, but they can assemble a more than adequate offer.
The lottery did not gift them any outstanding luck. Still, Portland has the 11th pick in this year's draft, and it isn't a bad one. Multiple mock drafts, including ESPN's, project Derik Queen (16.9 points, nine rebounds per game at Maryland) available at either 11 or 12. With none currently rostered, it would not hurt the Milwaukee Bucks to draft a big. Being able to invest in the future immediately would be an added bonus.
It is worth noting, of course, that if a deal was not agreed upon prior to the draft, the Bucks would lose the ability to make their own selection. Depending on Portland's choice, the Blazers could simply include the drafted player in the trade, but if Giannis really wants out, stalling is unlikely to benefit the Milwaukee Bucks in any move involving a worthwhile pick in 2025.
The 2031 first-rounder would have a chance to be a good one, as well as the Blazers' contending window closed (if they extended Giannis, he would be 36 then). The 2029 pick would give the Bucks a first-rounder in a year where they do not have one (not even the worse end of a swap). The deal would also grant swap rights to the teams' 2030 firsts, controlled right now by Portland, to Milwaukee.
Also in 2030, the second-rounder via the Knicks projects to be above average, assuming they have begun the downward arc of their contention trajectory.
Bucks would acquire intriguing players and address positional needs
Shaedon Sharpe, the seventh pick in 2022, is a surging asset. Now with three seasons under his belt, the 6-foot-5 two-guard has increased his scoring every year, up to 18.5 points per game in 2024-25. He could definitely improve his 3-point efficiency (only 31 percent this season and 33 percent in his career), but the volume is there (6.6 attempts), and he did make strides overall with a five percent bump in field goal percentage (to 45.2).
As he continues to develop as a shooter and facilitator, the 21-year-old could become a high-level offensive threat. Portland will likely exercise its $8.3 million club option. To capitalize on his potential, the Milwaukee Bucks would need to extend or re-sign Sharpe after his rookie contract expires next season. In 2025-26, he would help sustain Milwaukee's backcourt in Damian Lillard's absence due to his torn Achilles.
The other pieces, Williams and Grant, are mostly included out of financial and positional necessity, although Williams does fill the Bucks' hole at center. Oft-injured, he has played just 26 games the past two seasons. When healthy, he is a valuable defender and paint presence (1.7 career blocks per game, 72 percent field goal percentage, 23.9 win shares in 235 games). As an expiring contract, he would not burden the books beyond next season unless the Bucks elected to re-sign him.
Grant owns an undesirable contract, with three years and $102.6 million remaining, all guaranteed money. For his level of production, he is vastly overpaid. However, his salary also makes him a natural component of the trade. The only other option would be guard Anfernee Simons (one year, $27 million), but by shipping him instead, Portland would inherit an awkward clog at the forward spots. With both Giannis and Toumani Camara slated to start, and Deni Avdija also a natural three at 6-foot-9, Grant would be the odd man out.
Certainly, the Bucks would be banking on Grant recovering from a disastrously inefficient 2024-25 campaign (14.4 points on 37 percent from the field). The two seasons prior, he averaged over 20 points per game on 46 percent shooting overall and 40 percent from deep. If he can get back to that, even on decreased volume, he would be a useful, if overpaid, weapon for the Milwaukee Bucks.
They still have work to do in free agency, but by getting starting-caliber players back in a Giannis trade, if he asks out, the Bucks could end up being a watchable Play-In team, for whatever that's worth, in an obvious rebuild season. Since the Pelicans own swap rights to Milwaukee's first-round pick in 2026, tanking might not provide much benefit.
While Portland's hypothetical offer is not the gaudiest possible, if teams like the Spurs or Rockets back out of the so-called Giannis sweepstakes, the Trail Blazers could certainly extend the Bucks a haul worth considering. Of course, only time will tell if Giannis asks out of Milwaukee first.