On Wednesday morning, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Giannis Antetokounmpo is "ready for a new home" at the trade deadline, and that the Milwaukee Bucks are "starting to listen" to offers for the 31-year-old superstar.
The deadline is eight days away, so he could be moved between now and then. However, Charania noted that Milwaukee has "indicated to interested teams that the organization is not in a rush to complete a move" and will hold off on a trade until the summer if it doesn't receive the offer it wants: young talent and a "surplus" of draft assets.
Charania didn't specifically say that Giannis requested a trade, something he told The Athletic he would never do, but the insider did write that "Antetokounmpo has informed the Bucks for months that he believes the moment has come to part ways after 12-plus years together, making a trade increasingly possible."
Bucks are reportedly open to trading Giannis before the deadline
Of course, that means Giannis is reportedly ready to move on and has felt that way for a few months now. That isn't surprising, especially not after he made it clear over the offseason that his top trade destination was New York. He decided to start the season with the Bucks, but even then, it was still clear that Milwaukee wouldn't compete for a championship.
The Bucks are 18-27, 12th in the East, three and a half games back from the No. 10 spot, and six and a half games back from the No. 6 spot. Giannis is currently out with a calf strain and will remain sidelined for the next four to six weeks, so he won't play again before the deadline. The injury hasn't kept teams from keeping tabs on him, though.
Speaking of, the Knicks and the Heat seem like the most likely destinations, although they're certainly not the only teams interested. The issue with trading Giannis to either one before the deadline is that Milwaukee would be able to get more assets from both teams in the offseason.
The Knicks and Heat seem like the natural frontrunners for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) January 28, 2026
The Bucks can extract more from these teams in the offseason.
The Heat can trade two first-round picks now and four in the offseason.
The Knicks can trade zero now but up to two in the offseason.
So, while a trade could happen in the coming days, the Bucks' best route would be to wait until the summer, unless Giannis forces his way out. Milwaukee doesn't have to cave to any demands he makes, not that he would. Finishing the season elsewhere would give him a chance to win another title as soon as this season, though.
ESPN's report certainly isn't the news that fans wanted to see, but at this point, moving on is what's best for the Bucks and Giannis.