As Shams Charania of ESPN reported earlier this month, the Milwaukee Bucks are "open for business" for Giannis Antetokounmpo trade offers. They knew that waiting until the offseason was the right move, not just because teams would gain access to more draft capital, but because there would be more desperation following the playoffs. The Cavaliers' season could end in a few days, and maybe they'd be willing to throw Evan Mobley in a package.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported earlier this month that when Milwaukee and Cleveland touched base on an Antetokounmpo trade before the deadline (subscription required), the Bucks wanted Mobley and all of the Cavaliers' available picks.
Would losing in the ECF make Cavs willing to trade Evan Mobley?
Cleveland isn't out of it yet. Remember, the Cavs came back from being down 0-2 in the semifinals against the Pistons to win 4-3.
New York isn't Detroit, though.
This is a Knicks team that's won nine playoff games in a row. It looked like that streak would end at seven when they were down by 22 points with less than eight minutes left to play in the fourth quarter of Game 1 on Tuesday, but they clawed their way to an overtime win.
That's a long way of saying the Cavaliers could win a game or two in this series, but their odds of coming back to secure the series and advance to the NBA Finals don't look good. And if (when) they come up short, they could be willing to send Mobley to the Bucks to try to make a championship push with Giannis and Donovan Mitchell.
Evan Mobley is ideal player for Bucks to get in Giannis trade
Milwaukee will want a combination of young players and draft capital for Antetokounmpo, and from Cleveland, the Bucks could get both.
Mobley would set Milwaukee on a clear path, giving the organization a player to build around. He will turn 25 next month, and already has a DPOY award (2024-25) under his belt. Last season, he also earned his first All-Star selection and made the All-NBA Second Team. Realistically speaking, there probably isn't a better player out there for the Bucks to get in return for Antetokounmpo and build around.
He hasn't made the offensive leap the Cavaliers hoped for when they signed him to a five-year, $224 million extension in 2024, but Mobley still averaged 18.2 points per game during the 2025-26 regular season.
Milwaukee has the No. 10 pick in next month's draft to look forward to, but having Mobley would give them a player entering their sixth season who they know could step in and make an immediate impact. The Bucks handing him the keys could work in both their favor, too.
A Giannis trade needs to happen this offseason, and there's no way around that. Getting a player like Mobley in return would make the sting of his departure sting a lot less.
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