Every single team in the NBA has fans posting mock trades for Giannis Antetokounmpo in the event he requests a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks this summer. Unsurprisingly, most of them are out of touch with just how much Giannis would go for, reinforced by the recent surprising deal involving the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies.
Desmond Bane trade is a fraction of what a Giannis trade would be
In a move that had no prior reporting, the Magic sent Cole Anthony, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, four unprotected first-round picks, and a swap to Memphis for Bane. He is undeniably a nice player, but considering the only award on his resume is an All-Rookie selection, the Magic certainly gave up a lot. There have been trade packages for Giannis that involve far less. That's just flat-out blasphemy.
Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News recently proposed several Giannis to New York trades. One was Karl-Anthony Towns, Miles McBride, Pacome Dadiet, a 2026 top-eight protected WSH first-round pick, a 2032 first-round swap, and a 2032 second-round pick for Giannis. Yahoo Sports writer Tom Haberstroh chimed in with a proposal of Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyler Kolek, Washington’s 2026 protected first-round draft pick, and two first-round pick swaps (2026 and 2030) for the forward.
Both of these mock proposals see the Milwaukee Bucks get robbed, even before the Bane trade went down. First off, the Bucks almost certainly aren't taking protected picks back if they were to entertain a Giannis trade, especially if they are the centerpiece of the deal. The Magic just got four unprotected firsts for a zero-time All-Star. Giannis is a two-time MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Finals MVP, etc. If some team wants him, they have to push all of their chips, unprotected, to the center of the table.
Yes, Towns is a better player than Caldwell-Pope or Anthony, so he counts for some draft capital, but proposals where teams aren't giving up one unprotected first for arguably the best player in the game are simply laughable. Any potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade would have to be the biggest and most desirable package in NBA history. It goes far beyond these pitches. These might not even be enough to get the Milwaukee Bucks on the phone.
The good news is that all signs point to Giannis Antetokounmpo sticking it out with the Bucks for the foreseeable future, so these proposals are a thoughtless exercise.
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