What the Bucks could fetch in a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade (that won't happen)

In the NBA, you have to have a superstar to have a chance at an NBA Championship. The Milwaukee Bucks have that right now. Yet, since it is the offseason and fans of the Milwaukee Bucks always seem to have that concern that they could lose Giannis Antetokounmpo if the team was forced to make a trade, what is his value right now? How many picks could the team acquire in a trade?

Recently, the New York Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges for five first-round picks and a good player in Bojan Bogdanovic. It was a good move for the Nets, who now are officially in “rebuild” mode. It also speaks to how the Knicks would like to try to acquire top-end talent.

But FIVE first-round picks! That is a lot of picks. Another big trade that could set the precedent if, hypothetically, Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded, is the Rudy Gobert trade.

This was a major recent trade that looked like it was not going to work out for the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, after last year's Western Conference Finals appearance,  the trade is looking a little better now for Minnesota.

The Gobert trade netted the Jazz five first-round picks, a pick swap, and a few players. Yet,  it doesn't take too much analysis to really realize that Giannis is an umpteenth better player than Gobert.

A franchise the Bucks could try to emulate might be Oklahoma City. But that would only be if this team gets stuck, again, with a first-round playoff loss.

So if Mikal Bridges and Rudy Gobert are each worth five first-round picks, is Giannis worth ten first-round picks? Would the Bucks be making the right move to trade him after the 2024-2025 season, no matter what, while he still has tremendous value? Let's analyze what they could fetch in a deal.

The Herschel Walker Trade might be the only good comparison

Professional sports often don’t lend an “apples to apples” comparison. But the NFL, the NBA, and MLB certainly have a lot in common. All three have superstar players that can alter the course of a season and even a franchise.

Herschel Walker, the college football hall of famer, is still not in the NFL Hall of Fame. But when he played for the Dallas Cowboys, he was on his way. And his vaue was "sky-high" when then Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson decided he should try and trade him.

The Milwaukee Bucks, as a roster and as a franchise, could look to the infamous Dallas Cowboys to Minnesota Vikings' Herschel Walker deal as a frame of reference if they were ever to toy with the idea of trading Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In that deal, the Vikings acquired Walker from Dallas in what would eventually become the exchange of 18 players. (San Diego also was somewhat involved). Minnesota acquired Walker and three very late-round draft picks.  Dallas acquired four players, three first-round picks, three second-round picks, a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick. 

In essence, it led to Dallas really beginning to overhaul their whole roster. For Minnesota, it did lead to a deep playoff run. However, the Vikings have yet to win a Super Bowl.

What helped Dallas in the trade was the competition to acquire Walker. Could that, or would that happen, if Antetokounmpo was made available?

The trade prediction

Ultimately, if a team were to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, they should probably expect to give up seven first-round picks.  Behind that you would also expect a team to give up three to four years of second-round picks, giving them no draft picks. Also, you'd have to think a player or two would be involved to help bridge the Milwaukee Bucks into this true rebuilding mode.

Why would a team do this? Why would a team mortgage their future for Giannis Antetokounmpo?

 Well, for Bucks fans everywhere, the answer seems self-evident ( We can also include Greece Olympic basketball fans as well). You simply do not get a chance to acquire a player, a global Superstar, of the statue of Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

Thank you for taking part in our trade exercise. Please, please let me say again, as the author of this piece, I am against trading Giannis, and it's almost certainly never going to happen.

 Still, it is always interesting to try to think about what Giannis would fetch in a trade.