Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Spurs? A Bucks blockbuster that would shake up the NBA
There are players who spend years — decades even — preparing to win an NBA championship. Some never get there, but even for the ones that do, there is life afterward. The grind continues, and the goal remains the same, year after year.
No one knows that as well as Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 and has since been fruitless in his endeavors of winning another one.
This is particularly relevant this summer, as the Bucks find themselves in the worst possible situation they’ve ever been in during Antetokounmpo’s prime. The organization does not possess any high-value assets in the form of draft picks. Their cap situation, while not quite a sea of flames yet, is extremely discouraging, and key members like Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr. can leave the franchise this summer.
As for the roster itself, it’s old, uninspiring, and on its last legs. This isn’t aided by Doc Rivers roaming the sidelines as the organization’s head coach, one who refuses to give way to younger players, which the team is sorely in need of developing.
All of this is a long way of getting to the point, which Ben Rohrbach wonderfully laid out on these very pages: It’s time to consider the possibility of trading the best player in franchise history.
Before we dig into one specific trade possibility, a few notes:
Firstly, Bucks fans, we don’t hate you, nor do we particularly wish for Antetokounmpo to play elsewhere. He’s made a home in Milwaukee, he’s won there, and his ties to the community are indeed sublime. We’re simply reading the tea leaves of the challenges that lay at Milwaukee’s feet, and reaching the conclusion that another year in that organization, under these challenges, will be a complete waste of his prime. And nobody wants that.
Secondly, we are not trying to push him to a major market like New York or Los Angeles. Yawn. It wouldn’t make sense even if we tried, as the Lakers, Clippers, and Knicks don’t have the necessary assets to get a deal done, and Brooklyn is actively rebuilding.
Finally, we’re working on the assumption that Antetokounmpo would be moved after July 1, meaning teams can send out their recently drafted rookies without concern of triggering the Stepien Rule, which disallows teams to send out back-to-back first-rounders.
With that out of the way, let’s get into a trade destination that could be interesting for both sides.
Trade idea: Giannis to the Spurs
When the San Antonio Spurs traded for De’Aaron Fox, they sent a message to the rest of the league: We plan to compete faster than you think.
The Spurs aren’t done. How could they be? They’re still armed to the teeth with draft picks, they have one of the cleanest salary sheets in the league, and they have this 7-foot-4 French dude who might be good one day.
If Antetokounmpo is so inclined to accept the Spurs as a destination — as he and the Bucks would surely work together on a trade — San Antonio can make a strong offer.
The deal
Spurs get: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Bucks get: Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Harrison Barnes, 4 first-round picks
Vassell, Sochan and Barnes work as the salary-matching pieces. And we’ll get to the draft compensation, which would act as the main currency factor here.
Vassell is a traditional shooting guard who had a bit of a down year this season, but is fully capable of high-volume scoring performances, even on high efficiency. He’s on a very reasonable contract, which pays him $27 million both next season and the one that follows. His salary actually dips in 2027-28 to $24.6 million, and then returns to $27 million in the final year. That deal will age enormously well, especially given the cap spike which is estimated to be 10% every single year moving forward. After the conclusion of this season, Vassell will never even crack 18% of the cap. That’s good business.
Sochan is on a rookie deal, and the Bucks would have to figure out if they’re ready to hand him an extension — of which he’ll be eligible this offseason — or if they want to let him test restricted free agency in 2026. The power forward isn’t a star, nor does he necessarily project as one, but he is an asset, and a player who Milwaukee can try to scale up with his production to see if there’s more juice.
As for Barnes, he’ll be an expiring contract worth $19 million. Milwaukee can choose to let him expire and gain salary cap flexibility, or move him for a worse, and longer,
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