Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Rumors to East Rival Heat Up During Playoffs

Nine-time All-Star Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo can't be too happy with his club's current status.

For a second straight season, the Bucks are facing off against the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

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They finished with a 49-33 record last season and secured the East's No. 3 seed (and thus, homecourt advantage over Indiana), but thanks in part to multi-game injury absences for Antetokounmpo and Lillard, the Bucks were upset by the 47-35 Pacers in six games.

This year, Milwaukee is looking to vanquish Indiana, which is now the higher seed. If the Pacers hang on to win this series, they will have sent the Bucks home for the third straight season. That's not ideal for a club fielding a guy who finished among the top three in MVP votes this year.

Your 2024-25 NBA Season Awards finalists! 🏆

MVP... pic.twitter.com/Y7uG6lWsDZ
— NBA UK (@NBAUK) April 21, 2025

Seven-time Denver Nuggets All-Star center Nikola Jokic, a three-time MVP himself, and All-NBA First Team Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are widely considered to be the two favorites to win the honor this season. Antetokounmpo, a two-time honoree, hasn't been named MVP since 2020.

Clearly, a 30-year-old superstar considered to be among the league's top players wants to advance deep into the playoffs. It appears general manager Jon Horst has struggled to find a way to help him do that yet again this season.

Could Antetokounmpo really look to depart the only NBA franchise he's ever known?

Per Brian Lewis of The New York Post, the Brooklyn Nets are at least eyeing Antetokounmpo as a "prime target" as they look to reconstruct their franchise.

Sports+: Why #Nets may bypass 2025 free agency, look to 2026. #nba https://t.co/oIfdRhNQdU
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) April 22, 2025

In terms of assets, Brooklyn has four first-round draft picks, the reasonable contracts of Nic Claxton and forward Cameron Johnson, intriguing young talents on rookie-scale contracts, and restricted free agents Cam Thomas and Day'Ron Sharpe. The Nets also have $45 million in available projected cap space at their disposal to sign new talent.

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Acquiring Antetokounmpo this summer would likely require at least the contract of Johnson, plus either Claxton or perhaps Thomas in a sign-and-trade. All four future picks would likely also be requested by Milwaukee, even if the addition of Antetokounmpo could guarantee those selections would be at least in the middle of the first round.

Antetokounmpo remains an elite talent, but his patience for this Bucks roster could understandably be running thin.

In 67 regular season bouts, the 6-foot-11 big man logged averages of 30.4 points on 60.1 percent shooting from the field and 61.7 percent shooting from the charity stripe, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists a night. The hyper-athletic superstar is one of the best players of all time, and he will likely start having a wandering eye if Horst can't right the ship soon.

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