Bucks Trade Idea Sends Giannis Antetokounmpo to Pistons

One of the best things about being a passionate sports fan are the heated discussions one inevitably gets involved in with friends and family.

These topics can range from "Who's the GOAT?" to "Which team is the best in [insert sport]?" A favored topic for water cooler talk is the exchanging of hypothetical trades. When a star player is rumored to be on the block — such as, say, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks — those trades are often exchanged with the usual hope of somehow angling said star player to one's favorite team.

Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report took it a step further — and crafted a fun article speculating on potential trades that could make sense for those teams mentioned. In this iteration, the Bucks would be doing business with their fellow Eastern Conference rival in the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit Pistons receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks receive: Tobias Harris, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren, 2026 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick, 2030 first-round pick, 2032 first-round pick

This trade would certainly shake up the Eastern Conference at first glance. Detroit would pivot from being a young, upstart team into a squad led by a very dynamic yet unique duo of Antetokounmpo and Cade Cunningham.

The key for Detroit at that point would be to surround the tandem with as much shooting as humanly possible.

As for Milwaukee, the rebuild button would be officially pushed. Harris is a veteran used in the hypothetical deal for salary purposes. He could likely be flipped elsewhere for other assets. Speaking of which, all of the picks lost in the Damian Lillard trade would be replenished here.

Detroit doesn't exactly have a great recent track record of winning. Even with Cunningham and Antetokounmpo, it's not a given that the Pistons would suddenly turn into a juggernaut.

18 Year Old Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Season Highlights 🇬🇷🎥 pic.twitter.com/gH5UYWYp8U
— Bucks Muse (@BucksMuse) June 3, 2025

Ivey is a young guard with some upside. He'd get some runway to find himself in a low-pressure situation. The two biggest prizes in terms of tangible players would be Duren and Thompson. Duren is one of the better young big men in the game today.

There are some Bam Adebayo comparisons that could further be cemented with improvement on the skill side of things.

Thompson is a freak athlete with the ability to truly be a special defender. He's another that would benefit from an offseason of working on his shooting and dribbling.

While this is an intriguing hypothetical trade, dealing Antetokounmpo to a team Milwaukee sees rather often wouldn't be ideal.

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