If Giannis Antetokounmpo gets traded, it better be for a massive haul

Suitors start lining up like vultures around dying prey when a star player is unhappy in the NBA. Considering Giannis Antetokounmpo’s right to opt out of his deal in 2027, and his tiptoeing around like a politician who doesn’t want to anger his base, this mess is going to hang over the Milwaukee Bucks badly until an extension or trade happens, and the latter seems more likely.

One thing is clear: the Bucks cannot afford to let him go in a bad trade because it could set the franchise back years. Think back to relatively recently when the Sacramento Kings traded Tyrese Haliburton and the crown jewel of their return was Domantas Sabonis. It wasn’t close to what they should have gotten back, and now another rebuild is starting them in the face.

How about the Dallas Mavericks trading an all-timer in Luka Dončić for past-his-prime Anthony Davis? They went from contention to obscurity.

Interestingly, the teams that could offer the best package- Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs- don’t need to get involved for Giannis’ services since they are in a position of strength: The champs are so loaded and Chet Holmgren (the guy Milwaukee should want if they ever had real discussions) has no ceiling to his game. In San Antonio, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle are the real deal next to Victor Wembanyama.

Yet not everyone can be so lucky.

In the case of the Miami Heat, a package consisting of Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, salary filler and multiple first-round picks is not good enough. Aside from his defensive shortcomings, and as much as Herro has grown since his rookie year, the public is yet to see him be a big contributor in the postseason aside from the bubble in 2020.

Conversations should start with Bam Adebayo if they want Milwaukee to be a serious partner, and then the quality of the package becomes significantly more enticing. Adebayo is a high-level athlete, a top-three defender, an excellent leader who does quite a few things on offense, and a winner. He’ll be 29 on July 18, and a team may want someone younger, but there’s no guarantee Miami's other pieces will ever have as much impact as he has in a playoff game.

In New York’s case, the place where Giannis reportedly had interest in going, they would probably prefer to move Karl-Anthony Towns, but he isn’t good enough to be the big fish of that return. Additionally, congrats to them on making their first conference finals trip in a quarter century, but is there any doubt they’d want some of those picks back that they used on a Mikal Bridges swap? It would have helped because a package around OG Anunoby is the best they could offer since Jalen Brunson is presumed untouchable.

This is Giannis Antetokounmpo, for goodness sake. The price of the brick should remain high even with him having leverage. Just having a cute team that makes the playoffs and sometimes overachieves sounds like basketball inferno after the Hall of Fame player leaves in his prime.

Let’s not kid ourselves: the legacies of Milwaukee‘s executives are on the line.