Evaluating Which Team’s Draft Picks are Best for Bucks in a Giannis Deal

The NBA trade floodgates are officially open, with numerous reports flying about where the league’s stars will be after Thursday’s deadline.

The crown jewel of the deadline remains Bucks’ forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP and one-time champion who finally seems ready to find his next team.

Draft picks have become the currency of the NBA, and with blockbuster trades, they’re often the piece that can get the deal across the finish line. Sometimes, they’re the centerpiece. Teams like the Celtics, Thunder and more have re-built themselves into championship teams with picks, making it all the more important for Milwaukee to do the same.

Below, we'll rank the picks that could be most valuable for the Bucks:

3. Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat

Both Minnesota and Miami have been talked about as potential landing spots for Antetokounmpo, though each of these would be more player-driven packages.

Both Minnesota and Miami have been, at worst, middling teams in the last half-decade, and at their best have competed deep into the postseason. With Giannis on board, that likely wouldn’t slow down, leaving the Bucks to select at the back of the first round for several seasons.

2. Golden State Warriors

Golden State’s package of players likely won’t entice Milwaukee much. Jonathan Kuminga is a project, and salary filler such as Draymond Green and a mismatched core of win-now players won’t help the Bucks much in the short or long-term. But the Warriors’ package of picks far out-rank most other realistic landing spots.

This is Golden State’s final push with 37-year-old Stephen Curry, and at 31 Antetokounmpo is quickly approaching his apex, too. Even if the Warriors were mightily competitive for the next few years, it’s likely to leave them barebones down the line.

That’s exactly where the Bucks would step in, likely grabbing lottery pick after lottery pick from the Warriors in the early 2030’s. Given their own picks are mostly elsewhere, it could be the best option for Milwaukee.

1. Their Own (Trail Blazers, Pelicans and Hawks)

While other team’s picks can certainly be valuable depending on where they land on the success spectrum, the Bucks’ controlling their own future would obviously be the best case scenario. Unfortunately, their future selections are tied up with a few different teams, primarily the Trail Blazers, Pelicans and Hawks.

Only the Trail Blazers seem a realistic landing spot for Antetokounmpo, given where they’re at, so 2028 and 2030 swaps could be grabbed. But that leaves plenty of picks still tied up with Atlanta and New Orleans.

Teams will assuredly look to franchises as third and fourth teams in deals, but those organizations won’t be keen on letting go of those picks given Milwaukee’s impending future.