Analyst Ranks Jazz's Odds of Trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo

Do the Utah Jazz have a real shot at landing Giannis Antetokounmpo?

Nov 7, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) gestures in the fourth quarter against the Utah Jazz at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

While the Utah Jazz may not be the first team you think of when drawing up a hypothetical Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, perhaps they might not be totally out of the race when stacking up each team's chances across the league to get such a massive deal done this summer.

Since the latest playoff exit from the Milwaukee Bucks this postseason against the Indiana Pacers in five games, the buzz has been prevalent surrounding Antetkounmpo and his future with the franchise, leading to a bit of speculation on whether he'll either request a trade out, or the team decides to make a full reset as is.

It's far from a guarantee that Antetokounmpo does find his way out of Milwaukee this summer, but if he does, what are the odds Utah could muster together a package to land his services?

In the eyes of CBS Sports analyst Sam Quinn, it might not be impossible for the Jazz, but it wouldn't be an easy feat, either.

When stacked up against each of the 28 other teams in the NBA that could submit their respective offers for the two-time league MVP, Quinn ranked the Jazz with the 16th-best changes to trade for Antetokounmpo; giving them an outside shot to make the blockbuster move, but the right stars would need to align to make it happen.

"Utah tends to fall in the same desirability tier as Memphis. The difference is that the Jazz are so obscenely asset-rich that they could effectively tell Antetokounmpo "we'll trade half of our stuff for you and the other half for a co-star of your choosing." Is it likely to work? No. But the Jazz have built enough of a war chest at this point that they belong in any of these conversations they decide to enter."

In the case of a Bucks team that would likely be looking to rebuild after trading a superstar like Antetokounmpo, a deal with the Jazz could make sense. Utah has a ton of young assets and draft picks piled up for the future that Milwaukee could have intrigue in, and for a front office including Danny Ainge, the chances are, he'd be willing to pounce on that opportunity.

Though the bigger question revolves around the Jazz's ability to surround an addition like Antetokounmpo with a championship-level core while also giving up extensive assets to land an MVP-caliber player. Such a shift in one offseason is a challenging mountain to climb, and especially so for a roster like Utah, who is fresh off a 17-win campaign.

The Jazz may not have the highest-level odds in the league to find their way to a trade for Giannis (those honors go to the Brooklyn Nets, in the eyes of Quinn). But, if Utah's front office sees a window open to get aggressive in a deal for the Bucks' MVP, don't totally count the concept out.

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