Why a Utah Jazz Trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo Is Very Unlikely

The NBA trade deadline is just under two weeks away from going down, and the top prize of this year's action centers on none other than Milwaukee Bucks two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who many teams around the league will be keeping a key eye on in hopes of having the chips to strike a deal to bring him aboard their respective rosters.

The Utah Jazz certainly aren't the frontrunners to make that deal go down, but there's an argument to be had that this team has a bundle of assets that might be of interest to Milwaukee: multiple future firsts, a bundle of budding young talent, and future cap space on hand that could be used to ink Giannis to a long-term extension, in the event a blockbuster were hammered out.

However, that fit for Giannis in Utah can become a bit complicated very quickly. So much so that a deal going down in the middle of this season looks nearly impossible to draw up between the Jazz and Bucks.

Let's take a look at why.

Why a Giannis Trade Doesn't Make Sense for Utah... Yet

There's two factors to focus in on when it comes to having doubts about a mid-season Giannis trade for the Jazz: the financial logistics and how it affects this summer's lottery.

The first piece of the puzzle is best explained by ESPN's Bobby Marks, who emphasized in his latest league-wide breakdown of a Giannis trade that without Lauri Markkanen, the Jazz would need to include five players in the deal in order to make the money work.

"The Jazz have nine tradeable first-round picks and 2028 swap rights with the Cavaliers. Unless Lauri Markkanen is included, Utah would need to trade at least five players to match Antetokounmpo's salary. Fourteen players on the roster earn less than $19.5 million," Marks wrote.

That salary cap flexibility will open up once the offseason arrives, and various salaries come off the books for various teams around the league, including the Jazz.

But right now, that financial wiggle room isn't as prevalent for either the Bucks or the Jazz, who would be forced to conjure up the framework to ship out Antetokounmpo’s $54 million salary for this season, the fifth-highest cap hit in the league.

When also taking into account that Markkanen––in the midst of a career season––will almost certainly not be traded at the deadline, even for a talent like Giannis, it takes a huge hit to Utah's ability to make that work contractually, and thus, a huge hit to their immediate chances in those sweepstakes.

Feb 19, 2023; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Team Giannis forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (right) drafts forward Lauri Markkanen (23) before the 2023 NBA All-Star Game at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Those chances get even slimmer for a deal to go down when taking a second to think about how a Giannis trade would affect the Jazz's lottery odds later this summer.

The Jazz's 2026 first-round pick is currently protected top-eight in the hands of the OKC Thunder. Falling outside of the bottom-eight teams once the lottery balls finish bouncing means the current reigning champions will take ahold of this year's draft rights entirely.

This being the rumored final year, the Jazz want to invest in their extended tanking process, forfeiting future assets in order to land Giannis and make a further competitive push in the second half of this season. It's a direct contrast from how Utah's operated for the first half of their campaign; going for a home run swing at the deadline rather than their consistent, patient approach.

A more likely outcome for the Jazz would be to hold off on a blockbuster this deadline, wait to make any big-time splash this summer––potentially for Giannis then if still on the market––then move forward into the 2026-27 season with a refreshed, playoff-ready roster officially prepared to make that long-aspired leap.

Yet, an attempt to fast-forward that timeline with a Giannis deal in the coming weeks might actually hurt their long-term success more than help at this point by putting future assets at stake, combined with the chance of losing out on a top prospect this summer in a historically regarded draft class.

Of course, the Jazz front office knows their current situation like the back of their hand, putting pretty razor-thin odds that they'd pull the trigger this soon on the Greek Freak, and a way better likelihood this deadline is a quiet one rather than a statement.

Perhaps that stance shifts once the offseason arrives for the Jazz to lay out all of their cards on the table and get more clarity on what this coming draft may hold for them. For now, though, the front office likely isn't tossing and turning with the fear of losing out on a trade for Giannis.

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