Wild NBA Mock Trade Swaps Stars Between Kings, Lakers, Knicks & Bucks

There has been no shortage of outlandish trade ideas thrown around involving the Sacramento Kings, with rumors that one or more of the Kings’ stars may be on their way out. One particularly interesting, prospective trade partner has been the Milwaukee Bucks, who are sitting at 9-13 after a bad loss to the Washington Wizards.

Recently, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype linked Zach LaVine to the struggling Bucks, who are searching for ways to maximize Giannis Antetokounmpo's time with the team before he has the chance to leave in free agency.

The Milwaukee Bucks are showing a level of interest in Zach LaVine, per @MikeAScotto

“The Milwaukee Bucks have conducted background due diligence on Zach LaVine and others around the league, as usual, sources told HoopsHype. However, nothing is imminent as Bucks superstar… pic.twitter.com/P1gS2DONTY
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 26, 2025

Scotto mentions that nothing is imminent, but that may change with reports that Giannis is unhappy with the franchise, coupled with the two-time MVP deleting most of his Bucks-related social media.

While LaVine would be a decent fit next to Giannis and give the Bucks another scoring option that they desperately need, I’m not sure that even vaults them to the top of the much weaker Eastern Conference. Instead of a trade where Giannis gives it one last run in Milwaukee, what if the Bucks see now as the time to move on?

The Wild Four-Team Mock Trade

Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Zach LaVine, Maxi Kleber, NYK 2026, 2028, and 2032 First Round Picks, LAL 2026 First Round Pick

New York Knicks Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Sacramento Kings Receive: Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and Josh Hart

Los Angeles Lakers Receive: OG Anunoby, Doug McDermott

*Trade cannot be processed until December 15th, 2025
*Milwaukee would need to waive a player, likely Thanasis Antetokounmpo

Why Milwaukee Does This

Let’s face it, there probably isn’t a move out there that is going to turn the Bucks into a contender, regardless of how insanely good Giannis is. Even if they want to pursue a trade to match up a player like LaVine with Antetokounmpo, they don’t have many assets that another team would be excited about.

Bobby Portis is under contract for two more seasons, and Kyle Kuzma has another year left, which isn’t ideal for a team looking to free up cap space. Rather than elongating the Giannis saga, the Bucks can bring in LaVine, who will be a huge expiring deal next season, Kleber’s expiring contract, and multiple first-round picks in a generational draft.

It may take another first-round pick from New York, but I see this as the right move for a Bucks team that doesn’t seem to have much of a contingency plan for when Giannis leaves.

Giannis has deleted all posts on Twitter going back to 2021 and has removed all Bucks related content on his IG, excluding his NBA Championship and Cup posts.

This is the last tweet on his Twitter feed. 👀 pic.twitter.com/Rj1gXoY66C
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 2, 2025

Why New York Does This

This one is easy. New York gets Giannis to pair next to Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Mikal Bridges, immediately turning them into championship contenders. The Knicks lose OG Anunoby, who is obviously a huge part of their success, but he’s a small price to pay to bring in one of the top five best players in the NBA.

Moving that many draft picks is never easy, however, the Knicks have already mortgaged their future to acquire Bridges, Towns, and Anunoby. New York’s championship window is now, and they are running the risk of coming away with nothing after all their recent success.

Giannis may be 31 already, but he’s showing no signs of slowing down while fitting perfectly into the timeline that Brunson, Towns, and Bridges are already on.

had all our hands in the cookie jar 🍪

we had 20 steals... OG had SIX alone 🤯 pic.twitter.com/BC4YdxlYhp
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 29, 2025

Why LA Does This

The Lakers are in an interesting spot right now. LeBron James has just returned and seems more than content taking a secondary role offensively to Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic in what may very well be his last year with the Lakers. Los Angeles is 15-5 and sitting in second in the Western Conference, but they don’t quite feel like a championship contender as currently constructed.

The Lakers don’t need another big swing; simply adding a versatile two-way player like OG might be just what they need to challenge the top of the Western Conference. Anunoby can immediately slot in and provide some switchability on defense while making sure they don’t miss Rui Hachimura’s shooting on the other end. OG is also under contract for three more seasons and could prove to be a great long-term piece next to Doncic and Reaves once LeBron has moved on.

Why Sacramento Does This

Kings fans may not love me after this one because they come out of this trade with the worst return while giving up a two-time All-Star. Despite not receiving any draft capital in return, the Kings take back Hachimura and Gabe Vincent, who are both expiring this season and will cut about $30 million from their books in the offseason.

The downside for the Kings is taking back Josh Hart, who is already 30 years old and under contract for two more seasons at an AAV of over $20 million. While the Kings should be trying not to take on any long-term money, Hart is the type of culture-setting player that Scott Perry and Doug Christie want, and he would be easy to move in the offseason should they wish.

Most of all, this gets the Kings off of LaVine’s contract and officially starts their rebuilding process.

I felt a bit like a mad scientist crafting this one up, but it has a ton of merit for all four teams. Do I think this will happen? Absolutely not. Either way, it was a fun exercise to imagine this big a shift in the NBA’s power dynamic and a world where the Kings actually turn the page and start their next phase.

The Wild Four-Team Mock Trade

Why Milwaukee Does This

Why New York Does This

Why LA Does This

Why Sacramento Does This

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