Joining Dallas Mavericks Has Reportedly 'Long Intrigued' Giannis Antetokounmpo

Everyone is just about tired of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors. We're going on a full year of back-and-forth action of people thinking Antetokounmpo wants out of Milwaukee, but no trade ended up materializing.

The Bucks are expected to re-engage trade conversations for Antetokounmpo this offseason, as a lot of teams will have more trade ammunition. Antetokounmpo will have a list of teams he'd prefer to go to. One of those could be the Dallas Mavericks, per NBA insider Marc Stein.

It started when the Mavericks had Luka Doncic, per Stein, but the thought of joining the Mavs persisted in the last few years because they were coached by Jason Kidd, who was a big part of Antetokounmpo's development in Milwaukee. You'd think that the Mavericks firing Kidd last week would kill any desire, but Antetokounmpo also has a close relationship with new team president Masai Ujiri, who likely had a lot of interest in trying to get the Greek Freak to Toronto.

There's always the chance that Ujiri circles back to Antetokounmpo, but it would be highly unlikely if the Mavericks decided to enter those waters.

Mar 31, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) warms up before a game against the Dallas Mavericks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Don't Expect the Mavericks to Trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo

While we don't know exactly what the Milwaukee Bucks will ask for in return for Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP and the 2021 Finals MVP, it's going to be more than the Mavs can offer. They're not going to put Cooper Flagg on the table, as they shouldn't, and they don't have many tradeable first-round picks, which is what the Bucks will want.

Every decision the Mavericks will make from here on out will be about building Cooper Flagg, and Flagg and Antetokounmpo would be a clunky fit offensively. The defense would be tremendous, but we just saw a clunky offensive fit with Flagg and Anthony Davis. I find it hard to believe they'd want to try it again with Giannis.

For the Mavs to even get close to matching salaries, it would have to be P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, and Klay Thompson, and none of those feel like players the Bucks would be interested in. They're already heavy in the frontcourt with Bobby Portis, Myles Turner, and Kyle Kuzma. Adding Gafford and Washington to that makes it awkward.

Milwaukee needs picks. So does Dallas. That makes it incredibly unlikely that Antetokounmpo's intrigue in the Mavs will ever come to fruition.

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