Nets Once Again Mocked in Trade Rumors for Giannis Antetokounmpo

After about a two-month hiatus, the Brooklyn Nets are firmly, smack dab back in the seemingly never-ending Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors.

Even before the Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated in the opening round of the 2025 postseason by the Indiana Pacers, Antetokounmpo was repeatedly linked to Brooklyn. Intelligently, the Nets never acted on this smoke, at least that we know.

Since the rumors have started and died, Brooklyn has been extremely busy. It added five new prospects in June's draft, agreed to new contracts with Ziaire Williams and Day'Ron Sharpe and even finally traded Cam Johnson, gaining Michael Porter Jr. in the process.

But now, with training camp just around the corner, the rumors have resumed.

"It'd be shocking if Antetokounmpo requested a trade in August or September, especially after Milwaukee's machinations. But that possibility is, apparently, still on the table," Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes wrote on Wednesday.

In Hughes' article, five franchises are listed as potential suitors if the Greek Freak demands a trade. Guess who's on the list?

You'd be correct, it's the Nets. Here's the framework Hughes constrcuted:

Brooklyn Nets Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Michael Porter Jr., 2027 first-round pick (top-1 protected), 2027 first-round pick (via NYK), 2029 first-round pick (top-1 protected), 2029 first-round pick (via HOU), 2031 first-round pick (top-1 protected)

Hughes goes on to justify why Brooklyn would pull the trigger on an Antetokounmpo trade, citing "picks to burn" and a "need for a superstar."

If this justification aligned with the Nets' thinking, they would've at least already attempted this—especially when they were equipped with a top-10 draft choice. But now, well into the offseason, parting with Porter and five first-round picks? Not likely.

There is one solid point Hughes makes, although it would carry more weight if Antetokounmpo were slightly younger.

"The Nets could carefully draft and develop for a decade, and they almost definitely wouldn't wind up with a player as good as Antetokounmpo," Hughes continued. "Trading for him would be a shortcut, but it's probably one worth taking."

If Brooklyn's roster was just slightly better—and I mean, if it was in year three of its rebuild instead of year two—an argument could be made that Antetokunmpo could be a high-risk, high-reward experiment for the Nets.

But they're not in year three. They're in year two, and Antetokounmpo wouldn't have a partner in crime that the rest of the league fears. The roster just isn't ready for this kind of jump, and no matter how much the idea of Antetokounmpo at the Barclays Center is pushed, it simply doesn't make sense as of right now.