The writing on the wall certainly adds up when it comes to Giannis’ potential exit from the Milwaukee Bucks. After losing the series 4-1 to the Indiana Pacers, a series in which co-star Damian Lillard tore his Achilles, the Bucks now have failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. And with Giannis now on the wrong side of 30, league sources can’t help but wonder if this is the offseason where Giannis is on the move, for real this time. In addition to this, speculation increased when ESPN’s Shams Charania tweeted that Giannis is weighing all his options on May 12th.

In this article, I discuss eight potential trade scenarios and landing spots where Giannis could end up if either he or the Bucks decided to go in a different direction. These are the eight teams that not only make sense in terms of going after Giannis in a trade but also have enough assets to formulate an Antetokounmpo-sized trade package. For what it’s worth, the Bucks don’t control their own draft until 2031, which means they’re in a difficult situation where they can’t quite “tank” after trading Giannis, as they have no incentive to be bad when they don’t possess their own picks for the next six drafts. With Lillard almost definitely out for next season as well, that may be where the Bucks are headed with or without Giannis.

With this said, any Giannis deal will likely be a multi-team trade. Keep an eye on the New Orleans Pelicans and the Portland Trailblazers to help facilitate said deal. The Pelicans own the Bucks’ 2026 and 2027 draft, while the Blazers own Milwaukee’s draft picks from 2028 to 2030. If the Bucks decide to ‘blow it up, ‘ they’ll likely desire that draft capital back. Despite this, the majority of these mock trades I’ve assembled are two-team deals. Without further ado, here are the eight most likely Giannis Antetokounmpo trade destinations:

8. Giannis pushes the Pace for Indiana

This deal would have to be finalized after the 2025 draft in order for the Pacers not to violate the Stepien Rule. While Indiana has had Milwaukee’s number, eliminating them from the last two playoffs, it would be ironic to see Giannis end up with the Pacers. While it’s unlikely this Pacers package is sufficient for Giannis, it is definitely compelling to an extent. Siakam is an all-star caliber player, and the Bucks could sell themselves on still competing with Siakam as Lillard’s sidekick. While Siakam is a significant downgrade from Giannis, the Bucks don’t control their own draft picks until 2031, so being a mid-tier competitive team may be more compelling than it is for most teams. Siakam gives them a competitive floor.

Additionally, the Bucks can get two bites at the apple on former lottery picks in Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker. Ben Sheppard is a former first-round pick and a rotation player for the Pacers himself. The 2025 Indiana first is pick #23, and while the Bucks would prefer more immediate draft capital, the Bucks could sell themselves on those 2028 and 2030 picks becoming valuable, being far out in the future for a small market team. Meanwhile, pairing Giannis with Tyrese Haliburton is a dream duo for the Pacers. While the Pacers are in the hunt to reach their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals, this is a deal they can sell themselves on.

I really like this deal for Milwaukee, whether they want to keep Siakam or not. They can keep him and attempt to compete, as previously stated, or they can flip Siakam in a similar way the Trailblazers flipped Jrue Holiday to Boston after acquiring him in the Damian Lillard trade package.

7. Giannis takes his talents to South Beach, Bucks get major cap relief

I know what you’re thinking. How do the Bucks get Giannis without giving up Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, or even Andrew Wiggins? It’s conceivable that either Herro or Wiggins are added to this deal in place of Robinson or Rozier, but this specific deal gives the Bucks major cap relief. We already saw Milwaukee duck the second apron when they traded franchise icon Khris Middleton in exchange for Kyle Kuzma. Now, Milwaukee trades Giannis for three firsts, four swaps (I’d add Miami’s 2032 swap in here as well, once they’re eligible to trade it) as well as a quartet of promising young prospects in Jovic, Jaquez, Larsson, and Kel’el Ware.
While not taking Wiggins or Herro may seem a little crazy, if the Bucks did this deal without adding any long-term money this offseason, they’ll have roughly $50 million in cap space going into the 2026 offseason. This number can increase further depending on whether they either sign Jovic to a rookie extension post-trade or renounce his cap hold in free agency. Under this new CBA, financial flexibility is a legitimate strategy for a retooling team. This deal allows the Bucks to not only reset their books but also take some fliers on some young players with multiple years left on their rookie deals.

It’s also worth noting that on the Zach Lowe Show, Howard Beck said Miami would be one of Giannis’ preferred destinations. The Bucks do not need to abide by Giannis’ wishes by any means, as he has two years in addition to a player option remaining on his contract. But if they DO give him a say in where he ends up, Miami may luck out and beat some more competitive offers.

6. Giannis teams up with Trae

While Atlanta isn’t an initial team that makes a lot of sense as a Giannis trade destination, this trade package itself is one of the stronger ones in the league. Those 2025 firsts are picks 13 and pick 22. Jalen Johnson is one of the elite up and coming young players in the league, while Daniels was the recipient of the NBA’s Most Improved Player award this year. Meanwhile, Risacher was last year’s #1 overall pick. That offer, in addition to a 2029 1st should be extremely compelling for Milwaukee.

However, if Atlanta trades all those assets for Giannis, the cupboards become pretty bare between Trae Young and Giannis. The only potential starting caliber players left on Atlanta’s roster would be Onyeka Okongwu and Terance Mann, while Georges Niang remains a rotation player. This would be one of those scenarios where the Hawks would need to hope that high level role players would play at a discount in order for a chance to play with Trae Young and Giannis to fill out the rest of the roster. While the Hawks may not become an instant contender with this deal, this type of package would be STRONG in the Giannis sweepstakes.

5. Giannis Trusts the Process

Don’t get me wrong, the Bucks would almost assuredly demand Tyrese Maxey as the salary filler if Daryl Morey called about Giannis Antetokounmpo, and that may ultimately become a sticking point. While the Sixers offer can be competitive, it would be tough to outbid the strongest suitors without Maxey. Philly would send this year’s #3 overall pick in the draft to Milwaukee in addition to the Clippers’ 2028 unprotected first, an unprotected swap that’s more favorable for the Sixers and Clippers in 2029, and a 2031 Sixers unprotected first. In addition, the Bucks receive the Rookie of the Year frontrunner prior to injuries in Jared McCain. Kelly Oubre is also a pretty substantial upgrade to Pat Connaughton in those players’ respective careers.

While the Bucks will likely demand Tyrese Maxey in any deal for Giannis, that doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Sixers, as they would have depleted guard play. A starting five of Maxey, Giannis, Embiid, Quentin Grimes, and Justin Edwards would make sense for Philadelphia (if they can re-sign Grimes). For the Bucks, the theory is similar to the Indiana deal. Paul George gives them some type of floor in terms of remaining competitive, which they might prefer given the lack of their own picks. Could the Bucks even rehabilitate his value next year as the offensive focal point and flip him at the deadline? If not, by the time Lillard is recovered from his torn Achilles, Lillard will be turning 36 years old, and George will be turning 37. How effective would that duo be at that age? For this reason alone, I believe if the Sixers want Giannis, Maxey would need to be the sticking point of accomplishing such a deal.

If Maxey is in this deal instead of George, could that entice the Bucks to get the deal done? Would the Sixers be willing to build around Giannis, George, and Embiid with no lead playmaker? For these reasons, a deal seems unlikely. The Sixers have adequate assets to get it done if they threw the kitchen sink at the Bucks, and Daryl Morey loves star hunting, but this seems like an unlikely scenario. Additionally, to give up this kind of package for Giannis, the Sixers would need to be REAL confident that Joel Embiid’s knee injuries are behind him.

4. Giannis is the lightning to SGA’s Thunder

In my opinion, after winning 68 games this year and having a whole flurry of assets in terms of draft equity, there’s no better time than now for OKC to push their chips in. Stars of Giannis’ caliber don’t become available often, and OKC’s draft pick equity and amount of young players on reasonable, team-friendly contracts make this a match made in heaven. OKC has an embarrassment of riches, and if Milwaukee wants a pick-heavy package, nobody will be able to outbid OKC. In this scenario, Milwaukee gets pick #15 in this upcoming draft plus a slew of draft capital throughout the next four drafts plus a 2030 first far enough out into the future that if you squint, could be valuable.

Like everything reiterated about Tyrese Maxey being a sticking point for Giannis in trade talks with Philadelphia, I’m nearly positive Jon Horst would demand either Jalen Williams or Chet Holmgren in this deal. If I were Sam Presti, I would be ok parting with Chet if it came down to it, but I know plenty of people would disagree with me. For this reason, I didn’t include Chet. But he could very easily replace Lu Dort in this trade scenario, and you can take away one of the picks OKC is offering in that scenario. Chet might be the single most valuable asset available in the Giannis sweepstakes. If Chet goes, imagine a SGA-Caruso-Dort-J Dub-Giannis playing small ball. OKC would need to find a long-term solution at the center, with Hartenstein being the salary match here. Still, they have enough financial flexibility + additional assets to make that feasible. For me, OKC is the dark horse in the Giannis sweepstakes that shouldn’t even qualify as a dark horse.

3. Giannis is Brooklyn Bound

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And there’s long been speculation this season about Giannis potentially headed to the Nets. Given that Brooklyn only has four guaranteed contracts on their roster heading into the offseason, this package would need to be heavily pick incentivized. For what it’s worth, going into the offseason, Brooklyn has about $62 million in cap space with Cam Thomas’ cap hold on the books. In this scenario, Milwaukee gets Cam Thomas in a sign-and-trade for 4/$107 million. Is Thomas worth that contract? That’s to be seen. Milwaukee would need to buy into the elite scoring ability and Claxton’s versatile defensive ability to make this deal worthwhile. For what it’s worth, Milwaukee can add salary to this deal by being able to move off of potential players like Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis to further their financial flexibility. Claxton would essentially be the Bucks’ Brook Lopez replacement, as Lopez is entering unrestricted free agency.

But for the Nets, falling to 8th in the lottery really hurt them. The Nets would have roughly $50 million AFTER this deal, and Giannis would want to pair with a co-star in almost any trade destination. Does Giannis pull a Kawhi-to-the-Clippers and demand they trade for another star to play with him? That’s how the Clippers secured both Kawhi and Paul George. Which star makes sense for the Nets? And would the Nets even have the assets to pull off a deal for a second star? Names like LaMelo Ball or Ja Morant come to mind. If the Nets went the free agency route instead, maybe a Naz Reid or a Fred VanVleet would sign there to be the #2 behind Giannis, but that isn’t enticing enough to persuade Giannis. But again, Milwaukee doesn’t NEED Giannis’ approval for any trade they accept, even though I’m sure they’ll give him some type of say.

2. Giannis-Wemby form the Eurocorns Duo

Here is another dark horse landing spot for Giannis. Again, Giannis will want to play with another star, and there isn’t a bigger (literally and figuratively) up-and-coming star than Victor Wembanyama. When the Spurs traded as little as they did for De’Aaron Fox, I reiterated that they had substantial assets remaining for another big deal. The Spurs getting pick #2 in the lottery may have saved their ability to retain Stephon Castle in a Giannis deal. Imagine a Fox-Castle-Keldon-Giannis-Wemby starting lineup on the court. And in terms of the quality of picks, the Spurs might be able to beat out almost every other team that has been written about here. The #2 pick, then two Atlanta picks in 2026 and 2027, with a 2031 more favorable swap between San Antonio and Sacramento, is enticing.

While Giannis doesn’t work with all big men, his fit alongside Wemby would work well. Not only are they both ‘unicorns,’ but they both put the ball on the floor. Additionally, Fox’s speed and Wemby’s ability to shoot the three-ball space the floor for Giannis. The question is, if the Giannis sweepstakes comes down to OKC, Houston, and San Antonio, can San Antonio compete from an asset perspective?

1. Houston, we have a Problem

While Houston, I think, might have the best individual trade package for Giannis, the fit between Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun doesn’t make a ton of sense. But if you told Rafael Stone he would be able to keep Giannis without giving up either of them, he’d do it in a heartbeat. Amen Thompson would be up there with Chet Holmgren, Tyrese Maxey, and Stephon Castle as potential pieces to put a Giannis deal over the edge. But in this trade package, the Rockets get three absolute dynamite firsts with the 10th pick in this draft, a 2027 1st where they get swap rights with Brooklyn, and a 2029 first, which is most favorable of Dallas and Phoenix. Dallas’s 2029 first may not be valuable now that Cooper Flagg will be in town, Phoenix’s likely will be. In addition, the Bucks would get last year’s #3 pick in the draft in Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, Tari Eason, former #3 pick Jabari Smith Jr., and a serviceable starter in Dillon Brooks. That’s a pretty large package. However, would Milwaukee want to pay Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason next offseason? And then Cam Whitmore the following year? And then Sheppard the year after that? Young talent is great, but when you have to pay to retain each of those young assets continuously, your books get tricky quickly.

Again, if Houston can get Giannis without giving up Thompson or Sengun, they do it. They’d also still have Jalen Green, who may have some value around the league, depending on who you ask. But similar to what I said with Brooklyn, Giannis will want to play alongside another star, and Houston doesn’t quite have that yet. But make no mistake, Houston was the #2 seed in the West this year and also owns Fred VanVleet’s bird rights in free agency. With FVV-Jalen Green-Amen-Giannis-Sengun, Houston still has an extremely compelling team with the possibility to trade for another star eventually, or maybe even trade Jalen Green for two or three players to get depth. Would Houston even be able to swing a deal to pair both Giannis and Kevin Durant? If so, then all of a sudden HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

With all this said, there are plenty of asset-rich teams ready to contend that would love to secure Giannis’ services. While Milwaukee’s future seems bleak, they will at least get a strong package of young talent and some potential win-now help in return. In your opinion, where does Giannis end up? Tweet at me at @the_nbagell to discuss!