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Shams Charania: Bulls and Pistons have desires met here in a young and veteran guards to Chicago and a sharpshooter goes to Detroit. Minnesota creates significant tax savings and roster space as they pursue a Milwaukee star this week.
Giannis Antetokounmpo will be the most sought-after player at Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. But sources told The Post that — contrary to reports — the Nets have not called Milwaukee about the Greek superstar. For years, Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks hoarded assets in case Antetokounmpo ever decided he wanted to leave Milwaukee and was made available.
After being dealt from Atlanta to Cleveland this time last year, De'Andre Hunter has once again proven to be a prominent name on this season's trade market. He has also generated interest from the Bucks, with sources saying that Milwaukee has offered Kyle Kuzma and/or Bobby Portis Jr. in various frameworks. Yet those discussions began before the Bucks began fielding trade pitches in earnest for Antetokounmpo.
While Green stressed he has no direct knowledge of the Warriors’ plans, he acknowledged the ripple effect Antetokounmpo’s uncertain future has created across the league. "I did see that Giannis is preparing for an exit from Milwaukee, whether that’s at the deadline or the offseason," Green said. "Apparently, it’s inevitable and it's going to happen. So, how does that change the trade deadline? Everyone around the league, even we'll be calling Milwaukee -- even if you’re not calling for Giannis."
While the race for top contender in the East is still up for debate, the biggest storyline in the conference -- and the NBA -- is not. In conversations with sources around the league over the past 48 hours, the widespread expectation is that the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga will drag out until at least Thursday. Then, Bucks general manager Jon Horst and his staff will have to decide whether to make a move now or wait until the offseason. Three sources said they expect the trade drama in Milwaukee to stretch into the summer. "I'm just not sure why it wouldn't make sense to wait," an East scout said. "They can see where the draft [lottery] is, and survey their options then." But Milwaukee is taking calls, surveying the trade value for its superstar forward in a way the franchise, as one source said, has never before.
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The early indications are that Atlanta has not joined the Giannis chase and does not intend to. The Hawks do have control of Milwaukee's picks in the next two drafts but have shown no interest to date in surrendering control of them. The Hawks are likewise said to be unwilling to surrender Jalen Johnson in a theoretical Antetokounmpo deal ... even though Johnson's agent Rich Paul said in one of his recent podcasts that the Milwaukee native is precisely whom the Bucks should target.
As expected, the Bucks' brass will want a considerable trade haul in return for Milwaukee in any deal involving Antetokounmpo, as Charania mapped out. Multiple teams have received a sense that the Bucks are more open than ever to Antetokounmpo offers between now and the deadline, league sources said. However, Milwaukee has indicated to interested teams that the organization is not in a rush to complete a move and is willing to navigate Antetokounmpo's future in the offseason if its believed price point of a blue-chip young talent and/or a surplus of draft picks isn't met, sources said. By waiting until the summer, the Bucks could also see which teams are able to offer more appealing draft picks in June.
In addition to Morant, Milwaukee was linked with trade interest in several notable names on the trade market, including Morant, Michael Porter Jr., Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, Jerami Grant, Miles Bridges, Malik Monk, Keon Ellis, and other players. However, with Antetokounmpo out for a significant amount of time, there’s less urgency for the Bucks to act immediately.
For a brief window this past summer, the Bucks and the New York Knicks engaged in discussions about a potential Antetokounmpo trade. Sources told ESPN that New York never believed Milwaukee seriously entertained the idea of moving Antetokounmpo then, however, and those in Milwaukee believe New York never made a strong enough offer to continue discussing the trade.
The Bucks picked up the Knicks' call on Antetokounmpo for an exclusive negotiating window after New York emerged as the only destination he wanted to play for outside of Milwaukee, sources told Charania over the summer, but Milwaukee maintained its superstar was not available throughout the first half of the '25-26 season. League sources have long believed that it was going to take a more forceful effort from Antetokounmpo to force an exit.
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