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Wild NBA Trade Idea Using 5 Teams, 10 Players Gets Giannis Antetokounmpo to New York
Relative to some of the league's recent transaction windows, the 2025 NBA offseason has actually been pretty quiet.
But there's always a chance that these lulls are just the calm before a storm. And with Giannis Antetokounmpo's long-term future with the Milwaukee Bucks still feeling a little tenuous, we're here to imagine what the storm might look like.
With the league's current collective bargaining agreement making straight-up, two-team deals harder to pull off than they used to be (thanks to restrictive new rules that come with the first and second aprons), deals can get awful busy, awful fast.
And that's exactly what happened below. But in the end, in this hypothetical world, Giannis winds up in the league's biggest media market after a shakeup that benefits five total teams.
The Deal
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Before we break down why each team should (or at least could) be interested in this monstrosity, as always, it helps to get a look at the entire deal in one frame.
Behold:
New York Knicks Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
New York Knicks Lose: Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyler Kolek, a 2026 first-round pick (via Washington), a 2030 first-round pick swap (for Milwaukee), a 2032 first-round pick swap (for Milwaukee) and three second-round picks
Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, Harrison Barnes, a 2026 first-round pick from New York (via Washington), a 2030 first-round pick from Miami, a 2030 first-round pick swap from New York, a 2032 first-round pick swap from New York, a 2032 first-round pick from Miami, a top-50 protected 2031 second-round pick from Utah and three second-round picks from New York
Milwaukee Bucks Lose: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis
Miami Heat Receive: Karl-Anthony Towns
Miami Heat Lose: Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, a 2030 first-round pick and a 2032 first-round pick
San Antonio Spurs Receive: Lauri Markkanen
San Antonio Spurs Lose: Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick
Utah Jazz Receive: Keldon Johnson, Bobby Portis, Jeremy Sochan, Tyler Kolek, a 2029 first-round pick from San Antonio and a 2031 first-round pick from San Antonio
Utah Jazz Lose: Lauri Markkanen and a top-50 protected 2031 second-round pick
Feel free to pick at some of the smaller aspects of the trade. The number of picks and whether or not they have protections is certainly open for debate. Some of the smaller-contract players might be replaceable with others, too.
The most important pieces involved are probably obvious already and will become even more so as we explain why this makes sense for everyone involved.
Knicks Somehow Go Further All In
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New York Knicks Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
New York Knicks Lose: Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyler Kolek, a 2026 first-round pick (via Washington), a 2030 first-round pick swap (for Milwaukee), a 2032 first-round pick swap (for Milwaukee) and three second-round picks
If it looks like the New York Knicks aren't giving up enough for Giannis, bear in mind that the draft capital they'd theoretically receive for Karl-Anthony Towns would be redirected to the Milwaukee Bucks in this deal. Reserve your judgments of the return until you get to the Bucks slide.
As for the Knicks, despite losing their All-NBA center, his outside shooting and much of what's left of their stash of draft assets, this is a clear win.
KAT may be in the middle of his prime and coming off a season in which he was a top 10-15 player, but Giannis is still in the "best in the world" conversation. And his relentless driving would wedge opposing defenses into the paint, creating precious extra time outside for shooters like Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.
The two-man game between Giannis and Brunson could be every bit as devastating as the one the Bucks had with the big man and Damian Lillard, but with better support on the wings from Anunoby, Bridges and Josh Hart.
Even if it took some more second-round draft capital or another intriguing young talent (like Pacôme Dadiet) did get this over the finish line, it'd be worth it for New York.
Bucks Start Over
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Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, Harrison Barnes, a 2026 first-round pick from New York (via Washington), a 2030 first-round pick from Miami, a 2030 first-round pick swap from New York, a 2032 first-round pick swap from New York, a 2032 first-round pick from Miami, a top-50 protected 2031 second-round pick from Utah and three second-round picks from New York
Milwaukee Bucks Lose: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis
The Bucks won the 2021 NBA Finals. Regardless of what happens next, that makes the Giannis era an unqualified success.
But even after Milwaukee made the dramatic, win-now series of moves that unloaded Lillard through the waive-and-stretch provision and added Myles Turner, there still seems to be little assurance that Giannis doesn't want a trade.
Earlier this month, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Antetokounmpo is "open-minded" about the possibility of a deal. If that leads to a request and a list of preferred destinations, this isn't a bad haul for a team that would instantly be in rebuild mode.
Terry Rozier and Harrison Barnes are both on expiring contracts. Next season is the last on Andrew Wiggins' deal (and that's a player option). The latter two could be movable in other trades down the road, giving this deal the potential to get even better for the Knicks.
Ultimately, though, this is about draft capital. And because Miami is able to sweeten the pot a bit, this return is at least palatable.
That pick in 2026 conveying may not be likely (the Washington Wizards keep it if it's in the top eight), but there's at least a chance. And because it's burdened by that pick protection, New York is including both of its farthest-flung possible pick swaps. The 2030 one could be impacted by the Portland Trail Blazers' right to swap its own pick with Milwaukee's that year, but this at least gives New York another chance to improve its position in 2030. The picks from Miami being unprotected helps and so does a handful of second-rounders.
Now, the obvious gripe from the gallery could go something like this: If Giannis is made available, surely, some other team could beat this offer.
And that's undoubtedly true. Other organizations definitely have better and deeper troves of draft assets than the Knicks, who already spent loads of capital on Bridges and Towns.
But over the years, we've learned that superstar players can do a lot to dictate the outcome of trades they're involved in. And if Giannis wants to play for the Knicks, that'll do a lot for their pursuit.
Heat Land a New Cornerstone
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Miami Heat Receive: Karl-Anthony Towns
Miami Heat Lose: Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, a 2030 first-round pick and a 2032 first-round pick
There may be a bit of unease over giving up two unprotected first-round picks, but this is almost as much of a no-brainer for Miami as it is New York.
KAT is coming off an All-NBA campaign in which he averaged 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists, while shooting 42.0 percent from deep.
And his outside shooting makes him a pretty obvious fit alongside another combo big in Bam Adebayo who does much of his damage inside the three-point line and is an underrated distributor.
Playing next to a floor-spacing forward/center as good as Towns would go a long way toward maximizing Adebayo's playmaking ability.
Add Tyler Herro to those two and the Heat would suddenly have a pretty dynamic, relatively young trio. And they'd still have plenty of young talent (like Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jović) to deploy around those three.
Spurs Push for Contention
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San Antonio Spurs Receive: Lauri Markkanen
San Antonio Spurs Lose: Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick
The San Antonio Spurs are one of those teams that could probably beat the return above for Giannis. It might not take much more than the outgoing pieces listed here to do it.
But again, it wouldn't be shocking to see any star list the Knicks among his preferred destinations. And though Lauri Markkanen obviously isn't the player Giannis is, his game might actually be a bit more complementary to Victor Wembanyama's.
If San Antonio wants to keep its French big man as the unquestioned alpha of the team while also nearly guaranteeing a return to the postseason, this deal might just do it (and do it without sacrificing the future).
Markkanen is almost purely additive offensive talent. All he does is finish (which makes his Finnisher nickname very appropriate).
Despite missing 43 games in 2022-23 and 2023-24, he was 22nd in the league in threes made and 19th in dunks. And he put up those numbers without dominating the ball or taking much time of possession away from his teammates.
Having him as an outlet for the two-man game of Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox would instantly give the Spurs a dynamic offense. And though Markkanen isn't on track to make an All-Defense team any time soon, he's a legitimate seven-footer.
And that much size in lineups with Wembanyama and the explosive athleticism of Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper could give San Antonio one of the league's best defenses.
Jazz Tank Even Harder
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Utah Jazz Receive: Keldon Johnson, Bobby Portis, Jeremy Sochan, Tyler Kolek, a 2029 first-round pick from San Antonio and a 2031 first-round pick from San Antonio
Utah Jazz Lose: Lauri Markkanen and a top-50 protected 2031 second-round pick
With or without Markkanen, the Utah Jazz are going to lose a boatload of games this season. But he could be well into his 30s by the time this team is truly competitive again, and moving him now would all but guarantee a bottom-three record and another 14 percent chance at the No. 1 pick.
Of course, that didn't lead to Cooper Flagg this past summer. In fact, despite having that 14 percent chance, Utah slipped to fifth in this draft. But that could be all the more reason to lean even harder into the tank.
Let the young roster play just about all the minutes. See what you have in Ace Bailey. See if Walker Kessler, Kyle Filipowski, Isaiah Collier, Keyonte George or any of the other prospects on the roster have more star potential than they've shown to date. See if any other team might be willing to offer value for Keldon Johnson or Bobby Portis. Keep adding to that stash of draft assets.
And just lose. Lose lots and lots and lots of games.
