NBA Exec Suggests Bucks' Plans for Giannis to Be 'Exact Opposite' of Mavs Trading Luka

If the Milwaukee Bucks are going to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo, expect them to cast a wide net while fielding offers.

As NBA reporter Jake Fischer wrote Thursday: "The Bucks have not yet spelled [out their dream package] precisely to potential bidders, but as one rival front office executive quipped: 'They have to do the exact opposite of Dallas' approach to trading Luka Dončić.' Translation: Hold a leaguewide auction and pick the package you deem the best. That could mean several different outcomes... outcomes that the Bucks are indeed projected by rival front offices to be actively pondering in coming weeks. Some teams out there think the post-Giannis Bucks would want to initiate a full-scale teardown that includes trading away veterans like the title-winning Bobby Portis, February acquisition Kyle Kuzma and offseason addition Myles Turner. Even then, though, there would be loud questions."

This all comes on the heels of ESPN's Shams Charania reporting that Giannis and the Bucks are now "discussing whether his best fit is staying or a move elsewhere," opening up the possibility that the longtime face of the Bucks could seek a trade before February's deadline amidst the team's 10-13 start to the 2025-26 season.

The Bucks would surely seek an enormous package in such a deal, and a robust market would just as surely materialize for the 30-year-old superstar. The Bucks would be wise to court a bidding war.

The Mavericks and former general manager Nico Harrison were roundly criticized, meanwhile, for holding clandestine talks with the Los Angeles Lakers—and the Lakers alone—once they decided to move on from Dončić. Most detractors of the trade made the point that the Mavericks probably could have gotten a much better return for the generational superstar than 32-year-old Anthony Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers' 2029 first-round pick had they added other bidders to the mix.

A Western Conference executive told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon in February that the Mavericks handled the Dončić trade talks in an "unfathomable" manner. Don't expect the Bucks to make that same mistake.