Grading the Latest Viral Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade Idea
The Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors aren't going away any time soon.
In fact, with every tense Giannis presser and every bad Milwaukee Bucks loss, they just get louder. Even if he's on the team beyond the trade deadline, they'll likely survive. The timeline will just shift, and the rumors will contemplate an offseason move.
In the meantime, or in the absence of an actual move, all the speculation is fueling loads of fake trades all over the internet. One that recently went viral on X comes courtesy of CBS Sports' Sam Quinn, and it's a doozy worth analyzing.
There is indeed recent reporting from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report and The Stein Line that the Portland Trail Blazers may be interested in Mikal Bridges. And there isn't a lot of dot-connecting from there to a three-team trade that grants Giannis' long-rumored desire to wind up on the New York Knicks.
Credit to Quinn for getting all the puzzle pieces together, though. Sorting through the amount of draft capital involved is no small feat.
And for his efforts, Bleacher Report is giving the report-card treatment typically reserved for real trades to a hypothetical one.
The Deal
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Before we dive into the letter grades for each team, it's helpful to see the entire deal at a glance.
Knicks Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jerami Grant
Knicks Lose: Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, Guerschon Yabusele, Miles McBride, Pacôme Dadiet, a 2026 first-round pick (via Washington), a 2030 first-round pick swap and a 2032 first-round pick swap
Bucks Receive: Karl-Anthony Towns, Miles McBride, Pacôme Dadiet, a 2026 first-round pick from New York (via Washington), a 2028 first-round pick from Portland (via Orlando), return of swap rights from Portland on 2028 and 2030 first-round picks, and first-round pick swaps from New York in 2030 and 2032
Bucks Lose: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Trail Blazers Receive: Mikal Bridges and Guerschon Yabusele
Trail Blazers Lose: Jerami Grant, a 2028 first-round pick (via Orlando) and first-round swap rights with Milwaukee in 2028 and 2030
There are legitimate reasons for the organizations above to be interested in this framework, but there's a lot happening here. So, we'll dive into the returns for everyone involved below.
The Knicks Land Giannis
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Knicks Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jerami Grant
Knicks Lose: Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, Guerschon Yabusele, Miles McBride, Pacôme Dadiet, a 2026 first-round pick (via Washington), a 2030 first-round pick swap and a 2032 first-round pick swap
At the risk of being overly reductive, being the team that walks away with Giannis makes the Knicks a winner in this deal. Knowing that he'd likely sign an extension with the storied franchise would make the price a little easier to stomach, too.
But there's no question, this is a pretty hefty price to pay.
The trade sends out two starters (KAT and Bridges), a sneaky Sixth Man of the Year candidate (McBride), a prospect (Dadiet), a salary that could move the needle in other deals (Yabusele) and much of the draft capital New York can muster right now.
There's also a very real question as to how well Giannis would fit with Jalen Brunson. The latter leads the league in time of possession per game, while the former is third in usage percentage.
But this would also pair a top-10 to top-15 player (Brunson) with a top-3 to top-5 player (Giannis). And on a playoff team, Jerami Grant is more than a throw-in. His outside shooting at one of the forward spots would be crucial for making that superstar pairing work.
New York would have to make some additional moves to fill out the roster after this blockbuster, but as a pure talent play, it makes sense.
Knicks: A
Bucks Move On
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Bucks Receive: Karl-Anthony Towns, Miles McBride, Pacôme Dadiet, a 2026 first-round pick from New York (via Washington), a 2028 first-round pick from Portland (via Orlando), return of swap rights from Portland on 2028 and 2030 first-round picks, and first-round pick swaps from New York in 2030 and 2032
Bucks Lose: Giannis Antetokounmpo
If the Knicks are a near-default winner for getting the best player out of this deal, you might think the Bucks have to be a loser.
But the writing is on the wall for Milwaukee. It's time to move on to the post-Giannis era. And this package would make the transition far less painful.
The most interesting part of it is likely the undoing of those pick swaps with the Trail Blazers. It's nice to get first-round picks in a rebuild. It's even better to have control of your own firsts. Losses have far less value when they don't improve your lottery odds.
And if the Bucks are going to lose Giannis, they're probably going to have lottery-bound records for the foreseeable future.
Beyond that, the 2026 first listed in Quinn's framework likely wouldn't convey. It stays with the Washington Wizards if it lands in the top eight. The 2028 pick that can eventually be traced back to the Orlando Magic may not be terribly valuable either (given the youth of that roster), but a first is a first. And those far-flung swap rights with New York could be huge. By 2030, Giannis will be well past his prime.
This deal also gives the Bucks some presumably movable veterans in KAT and Miles McBride. If either or both are traded later, this would be one of those cascading returns.
Of course, there are some teams out there that could probably give the Bucks better deals for Giannis (like the San Antonio Spurs, for example). But if Antetokounmpo or his camp signals that he won't sign an extension with anyone but the Knicks, Milwaukee would have to seriously consider New York's best offer.
Grade: B
Blazers Accelerate the Timeline
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Trail Blazers Receive: Mikal Bridges and Guerschon Yabusele
Trail Blazers Lose: Jerami Grant, a 2028 first-round pick (via Orlando) and first-round swap rights with Milwaukee in 2028 and 2030
As Quinn noted in his post, Portland would likely hesitate to give up control of those Bucks picks, especially if it anticipates a Giannis departure.
But the Blazers would still have their own picks in those years. And some teams around the league might've required a sweetener to take on Grant's deal.
So, although this looks like a big price tag for Bridges (something plenty of Knicks fans regret paying), the net pick deficit is just one. And the resulting rotation would undoubtedly be better.
Bridges' low-usage, three-and-D game would be an upgrade over Grant's, and he'd fit well next to Deni Avdija, who's proven worthy of win-now moves.
Avdija has become a bona fide star, and adding another high-end role player to his supporting cast would accelerate Portland's development toward contention.
Grade: B-
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