The Bucks could restart their franchise by trading Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It seems increasingly clear that the Milwaukee Bucks and star Giannis Antetokounmpo will part ways by the time that next season starts.
Their relationship has been steadily breaking down since the beginning of the 2025-26 season and to avoid any more drama, trading Antetokounmpo to a contender seems like the most peaceful resolution to this saga.
It will certainly be a big task for the Bucks to part ways with their franchise star and it's not something that will be done lightly, which means that the Bucks will undoubtedly have a heavy asking price to any prospective teams, which itself complicates things.
Antetokounmpo is of course, a premier talent in the league, but between his troubling injury history this past season and the Bucks high demands for any kind of return, the Bucks will have to be savvy in their negotiations, but they won't lack any suitors either.
Possible Candidates
The list of prospective teams is long and varied if rumors are to be believed, with all manner of teams checking in on Antetokounmpo, but considering that he has made it abundantly clear that he is interested in winning sooner rather than later, that does narrow the field somewhat.
That being said, Antetokounmpo does not have a no-trade clause in his contract, so his control over his next destination is limited.
Still, teams on the edge contention will be more inclined on pursuing a trade for Antetokounmpo than other struggling teams in the NBA, who would be less inclined to sacrifice their future or existing pool of players to land the star.
That leaves teams like the News York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets or Portland Trail Blazers, to name a few, that would be most inclined to pay heavily for Antetokounmpo.
What Will The Bucks Ask?
Trading Antetokounmpo is a big shift in the direction of the Bucks and would signal a commitment to at least a partial rebuild of the team.
They have the beginnings of a foundation with Ryan Rollins to build around, but they would need a lot more to have a real young core to work with. That will come along with the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but young players and draft picks need to be their main target when asking for a return on Antetokounmpo.
Multiple first and second round draft picks for drafts in the near future, would have to to be the baseline for any offer. Bolstering those draft picks would need to be young, impactful players, again, a minimum of two active players setting the foundation.
