ESPN’s Brian Windhorst is not convinced the Bucks would get a massive haul of first-round picks if Giannis Antetokounmpo ever asked for a trade.
Speaking on The Hoop Collective, Windhorst said the league’s appetite for blockbuster pick packages has cooled.
“The mood in the NBA right now is not to give up four first-round picks for anybody,” he said, crediting the new apron rules for spooking front offices.
Teams are increasingly wary of locking themselves into expensive, inflexible rosters. Windhorst pointed to Boston’s recent overhaul as the type of situation executives are trying to avoid.
“There ain’t going to be any five first-round pick trades,” he said. “I know we saw those for a while. That’s just not going to happen.”
He did add a qualifier. His comments apply mainly to stars in their 30s making the largest max salaries. Antetokounmpo fits that category, though Windhorst acknowledged that all it takes is one aggressive team to blow up the theory.
“Maybe that will happen,” he said. “I talk to the guys who make these trades every day. The appetite is just different.”
Even so, it is hard to imagine the market staying conservative for a two-time MVP who turns 31 this weekend and has no significant injury history. And the league has not stopped making big swings entirely.
Less than six months ago, the Magic traded four first-round picks — three unprotected — for Desmond Bane, a player who has yet to make an All-Star team.
If that is the going rate for Bane, Giannis still figures to command something substantial.
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