‘Blockbuster’ NBA Trade Idea Sends Giannis Antetokounmpo To Raptors

May 5, 2025

If Giannis Antetokounmpo requests a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks this summer, one NBA analyst thinks the Toronto Raptors should trade for the future Hall of Famer.

Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report proposed the following trade idea between the Bucks and Raptors:

Toronto Raptors receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Pat Connaughton

Milwaukee Bucks receive: Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, 2025 first-round pick (top-two-protected), 2027 first-round pick, 2029 first-round pick and 2031 first-round pick

The Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games. They have won just one postseason series since winning the championship in 2021 against the Phoenix Suns.

Milwaukee signed Antetokounmpo to a three-year, $175 million extension in October 2023. Antetokounmpo will make $54,126,380 next season.

One of the greatest players of all time, Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.2 blocks for the Bucks this season. He shot 60.1% from the field, 22.2% from 3 and 61.7% from the foul line.

Antetokounmpo has spent his entire career with the Bucks. He’s a two-time MVP, a one-time Finals MVP, a one-time Defensive Player of the Year and a nine-time All-Star. The superstar forward has career averages of 23.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks.

“There’s a desire to build a winner around Scottie Barnes, but the talent isn’t quite there yet. Adding Antetokounmpo, a longtime target of Masai Ujiri, would change that. He’s a two-time MVP, an All-NBA mainstay and, as of this season, a nightly source of 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.2 blocks,” Buckley wrote. “He could change Toronto’s fortunes the way Kawhi Leonard once did, only he’d arrive with better credentials and more contract certainty.

“Granted, the Raptors were a lot closer to contending when they landed Leonard than they are now, but this group has a second star in Barnes, a solid supporting cast around them and a host of young players with upward mobility. It doesn’t take a ton of imagination to picture a Giannis-led Toronto team becoming a significant factor in the Eastern Conference.”