NBA Trade Proposal Sends Giannis Antetokounmpo To Rockets, Amen Thompson To Bucks, Alperen Sengun To Trail Blazers

If Giannis Antetokounmpo requests a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks this summer, Eric Nehm, David Aldridge, Eric Koreen, Tony Jones and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic proposed a wild trade idea. 

Here’s the trade idea: 

Bucks get: Amen Thompson, Jalen Green, Cam Whitmore, Donovan Clingan, 2025 first (via Phoenix), 2027 first (via Phoenix), 2029 first (most favorable of Milwaukee, Portland or Washington), 2028 and 2030 Milwaukee swap rights extinguished

Rockets get: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jerami Grant

Trail Blazers get: Alperen Sengun, Jock Landale

A lot is going on here. The main players involved are Antetokounmpo, Thompson, Green, Grant and Sengun. 

The Bucks will not trade Antetokounmpo this summer unless the future Hall of Famer requests a trade. Milwaukee has won just one postseason series since winning the championship in 2021. 

“To me, Houston is the team that makes the most sense to end up with Antetokounmpo if the Bucks have to move him,” Vecenie wrote. “The Rockets have the most assets in the league in terms of young, controllable talent outside of the Thunder, and they desperately need a No. 1 option. This deal allows them to acquire Antetokounmpo for the players that, frankly, don’t make a lot of sense on their roster when it comes to playing next to Antetokounmpo in Thompson and Sengun, the two players who also happen to have the highest trade value on the team. They also maintain enough control over their future drafts to be able to continue to build.”

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 with career averages of 23.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks. 

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

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. 

“The Bucks should have two goals in any Antetokounmpo deal: Acquire as much young, cost-controlled talent as possible and get as many of their picks back as possible,” Vecenie wrote. “Here, in addition to the young players, they get a top-10 pick in the 2025 draft from Phoenix, another high-value Phoenix first-round pick in 2027 and then get control over all of their picks back from Portland from 2028 through 2030. The Blazers’ part in this is because they have control over Milwaukee’s first-round picks in 2028, 2029 and 2030. The 2028 and 2030 Milwaukee selections are owned via swap rights, so those are not necessarily full first-round picks, but rather they’re here as an opportunity for Milwaukee to get control over its destiny back from 2028 onward.

“Essentially, the Blazers get an All-Star center in Sengun for Clingan, a first-round pick in 2029 and extinguishing those swap rights with 2028 and 2030. They’re not losing picks in 2028 and 2030; they just won’t be able to swap with Milwaukee. They also get the value-add of getting off the massive Grant deal, which is one of the league’s worst contracts.”