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Toronto Raptors receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Milwaukee Bucks receive: RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl, Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja’Kobe Walter, a 2030 first-round pick, a 2032 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick swap
Why Toronto does it: Bucks fans will disagree, but how fun would this be? The Raptors would essentially reprise the role they played in Kawhi Leonard’s split from the Spurs back in 2018 and hope to see a similar outcome—only with additional cracks at the crown.
Toronto boasts a rich collection of above-average-to-good talent, but this group needs an elite to fully enter the championship chase. Antetokounmpo is on the shortest list of the planet’s best players and certainly the best among those with any kind of shot at becoming available between now and the trade deadline.
The Raptors might be a bit squeezed for spacing, and they’d have to figure out how to divvy up touches between Antetokounmpo, Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes, but just like they once did with Leonard, they’d grab the great player now and worry about making everything else fit later. And if things eventually click the way they could, nothing about this trade price would feel prohibitive in hindsight.
Why Milwaukee does it: The Bucks might be waiting on an expressly communicated trade demand from Antetokounmpo that maybe isn’t coming, but what else must be said? He wants to compete for more titles, and they can’t give him that chance. The writing isn’t merely on the wall, it’s bolded, italicized and underlined three times.
Teams that are forced to trade away a star rarely come out ahead, and chances are Milwaukee wouldn’t be breaking the mold here. Still, it would get a reasonable building block in Barrett, a 25-year-old who’s generally good for 20-plus points per night, and perhaps two more in Walter, the No. 19 pick in 2024, and Murray-Boyles, this year’s No. 9 pick. Poeltl wouldn’t be a fit with Myles Turner, but if the Bucks shipped out Antetokounmpo, they’d almost certainly flip these two centers for additional assets, too.
Beyond all that, the Bucks would net two unprotected firsts and an unprotected swap from a non-destination franchise that has one playoff trip and zero series wins to show for the past five seasons. Granted, Antetokounmpo should be a floor-raiser, but if Toronto couldn’t show a clear path to contention right away, it might face the same win-right-this-second pressure that eventually buckled the Bucks. Maybe those picks wind up being as sought-after as Milwaukee’s future firsts already are.