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Trade rumors and speculation surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo have continued to swirl, and in light of the the calf injury suffered by the Milwaukee Bucks superstar last night, league insiders have reportedly adjusted their mindset on a potential deal.
Now Jake Fischer, repoting for the Stein Line newsletter, indicates that NBA executives believe that Antetokounmpo could be dealt either before the Feb. 5 trade deadline or perhaps this summer prior to the 2026 draft (June 24).
“Numerous NBA front offices began operating under the belief in recent days — arguably with greater conviction than ever before — that a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade before the league’s Feb. 5 trade deadline at 3 PM ET had become unexpectedly possible,” Fischer wrote.
Fischer added: “Somehow such sentiments melted away quickly in the heart of this frigid winter. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday…whispers circulating throughout the league that suggested Antetokounmpo could indeed still be traded before the in-season buzzer got louder and louder.”
He also posted this note about the top leaguewide curiosity as the trade deadline looms: “When contacted in recent days by The Stein Line, multiple officials from rival teams — and some additional well-placed sources — indicated that the league’s No. 1 curiosity as the trade buzzer nears had most definitely become Antetokounmpo’s status rather than potential trades involving Ja Morant, Anthony Davis and Michael Porter Jr.”
The 31-year-old Antetokounmpo, a nine-time All-NBA player, two-time NBA MVP and one-time NBA champion, has played all 13 of his seasons with Milwaukee.
This season, Antetokounmpo is averaging 28.0 points on 64.5 percent shooting (39.5 percent from three), 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.
Antetokounmpo has dealt with numerous injuries. He sat eight games with a right calf strain in December. Antetokounmpo suffered another right calf strain on Friday against the Denver Nuggets and told reporters after the game he expected to be out until late February or early March.
Trade rumors and speculation have persisted since this summer, when ESPN’s Shams Charania dropped a bombshell report that Antetokounmpo was open to external options and one team in particular, the New York Knicks. A trade never materialized, but Charania reported in December that Antetokounmpo, his agent Alex Saratsis and the Bucks were having conversations with the team about “whether his best fit is staying or a move elsewhere.”
Then Charania reported a few different notes perhaps setting the table for a future trade.
He also said the following on the Pat McAfee Show:
“The frustration that Giannis Antetokounmpo has is at an all-time high. He’s frustrated with the losing. He’s frustrated with the situation, and I will say this, I’ve spoken to about a dozen sources on-and-off for weeks now, and the tension that’s in the air within that organization, in that locker room, it’s at an all-time high, and there’s this somewhat of a splintering environment that we’re seeing going on there, because when a player of Giannis’ caliber maybe has a wandering eye, or maybe doesn’t know what his future holds there, and having these intense conversations with the organization about what that looks like, there’s going to be such high levels and degrees of uncertainty within that organization.”
It’s not hard to read between the lines here as the Bucks struggle through an 18-26 season, only good enough for 11th in the Eastern Conference.
In a perfect world, the Bucks would probably love to build around Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline and hope for a second-half run. However, the Bucks’ draft capital has posted an issue, as Fischer noted.
“Numerous rival teams were expecting Milwaukee to eventually abandon its posture as trade-deadline buyers even before Antetokounmpo was forced out of Friday’s loss to the Nuggets. Without him? The Bucks are 3-11 this season.
“And league sources say that the Bucks, frankly, were already struggling to generate difference-making trade discussions by making the likes of Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis Jr. available. Brooklyn’s Porter, Sacramento’s Zach LaVine, Cleveland’s De’Andre Hunter, Portland’s Jerami Grant and Charlotte’s Miles Bridges have all been mentioned as potential targets, but the Bucks’ lack of available draft capital to sweeten trade offers has clearly complicated the search for reinforcements.”
If this doesn’t happen by the trade deadline, though, then a draft day deal is feasible. Fischer also had this to say via sources:
“Said one league source particularly well-versed in Bucks matters: ‘This is shaping up to be a draft-day kind of thing.’
“Said another: ‘It’s happening.’
“Meaning a trade in conjunction with the draft if not now.”
For now, Antetokounmpo will rehab his injury, and the Bucks will try their best to compete without their superstar. Nearly half the season remains, but Milwaukee is 2.5 games outside the play-in tournament picture, so the Bucks need to find a way to get going to stay in postseason contention.
A home date with the Dallas Mavericks is up next on Sunday.