Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo Predicted to Be Popular Name at Trade Deadline This Year

Nine-time All-NBA Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo could become a major name at this season's trade deadline.

Really, he's been a buzzy trade name this summer, too, although he has yet to officially give the Bucks a mandate to trade him.

The 6-foot-11 big man, 30, is currently playing for his native Greece in a series of warm-up games for EuroBasket 2025, which tips off next week. He has been stuck on an underwhelming post-championship Bucks roster that has failed to even advance beyond the first round in any of the past three seasons, in part thanks to horrific injury timing.

Now, minus injured nine-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard (who was waived-and-stretched after an Achilles tendon tear), the Bucks are angling to stay competitive in a shifting Eastern Conference. But Antetokounmpo isn't playing alongside a fellow All-Star for the first time in eons.

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Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report posits that the two-time league MVP could set the basketball world ablaze should he demand a trade out of town any time this year.

"Giannis Antetokounmpo's status as a deadline trade candidate worth monitoring has nothing to do with his tendency to be non-committal," Hughes opines. "It's all about the on-the-ground reality for his Milwaukee Bucks."

Can Milwaukee Mount a Major Playoff Run in Time to Keep AntetokounmpO?

Armed with 3-and-D center Myles Turner, guards Cole Anthony and Gary Harris, and (possibly, if he survives training camp) wing Amir Coffey, the Bucks are hoping to add some defense and scoring punch this season. But will these additions — alongside re-signed vets Bobby Portis Jr., Gary Trent Jr., Kevin Porter Jr., Taurean Prince, Ryan Rollins, and Jericho Sims — be enough to help Milwaukee make a real run?

Let's say Hughes, for one, is pessimistic.

"Barring a shocking over-performance, a roster led by Antetokounmpo and recently acquired center Myles Turner should keep the Bucks in the mushy middle of the East playoff race without any real shot at being better than that. For Giannis, a two-time MVP with a ring, that's just not good enough."

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"Maybe the Bucks deserve credit for acting desperately to give Antetokounmpo the best possible supporting cast," Hughes writes. "Stretching Damian Lillard so they could sign Turner was brazen, not to mention the deal that landed Lillard in the first place, or the one that onboarded Jrue Holiday a few years prior."

"Despite valiant efforts, Milwaukee hasn't built a title threat this season," Hughes notes. "The Bucks got their ring in 2021 and don't seem capable of earning another with Giannis as the focal point. As that becomes clearer this season, trade chatter will intensify."

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