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Bucks Turned Down Blockbuster NBA Trade for $215 Million Superstar, Says Insider

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonathan D Adams | Last updated Feb 13, 2025 7:53 AM ET

The Milwaukee Bucks could have been the talk of the NBA had the front office opted to make a major shake-up. At least one team was sniffing around about attempting to pry Giannis Antetokounmpo away from Milwaukee.

The Bucks appear to have had a chance to land a five-time NBA All-Star and former scoring champion. Instead, Milwaukee decided to continue to ride with Antetokounmpo as the face of the franchise.

Longtime NBA writer Gery Woelfel reported that the Dallas Mavericks inquired about the status of Antetokounmpo prior to trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. For a deal to have had any chance of working for both teams, the trade would have had to swap superstars.

"To my utter surprise, some of those officials flat-out disputed [Mavericks general manager Nico] Harrison’s comments that he strictly communicated with just the Lakers [about trading Doncic]," the analyst detailed for Woelfel's Press Box on Tuesday.

"According two NBA officials, the Mavs had interactions with at least two other teams besides the Lakers. They claimed the Mavs also had conversations with the Bucks and Timberwolves. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out which players from those teams would have piqued the Mavs’ interest," Woelfel continued.

REPORT: The Mavericks attempted to trade Luka Doncic to the Bucks and Timberwolves, per @GeryWoelfel

“The Mavs reached out to the Bucks. But the Bucks made it clear to Mavs they wouldn’t trade Antetokounmpo even though his future with the team is murky.
As for the Timberwolves,… pic.twitter.com/Tzmfxxa4Y8
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 11, 2025

"With the Bucks, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP who led the Bucks to the NBA title in 2021. Antetokounmpo happens to have a strong rapport with Mavs coach Jason Kidd and his right-hand man, Sean Sweeney."

Doncic's five-year, $215 million contract is slated to run through at least the 2025-26 NBA season. The five-time NBA All-Star has a player option for the 2026-27 season. Antetokounmpo is one of the NBA players who had a strong reaction to Doncic getting traded to the Lakers.

Giannis was asked about the Luka trade and said his dream is for all the European stars to go to all the big markets ⭐️

“I want Luka to Lakers. I want Jokic to Knicks. I want all the Europeans to go to the big markets."

(via @Bucks) pic.twitter.com/GlZoLdV2v9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 3, 2025

"You know what I want? I want Luka to the Lakers, I want Nikola Jokic to the New York Knicks, I want all the Europeans to go to all the big markets to see something incredible," Giannis said on Feb. 2, per BasketNews.com.

"This is what I want, this is my dream, but again, I wish both teams the best of luck with their journey moving forward."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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