Milwaukee Bucks Not On ESPN’s List of 3 Cooper Flagg Suitors in Potential Trade Scenarios Despite Giannis Antetokounmpo Rumors

As Milwaukee Bucks Trade Speculation Builds, Does A Cooper Flagg Deal Make Sense?

As the noise around Giannis Antetokounmpo potentially being traded from the Milwaukee Bucks this summer seems like it will never die down, ESPN’s team of NBA Insiders recently took their shot at analyzing what could be the other biggest trade drama of the summer: would the Dallas Mavericks ever do a deal involving the rights to generational talent Cooper Flagg?

Flagg is destined to be the #1 overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft. After Dallas miraculously won the NBA Draft Lottery and thus, the rights to draft Flagg, speculation began around if Mavericks GM Nico Harrison would do another shocking trade involving Flagg. After all, he was the mind behind the Luka Dončić deal that shocked the league earlier this year.

While the Bucks currently find themselves in a position where they need to do everything in their power to help reassemble a championship-caliber team around Antetokounmpo, Harrison has his own timeline. A team led by Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving need to find a way to reach the NBA mountaintop in the next few seasons.

Flagg would represent an asset perhaps almost as valuable as Antetokounmpo, a multi-time league MVP and generational all-around player. However, in ESPN’s list of potential matches, Milwaukee did not appear in the list.

ESPN Names Several Other Teams That Could Trade for Cooper Flagg, Omitting the Milwaukee Bucks

Instead of creating even more trade speculation involving Milwaukee, ESPN insiders had a few other ideas about what teams could get a deal done with Harrison and the Mavericks. Firstly, a fellow Eastern Conference contender that could be in the mood for a high-level move.

In one proposed deal, the Cleveland Cavaliers would sacrifice two of their best players, Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen, in addition to several draft picks, to grab Flagg in a multi-team deal that would sent Mitchell to Dallas and Allen to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, this deal seems unlikely, as the potential Irving-Mtichell backcourt combination does not make much sense given Harrison’s repeated statements about defense winning championships.

The Phoenix Suns were another team mentioned. A franchise that is in dire straights and has a track record of being willing to make big swings, one potential deal could involve Devin Booker and future draft picks. Would a Davis-Irving-Booker big three be enough to win an NBA championship?

The last team was the San Antonio Spurs , who could look to speed up their Victor Wembanyama timeline by giving their French superstar an elite young running mate in Flagg.

Currently, the Bucks do not have to deal with poor leverage in any potential Antetokounmpo deal. If however, the Greek Freak were to request a trade, would Dallas then emerge as a team interested in his services? As the article notes, Dallas has multiple unprotected first round picks to deal in a potential trade, meaning they have both the desperation of a fast-closing title window and the assets to make a big swing.

As Bucks fans will continue to sweat out the summer in hopes that Antetokounmpo will be sticking around, the media will continue to dream up trade scenarios. Few scenarios would be as wild as Antetokounmpo for Flagg.