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NBA Trade Idea Sends Giannis Antetokounmpo to Spurs, Zion Williamson to Bucks

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated May 6, 2025 6:18 PM ET

If Giannis Antetokounmpo requests a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks this summer, David Aldridge of The Athletic has a wild trade idea involving the Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs.

Here is the three-team trade idea Aldridge proposed:

Bucks get: Zion Williamson, Keldon Johnson, 2025 first-round pick (Spurs, via Hawks), 2027 first-round pick swap rights (Pelicans), 2029 first-round pick (Spurs)

Pelicans get: Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Pat Connaughton, 2027 first-round pick (Spurs, via Hawks)

Spurs get: Giannis Antetokounmpo

The headliners in this trade are Antetokounmpo and Williamson. Milwaukee has won just one postseason series since winning the championship in 2021, while Williamson hasn't appeared in a playoff game with New Orleans.

A future Hall of Famer, Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.2 blocks for the Bucks this season. He will make $54.1 million next season.

Meanwhile, Williamson averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks for the Pelicans. The lefty will make $39.4 million next season.

"If the Bucks have no choice but to trade Giannis, they make a multi-team deal that gets them a potential superstar to build around in the still-just-24-year-old Williamson and a rotational wing in Johnson," Aldridge wrote. "Most importantly, they get a whole lot of future firsts to give them a chance to rebuild if Williamson can’t overcome his history of injuries, including a ’25 pick at the back of the lottery, and potential control of their own first back in ’27, just as Williamson is entering the last year of his current deal."

Antetokounmpo has spent his entire career with the Bucks. He's a two-time MVP, a one-time Finals MVP, a one-time Defensive Player of the Year and a nine-time All-Star with career averages of 23.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks.

Williamson has played in just 45% of his possible games with the Pelicans since being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. The two-time All-Star has career averages of 24.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks.

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

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