Report: Mavericks Won’t Trade First Pick In 2025 NBA Draft To Bucks For Giannis Antetokounmpo

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Dallas Mavericks will not trade the first pick in the 2025 draft to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Mavericks will keep the draft pick and select Duke’s Cooper Flagg. 

“When I asked a source close to the process last week if the Mavericks trading away the ability to draft Duke phenom Cooper Flagg away would be considered, I was emphatically told: ‘No chance.’ ‘No … not even for Giannis,’ said another source briefed on the team’s thinking. The Mavericks are expected to soon secure their first in-person meetings with Flagg in the buildup to draft night on June 25,” Stein wrote. 

The Mavericks missed the playoffs this year after making the NBA Finals last year. They traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February for Anthony Davis. 

Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists for Duke while shooting 48.1% from the field, 38.5% from beyond the arc and 84.0% from the free-throw line. 

Dallas will have a “Big 3” of Davis, Flagg and Kyrie Irving once Irving recovers from his left ACL tear. 

Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Monday that Antetokounmpo is open-minded about leaving the Bucks for the first time in his career. Milwaukee lost to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games. And to make matters worse, Damian Lillard tore his left Achilles tendon in Game 4 and could miss the entire 2025-26 season. 

The Bucks signed Antetokounmpo to a three-year, $175 million extension in October 2023. Antetokounmpo, 30, will make $54,126,380 next season.

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

Antetokounmpo does not have a no-trade clause in his contract. He averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.2 blocks for the Bucks this season in 67 games.