Why Utah Jazz Should Want Giannis Antetokounmpo to Stay in Milwaukee

When it comes to the Utah Jazz, while they could have an outside shot of involving themselves in those sweepstakes, odds are they won't be the ones to end up with Antetokounmpo unless they offer the farm and more.

Realistically, their timeline may span just a bit too far for a major move on a nearly 31-year-old Giannis. Even with a trade for him, Utah may still stand a good distance from really competing for an NBA title. Of course, you can't count out an executive like Danny Ainge for anything, but it's hard to see the Jazz as the leaders in the clubhouse to make such a league-shifting move for Antetokounmpo.

But if the Jazz can't get their hands on Antetokounmpo in an offseason blockbuster, it might be in their best interest to see the Bucks star remain in Milwaukee instead of being dealt elsewhere.

Why is that?

The reality is that if Giannis does end up being dealt from Milwaukee, the Bucks front office likely wouldn't want to trade him within the Eastern Conference

It's not every single time a star gets traded that it's always between conferences (as shown with the Jazz's Rudy Gobert deal a few years back), but more often than not, if you're trading away one of the best players in the game, odds are, you won't want to face that player in the regular season more than you have to, and especially not in the postseason.

So, if Giannis is inevitably traded to the West, it leaves an assortment of dangerous partners on the table, many of which have been linked to the Bucks star in early discussions in recent weeks. The San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, and even the Golden State Warriors all have their respective case to acquire Antetokounmpo in a major blockbuster this summer.

For Utah, none of those options play in their favor.

Bringing Giannis over to the West adds yet another high-end superstar to compete against in the conference, and inevitably makes that climb to the top a tougher and taller mountain to climb when compared to the outlook on the East.

Teams like the budding Spurs, Thunder, Rockets, or others like the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers won't be going away any time soon, and the Jazz are already in a long-spanning rebuilding effort to reach the same competitive heights. But adding Giannis into that mix of the conference only complicates those matters further.

By just taking a look at the difference in this year's Play-In competition from the East to the West, it's clear just how vastly different the two conferences are in terms of talent. That likely won't be changing anytime soon, and that doesn't bode well for the Jazz.

So while Antetokounmpo's future still remains up in the air for the time being, if you're the Jazz, you'd probably prefer to see the two-time MVP run it back with the Bucks.

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