The trade chatter surrounding Milwaukee Bucks‘ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo seems to be growing again. Despite a prolonged period of inactivity from the Bucks, primarily in alignment with their wishes to retain the forward, reports indicate that Milwaukee may be inclined to revisit trade talks.
This could prove immensely promising for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has been explicit in expressing his desire to compete for a title. While this also narrows the pool of potential landing spots, a recent update by NBA insider Chad Ford suggests the Los Angeles Clippers could emerge as an appealing destination in light of their recent success in the NBA Draft lottery.
When discussing teams that may be looking to move up in the draft, Ford mentioned:
“If there was a team that I was looking at that had an asset, it’s Milwaukee at 10 that might use Giannis to get that fifth pick from the Clippers. That seems like the one team that, if they decide that they’re not going to go with the youth movement.”
Ford noted the Clippers’ uncertain position going into the offseason. Barring Kawhi Leonard‘s contract situation, L.A. still needs more clarity on its direction, especially after acquiring Bennedict Mathurin and Darius Garland ahead of the trade deadline.
On that note, Ford added:
“That seems to be the team Milwaukee could be eyeing and saying, ‘Hey, counting the fifth pick as well as the 10th pick in the draft might be able to help us restart our rebuild.'”
The circumstances certainly favor the Bucks in this case. Given that they also have the 10th pick in the NBA Draft, by leveraging Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade with the Clippers, the Bucks could acquire two top-10 picks and kickstart their rebuild with some promising young talent.
What Can The Bucks Get For Giannis Antetokounmpo?
As Chris Ford mentioned, any potential deal from the Milwaukee Bucks to acquire the Clippers’ No. 5 pick in the draft would be heavily dependent on L.A.’s outlook for the upcoming season.
Currently, the Clippers’ core features Kawhi Leonard, Bennedict Mathurin, and Darius Garland. Of these three, Mathurin will be a restricted free agent and will require a new contract to remain eligible to play with the team.
Leonard is heading into the final year of his three-year, $149.5 million deal, posting a cap hit of $50.3 million for the 2026-27 season. Meanwhile, Garland is in the third year of his five-year, $197.2 million contract, with a cap hit of $42.1 million for the upcoming season.
In comparison, Giannis Antetokounmpo will be going into the second year of his three-year, $175.3 million deal. Given that he is expected to earn $58.4 million next season, the Clippers will have to clear a considerable amount of cap space to absorb his contract.
All things considered, there are two ways for this to play out.
The first involves the Clippers fully committing to a “championship or bust” outlook. By packaging the fifth overall pick, along with Garland and Mathurin (sign-and-trade), L.A. could present a favorable package that aligns with the Bucks’ expectations.
A potential partnership of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard could be nothing short of dominant. With two of the best two-way players in the game on one team, the sheer star power on the Clippers would position them as a contender.
When additionally factoring in Antetokounmpo’s averages last season (27.6 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 5.4 APG, 62.4% FG), along with Leonard’s (27.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 3.6 APG, 50.5% FG), the duo has the potential to be the best in the league when healthy.
The second revolves around Leonard’s uncertain future with the Clippers. Thus, to marginally increase their title window, L.A. could package Leonard, the fifth overall pick, and a salary filler like Nicolas Batum to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo and pair him with Garland and Mathurin.
For the most part, this second alternative may not look as favorable for Milwaukee, especially when considering the inconsistent availability that follows Leonard. However, given that both Leonard and Batum will be in the final years of their contracts, the Bucks may still show some intrigue in gaining valuable cap flexibility for the free agency window in 2027.
Overall, the first approach would seem most beneficial for both teams, with the Bucks also adding two star-caliber players to strengthen their rebuilding core.
Still, given that they already have an injury-prone star on their roster, the Clippers may not be as interested in acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo (missed 46 games in the 2025-26 season) if it means pairing him with Kawhi Leonard.
