Giannis Antetokounmpo seemingly prefers staying in the East, as initially his only preferred trade destination was reported to be the Knicks. And now, according to the NBA Insider Marc Stein, two major Western Conference contenders who were in a position to make considerable offers for Giannis Antetokounmpo have drawn out of the race to sign him: the Spurs and the Rockets.
“There is a growing belief among trade trackers that San Antonio and Houston, like Oklahoma City, do not plan to join the chase for Antetokounmpo even if the Bucks ultimately do decide to consider in-season proposals for their two-time MVP. All three of those teams, as you can imagine, like what they have going,” wrote Stein in his recent Substack.
Both these teams presently have a solid young core and a significant number of draft assets for the future. Therefore, they were considered to be in the best position to make offers to the Bucks that could entice them to let their Greek superstar get traded.
However, it seems that both the franchises consider major potential trade pieces as ‘untouchable’ in their bids to get Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Earlier this season, it was rumored that the Rockets would consider trading their Turkish All-Star Alperen Sengun for the Greek superstar. But I believe those rumors stemmed from the questions around Sengun’s fit with Kevin Durant before the season even began.
Now that the Rockets front office has seen how efficient that duo is on the floor when they play together, it seems they are no longer willing to consider trading him. Amen Thompson, as well, is considered ‘untouchable’ by the Rockets, who are presently very satisfied with their performance this season.
For the Spurs, they reportedly consider Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper as untouchable as well, alongside their franchise player, Victor Wembanyama.
Especially since this young roster just eliminated the defending champions, the OKC Thunder, from the NBA Cup, it is unlikely that their front office would be inclined to break up their core to bring Antetokounmpo to San Antonio and would rather be patient to let them grow into their full potential.
The Bucks are currently not willing to trade Antetokounmpo unless the offer is too good to refuse. According to NBA insider Chris P Haynes, the Bucks are only willing to trade Antetokounmpo if their hand is forced into it with a trade request.
“The Bucks do not want to part ways with Giannis. They’re doing everything that they can to try and make him happy. It’s going to come down to whether their hands are forced or the Bucks are like ‘ok let’s do right by you,” said Haynes on the Kevin O’Connor show tonight.
He also listed down Giannis’ preferences in terms of what he’s looking for in a new franchise. Subsequently, the Miami Heat have emerged as the new favorites to land Antetokounmpo.
Several reliable sources, like NBA insiders Chris P Haynes, Jake Fischer, and Senior NBA writer Sam Amick, have confirmed recently that the Heat are also a potential landing spot for Antetokounmpo, who reportedly was interested in joining them back in 2020.
Betting websites have also started listing the Heat as the favorites to land the Greek superstar. They can make the most enticing package for the Bucks if they are willing to include All-Star Tyler Herro in the deal.
Herro presently has one more season left on his contract with the Heat, where he is earning $33 million. A hypothetical trade package would also include their young, promising forwards, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Kel’el Ware if Andrew Wiggins does not cut it, which would make this a tough deal to refuse for the Bucks as well.
It now depends on how much the Heat is willing to let go of to get Giannis Antetokounmpo to bring his talents to South Beach, Florida.
