Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks appear set to part ways, but NBA analyst Bobby Marks doesn’t think we’ll get to see it happen before the Feb. 5 trade deadline. Marks explained why an Antetokounmpo trade is likely to happen in the summer on NBA on ESPN on Monday.
“I do think eventually there’s going to be closure with the future of Giannis in Milwaukee here because I do think it’s run its course,” Marks said. “… We’ve seen what the product is on the court right now. And we saw what it was in Denver the other night, Minnesota, San Antonio, it is a below-average product.
“It is at best a play-in ninth, 10th team,” Marks stated. “And instead of kicking the can down the road, how do you basically open up the market? Now what does the market look like here? When you look at the teams that monopolize draft picks, whether it be Brooklyn, or Oklahoma City, or Utah… San Antonio, I do not see those as Giannis destinations here.
“Now, we can write about why all 29 teams should be in play or what they have to offer,” Marks continued. “And as great as Giannis is, and we did this with Luka [Doncic], when you look at what the market space could be, it starts to shrink. So, if it’s Minnesota who doesn’t have a first-round pick, and it’s New York who don’t have a first-round pick, and it has Miami, who has two first-round picks, the picks are not going to be what you might have thought where, hey, Desmond Bane got four first-round picks or Mikal Bridges got five first-round picks.
“The picks, unless it’s going to be a wildcard team, maybe like Golden State that can come in and offer four first-round picks and can send them Jimmy Butler’s contract and some other young players, the picks are just not there for some of these teams,” Marks added. “Now, when we get to the summer, your picks basically begin to multiply. The Lakers now have an additional two first-round picks. They’ll have 26, 31, and 33, I believe.”
A lot more teams would be in a position to put together compelling offers for Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in 2025-26, in the summer. Provided the two-time MVP doesn’t declare that he only wants to go to one particular team, a bidding war of sorts could break out, too.
There will also inevitably be teams that disappoint in the playoffs and then get desperate. What if the New York Knicks don’t win the East again? What if the Oklahoma City Thunder fall well short in their quest to repeat? What if the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets, or the Los Angeles Lakers don’t even win a series?
These teams might just press that panic button and give the Bucks a far better haul than what they can get now. While no haul is likely to ease the pain of Antetokounmpo’s departure for the fanbase, it is time for a parting of ways. The Bucks are currently 11th in the East with an 18-26 record. They are going nowhere, and it’s time to start over.
The Bucks lost 102-100 to the Denver Nuggets in their last outing and suffered a huge blow that night. Antetokounmpo suffered a non-contact injury in the closing stages against the Nuggets and is now out for weeks with a calf strain. That injury led Marc J. Spears, another ESPN analyst, to say on NBA Today that he thinks the nine-time All-Star has now played his last game for the Bucks.
“I think he’s played his last game in a Bucks uniform,” declared Spears. “… There’s so much benefit from him not playing. One, you could make a trade for him now with Atlanta, and get that piece, that generational piece, maybe the No.1 pick or the No.2 pick. You play him, and they win, it just pushes back their potential pick further, so to me it benefits them to sit him.”
Spears thinks shutting down Antetokounmpo for the rest of the season or trading him to the Atlanta Hawks before the deadline would be what’s best for the Bucks. He brought up the Hawks as they will be getting the better of the Bucks and the New Orleans Pelicans‘ first-round pick in 2026. The Bucks, meanwhile, will get the worst of the two.
Sending Antetokounmpo to the Hawks and getting that pick would mean the Bucks gain full control over their first-rounder. With the Pelicans down at 15th in the West with a 12-36 record, they’ll potentially have two high lottery picks. It will be fascinating to see what route the Bucks end up choosing.
