The Giannis Antetokounmpo trade saga began ever since the Bucks’ first-round exit in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. After weeks of rumors and deliberations around his future, he and people close to him finally broke their silence on his future and clarified that he has no interest in leaving the Bucks at the moment. Moreover, he even claimed that he plans to retire with the Bucks. Therefore, it seemingly puts a public end to the rumors.
Yet, according to the NY Post, three new teams have entered the race, beyond previously known interested teams. The Knicks, Warriors, and Heat are reportedly teams interested in trading for Giannis beyond the Spurs, Nets, and the Rockets.
Shortly after a social media post on this went viral, Antetokounmpo posted a cryptic message from his X account, seemingly asking teams to “pull up” with multiple laughing emojis.
Pull uppppp😂😂
— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) June 27, 2025
Giannis is seemingly confident in his influence on the Bucks’ front office and wants to say that even if these teams come to the front office with their best offers, it will be of no use since he has committed his long-term future to the organization. He is seemingly amused that the rumor mill seems to keep generating these team names and interest rumors without any basis or interest from Antetokounmpo to join those teams.
Only based on that first impression, several fans even commented on his post, suggesting the potential places where he should “pull up” in the trade market. Hence, we are also going based on the first impression of what he is trying to say, and it may be inaccurate in some way.
The Greek superstar averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists in the regular season this year. The entire Bucks roster is built around him, and there is no incentive for the Bucks to trade their best player and go into a full rebuild at this point. Antetokounmpo has three years (including a player option) left on his contract with the Bucks, and he fully intends on honoring his commitment.
What Can An NBA Team Do To Convince The Bucks To Trade Giannis?
With Damian Lillard out for the foreseeable future with an ACL injury, the Bucks are severely handicapped in terms of putting together a championship-contending roster in the next season without him. Moreover, the Bucks have severely depleted their draft assets, so they do not have much to offer another team in a trade to bring more solid pieces around Giannis.
Therefore, the Bucks have two options from here: either they trade their superstar Antetokounmpo and go into a full rebuild mode with the assets they get, or they put all the pressure on their one player to carry the team to what will likely be mediocrity. Lillard’s injury has seriously hindered the championship window the Bucks had with him and Giannis.
To convince the Bucks to trade Giannis, in my opinion, at least two young stars with a high upside and three first-round draft picks, along with additional swaps or second-round picks, should be enough to give the Bucks significant assets to initiate their rebuild. If they trade Antetokounmpo, they will likely show Lillard the exit door next when he becomes trade-eligible.
