2026 NBA Trade Deadline Profile: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks champion and franchise face Giannis Antetokounmpo is reportedly ready to take his antlers elsewhere.

The holidays aren’t over yet, at least from a hardwood perspective.

The next landmark on the NBA calendar is quickly approaching, as the 2026 trade deadline is scheduled for Feb. 5. Beyond the continued dominance of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the chase for the NBA Finals is relatively open, as many will be wheeling and dealing to increase their odds of standing among the final two or simply rebuild for a future run.

Ballislife will be keeping tabs on names potentially on the move at the deadline. Next up is the fate of Milwaukee Bucks franchise face and champion Giannis Antetokounmpo …

The Player: Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Current Team: Milwaukee Bucks
The Contract: $59.4 million cap hit in 2026-27, $62.7 million player option in 2027-28

(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

The Skinny on Antetokounmpo

If you truly need the history of Antetokounmpo, let us be the first to welcome you back from whatever sabbatical you took, be it of the intentional or medical variety. It had to last at least a decade, as Antetokounmpo has earned a firm stranglehold on the hardwood imagination.

A tarnished ending shouldn’t lessen Antetokounmpo’s impact on the Bucks franchise: viewed as an international risk upon his drafting in the 15th slot of the 2013 draft, the Greek Freak brough much-sought sanity to a franchise that had gone decades searching for a franchise face after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar forced his way out in 1975.

A sterling two-way game has earned Antetokounmpo the label of a dominant all-around talent and he is widely viewed as a headliner of this ongoing “positionless” basketball era. Antetokounmpo had two MVP awards to his name (2019-20) and he ended the Bucks’ championship drought just short of five decades in the summer of 2021, which saw him dim the Suns in a six-game set. Appropriately, Antetokounmpo earned the series MVP award for his efforts.

But it has been quite difficult for Milwaukee to pen a sequel to that perfect ending: Antetokounmpo and the Bucks have been playoff mainstays but their last series victory was a five-game triumph over overmatched Chicago in 2022’s opening round. Since then, the Bucks have dropped four first-round sets, including a five-game defeat to No. 8 Miami after finishing atop the Eastern Conference in 2023. All four vanquishers since the title run have gone onto the conference final and three reached the championship set.

The Interest in Antetokounmpo

All that and more, obviously, sets up a very strong market for Antetokounmpo: convinced to sign on for one last (bumpy) ride in Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo has reportedly resigned himself to his transactional fate, per Shams Charania of ESPN.

Antetokounmpo sits in a turbulent spot, as he’s currently working off a calf injury. That likely won’t deter potential suitors, especially those looking for that proverbial “missing piece” of a championship puzzle. Antetokounmpo originally self-diagnosed himself with a four-to-six week absence, but Bucks head coach Doc Rivers offered the far more cryptic “no timetable” when addressing the ailment this week (h/t Associated Press).

That somewhat affords all parties patience and it’d be no surprise to see Antetokounmpo chatter reach another offseason. Stashing an injured star, however, is far from out of the ordinary in the modern NBA, as seen in recent cases like those of Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard.

Milwaukee has dug itself into quite a hole in its effort to both post another championship run and boost Antetokounmpo’s happiness: it tried pairing Lillard with Antetokounmpo after prying the former from Portland, then ditched him in its most desperate pitch, one that acquired long-standing divisional foe Myles Turner from the Indiana Pacers.

Milwaukee’s return is thus worth keeping an eye on, thanks to the notion that it could be trading for Antetokounmpo’s successor in the franchise savior department, whether that’s through an immediate veteran upgrade or future draft picks. The Bucks’ books also feature several veterans on 2026-27 player options (i.e. Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr.) while eight-figure men Bobby Portis and/or Kyle Kuzma could also be moved.

Who Might Call For Giannis Antetokounmpo?

The better question is who wouldn’t call for Antetokounmpo’s services.

Despite his recent injury woes, Antetokounmpo remains one of the Association’s most dominant forces. He’s averaging a double-double at age 31 and show no signs of slowing down, leading the league in successful two-pointers a game at 10 at the time of his injury. That, however, will likely cost a team a hefty haul, so the Bucks can make due themselves, whether that’s in the form of embracing a full-on rebuild or lingering at the cusp of the conference playoff bracket.

Of course, making the Antetokounmpo move is a double-edged sword: if one frees him from Milwaukee, it takes on the burdens of instant championship contention. Charania’s report, essentially serving as the death knell of Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee career, states the Bucks will seek “blue-chip young talent and/or a surplus of draft picks” in a deal and that it is comfortable being patient beyond the deadline.

Giannis Antetokounmpo next team odds

Milwaukee Bucks: -110 (52.4 % chance)
Miami Heat: +300 (25 % chance)
New York Knicks: +330 (25.3 % chance)
Golden State Warriors: +750 (11.8 % chance)
Atlanta Hawks: +900 (10 % chance)

*Odds courtesy of DraftKings* pic.twitter.com/fu2A1VPJDT

— Ballislife Bets (@BallislifeBets) January 28, 2026

Golden State Warriors

Are the Warriors simply addicted to that contention? While it feels like the Warriors have had their fingers in the waters in the moat of nearly every major NBA star of the past decade, but this is a fateful point on the franchise timeline: as we recently covered, the Warriors are in Bay Area limbo with Stephen Curry inching toward twilight and the future not exactly packed with potential. Jimmy Butler‘s season-ending injury probably should’ve ended any semblance of true contention, but any team blessed with Curry’s continued shooting prowess simply can’t let the sensation go. With Milwaukee essentially comfortable taking a year off (the Bucks are fading from even the Play-In picture), they’re in prime position to be patient with Butler’s recovery while Golden State gets to unload his salary. The rebuilding Bucks would also be a suitable destination for the embattled Jonathan Kuminga, who might have time on his side now that Butler’s done for the year, though he’s struggling with his own health issues.

Miami Heat

Too good to tank and too cut to contend, the Heat has lingered in several high-profile trade discussions. An Antetokounmpo deal is risky business: they’ll probably want to keep Bam Adebayo in an attempt to stay big (Adebayo and Antetokounmpo also have the same agent in Octagon rep Alex Saratsis) and one of their most unloadable contracts, the $26 million cap hit of Terry Rozier, is in limbo because of his ongoing legal woes. But Miami does have several young veterans it can center around sharpshooter and Wisconsin native/Whitnall High School alum Tyler Herro, who, while also injured, would no doubt assist in raising the rank of outside shooting in Milwaukee (25th in percentage entering Wednesday night action).

New York Knicks

It has been a while since the Knicks have made a seismic in-season splash, though such gambits have yielded current cornerstones OG Anunoby and Josh Hart. Manhattan has long spun in the Antetokounmpo rumor mill, as the center was reportedly said to entertain only a deal to New York. After spending most of their draft capital in the polarizing Mikal Bridges deal, the Knicks would likely have to part with name-brand talent in an Antetokounmpo deal, especially if they want to keep away from the restrictive second apron. That puts the Knicks in a compromising spot, but it could lead to them crating the KAT: previous big ticket acquisition Karl-Anthony Towns has seen his minutes dwindle, especially in crunch time, during a tepid start to the new calendar year. SNY Knicks insider Ian Begley has confirmed that the Knicks will be involved in the “aggressive” negotiations next to Miami.

San Antonio Spurs

Led by the continued headlining efforts of Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs have reprised their role as a Western Conference contender. While they appear to be one of the few teams that have been able to give the Oklahoma City Thunder consistent fits, it’s uncertain how they’d fare in a best-of-seven series against the defending champions or a fully-healthy Denver Nuggets group. Does San Antonio go for instant gratification or do they keep patient with its current core? It would probably insist that Wembanyama’s fellow hopefuls Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper be kept out of the discussion, though other homegrown projects like Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell could sweeten the deal. If the Spurs are going to take such a plunge, it’s probably now or never: negotiations for Wembanyama’s first contract extension will likely get underway this offseason and the (deserved) nine figures will probably handicap the Spurs’ abilities to make another major move.