It took barely one week of action for the first rumblings of blockbuster-trade potential to begin in the NBA. And the first entry into the rumor mill comes from up Interstate 94 in Milwaukee, where superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo reportedly is growing restless with the inability of the Bucks franchise to rebuild a competitive roster.
Before the season, Antetokounmpo hinted in an interview with The Athletic that this season was make-or-break for the current Bucks roster.
“Yeah, if we don’t win a championship, I might get traded,” Antetokounmpo said. “This is the job we live. This is the world we’re living in. It’s everybody.”
And after the Bucks opened with a sluggish 1-4 start — including a blowout loss at the hands of the Chicago Bulls in their home opener — a CBS Sports report suggested that Antetokounmpo is prepared to force a trade out of Milwaukee if this season is another bust.
Antetokounmpo going on the move would throw the entire power balance of the league into flux as nearly every team would consider what it would take to land the two-time MVP. So would the Bulls even be in contention for such a deal?
There’s no real history — positive or negative — between Antetokounmpo and the Bulls franchise. In a 2022 interview with Fox-32 Chicago, Antetokounmpo praised the history of the ’90s Bulls and teased that he would be open to wearing a Bulls jersey at some point in his career.
“I think anybody you ask that question that plays basketball, if he said no, he’d be a liar,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s a team that won multiple championships; it’s a team that one of the greatest players — if not the greatest player to ever play this game — played for. So it’s a no-brainer. Everybody would love to play for Chicago.”
Antetokounmpo is in the first season of a three-year, $175 million deal with the Bucks, which includes a player option in 2027-28. On paper, this matches up relatively well with the current financial positioning of Zach LaVine, the top trade prospect for the Bulls who is in the third season of a five-year, $215 million contract with a player option in 2026-27.
LaVine is playing some of his best basketball as he works to rebuild his stature in the NBA after a dismal 2023-24 season defined by injury. And if he continues his current pace — averaging 22.7 points while shooting 45.8% from 3-point range in six games — LaVine certainly would be a prime trade asset for the Bulls by the time the deadline rolls around in February.
The Bulls have a decent amount of draft picks and young prospects (Ayo Dosunmu, Patrick Williams, Matas Buzelis) to attach to this type of trade offer. But it’s also still an undersell for the Bucks, who would be looking to completely overhaul their plans for the future — likely through the draft, in which they could recoup on significant losses.
The Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets are two potential leading contenders for Antetokounmpo, according to the CBS Sports report, although the Heat are poorly positioned to execute a trade due to their lack of draft capital and the age of their stars.
Despite their dominance in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder are startlingly well-positioned to make a strong offer with an incredible cast of young players who could benefit the Bucks and a bevy of draft picks still at their disposal. The New Orleans Pelicans and the Memphis Grizzlies could offer similar — if somewhat downgraded — packages. And nothing in the Bulls’ arsenal is hefty enough to outweigh those bidding options.
All of this is still hypothetical. The Bucks have played only five games. Antetokounmpo has yet to request a trade. And the deadline is a lengthy three months away. But the potential of a blockbuster deal throws into focus the relative anonymity of the Bulls as contenders on the free-agent and trade markets.
Despite a legendary franchise history and location in a premier U.S. market, the Bulls have struggled to land top-level free agents for more than two decades. And even if the front office focuses on offloading LaVine this season, the Bulls are not expecting to land this quality of a return for their maximum-contract star.
What will it take for the Bulls to regain footing as a true trade contender? That’s a thorny question that the front office is still struggling to answer.
