Giannis trade rumors: New favorite emerges as 3 suitors drop out

The Giannis Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes are facing a significant road block just weeks after the Milwaukee Bucks star reportedly had his representatives talk to the team about his future with the franchise. Right now, no one wants to be the bad guy.

Antetokounmpo claims he’s not driving the trade speculation according to insider Chris Haynes, and seemingly doesn’t want to be mentioned in the long list of “petulant” NBA superstars who have forced their way to a new team. The Bucks don’t want to trade the best player they’ve had since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar left town in 1975. Antetokounmpo’s recent calf injury could keep him out another month, and gives both sides an extended runway to figure out what they want, but someone has to blink before there’s any motion on a potential deal.

NBA trade season is unofficially underway with the passing of Dec. 15. It’s an important date on the NBA trade calendar because now any player who signed as a free agent over the summer can be traded. That puts 82 more names in potential trade discussions, and makes salary matching and multi-team deals much easier.

Here’s a look at the latest Giannis rumors as the trade winds pick up around the league.

Heat emerge as Giannis trade betting favorite

The Heat were included on our initial list of Giannis trade suitors with a deal built around Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, and multiple first-round picks. Miami is always chasing stars under Pat Riley, and the organization seems to fit what Giannis wants long-term. Take this with a grain of salt, but betting sites are now naming the Heat as the favorite to land Antetokounmpo in a trade.

The Heat can only offer two first-round picks at the moment, which probably wouldn’t be enough to win a bidding war. But what if Giannis’ contract (a team option in the summer of 2027 after next year), age, and long-term desires limits the market enough to leave the Heat as the strongest suitor? It’s starting to feel like a real possibility.

3 likely Giannis suitors won’t get in trade discussions, according to report

The Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and Houston Rockets have consistently been mentioned as potential Giannis trade suitors for years for two main reasons: a) all of them are currently in a “championship window” meaning Antetokounmpo fits their timeline, and b) they all have a surplus of future draft assets to trade for the future.

Well, it turns out the Thunder, Spurs, and Rockets all currently have no plans to try to trade for Giannis, according to long-time NBA insider Marc Stein. Read the full report at Stein’s newsletter, and watch him talk about it here:

This would be a huge bummer for the Bucks if a Giannis trade really does come to fruition. Milwaukee wants the biggest bidding war possible to drive up the price, and that’s only happening if these three teams are in the mix.

It makes sense these three teams don’t want to try to trade for Giannis. The Thunder are already champions, and they’re the heavy favorites to repeat. The Spurs are fine with taking a more long-term view around Victor Wembanyama, and don’t want to sell off Stephon Castle or Dylan Harper. The Rockets probably make the most sense timeline-wise of these three just because of the presence of Kevin Durant on the roster, but Houston is already very good and doesn’t want to trade Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, or the potentially valuable Phoenix Suns’ future first-round picks that they own in 2027 and 2029.

Things can always change, but for now I’m buying this report that the West heavy-hitters are looking elsewhere.

“I think that with Giannis, the shift should be towards New York”

Those words come from Sam Amick of The Athletic, and they should come as no surprise given Giannis’ reported interest in going to the Knicks over the summer. There’s only a few problems: a) the Knicks are already positioned to win the East with the conference’s best roster, b) they would need to break apart that roster to match salaries in a deal for Giannis, c) they don’t have any future first-round picks to trade.

Giannis’ interest in New York and need to compete for championships are perhaps the only concrete things the public knows about his future desires. It’s just hard to see it happening during this season given the Knicks’ current championship odds and the complications about reaching a deal.

If the Knicks fall short of a championship — or even an NBA Finals berth — circle back in the summer. Should Giannis remain in Milwaukee that long, all the smoke will be about how to get him to New York in that case.

Update on Atlanta Hawks potential Giannis trade interest

The Hawks are a logical suitor for Giannis because they control some of Milwaukee’s future draft capital. The Hawks have the most favorable pick between the Pelicans and Bucks for the 2026 draft, and they have receive the least favorable of the Pelicans and Bucks picks in 2027. With Atlanta looking like a potential East contender this year, trading some highly coveted future draft capital for Giannis in an attempt to “go for it” makes a lot of sense.

Well, at least on paper. The Hawks reportedly don’t want to trade the 2026 pick (no kidding!), and they would need a long-term commitment from Giannis to even think about it.

The Hawks currently have maximum 14 percent lottery odds to land the No. 1 pick. Even getting a top-3 pick in this draft — meaning a shot at Darryn Peterson, A.J. Dybantsa, or Cameron Boozer — might be more valuable than a shorter window with Giannis. At the same time, Atlanta also has nearly a 50 percent chance to fall to the “floor” of their pick — four spots below their final lottery position, so currently No. 6 — which wouldn’t be nearly as appealing of an asset.

Jalen Johnson’s agent Rich Paul also said the Bucks should be interested in his client as part of a Giannis package. Just put a pin that one. Read my recent Jalen Johnson feature here.

“The Bucks have told teams they are looking to add to their roster ….”

Let the final word of the current state of the Giannis trade talks end with these words from Athletic beat reporter Eric Nehm, who has his finger on the pulse of the team more than anyone else.

The Bucks have had reported interest in Zach LaVine from the Sacramento Kings. Would this really save the Giannis era in Milwaukee?

The Bucks are 11-16 right now with Antetokounmpo out a few more weeks. Yes, the East stinks and Giannis is the best player in the conference, but it sure seems there’s no saving this situation for Milwaukee.

The Bucks’ best move is trading Giannis ASAP

This is just my two cents here: the Bucks should trade Giannis as soon as he gets healthy to the highest bidder. That way, Giannis can’t control where he lands, and the team that gets him has at least two playoff runs with him.

I just don’t see any way that Milwaukee can build a contender around Giannis with such a limited pool of assets. The longer they hold onto him, the weaker their leverage gets. The Bucks won a championship with Giannis leading the way, but those days are long gone now. By trading Giannis now, the Bucks can still tank their way into a premium pick in the 2026 NBA Draft (remember, they get the least favorable pick between themselves and the Pelicans). They would also avoid Giannis picking his next destination, or making Giannis look like the bad guy for pushing his way out.

Milwaukee is simply in a terrible situation, but it’s only going to get worse the longer they deny reality.