Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t part of a wild trade deadline that saw stars such as Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, De’Aaron Fox and Brandon Ingram on the move.
But could Milwaukee’s superstar — and the Nets’ top target — move this summer?
For the rebuilding Nets, flexibility has been a top priority. They’ve hoarded those chips to at least have the choice to push them to the center of the table whenever the chance comes to bet big. And there are few bigger bets than the “Greek Freak,” whom ESPN reports could ask out if the Bucks continue to disappoint.
“You have to be poised and position yourself to be able to have that opportunity,” Nets general manager Sean Marks told The Post earlier this season. “We’re going to give ourselves the best chance to do that. Now, on whom and when, that’s TBD.”
The Post has long reported that Antetokounmpo is the Nets’ metaphorical white whale. And while the former MVP has not asked out of Milwaukee or given any indication that he’d want to play for the Nets if he did, league personnel are preparing in case he does become available.
After Doncic was stunned by being shipped to the Lakers, Antetokounmpo reacted by saying, “I want all the Europeans to go to all the big markets to see something incredible. This is what I want. This is my dream.”
Then, during last weekend’s All-Star break, he spoke to Greek NBA rights holders COSMOTE TV about his hypothetically being dealt. When the idea of being traded to the Pistons was floated, he let out a long “Noooo” and smiled “At least Luka went from Dallas to L.A. Why you are sending me to Detroit?”
Then Antetokounmpo added, via a Eurohoops translation, “NBA is business. … If I get a text from my general manager [Jon Horst], I will share the news with my family, and I’ll go do my job. I’m getting paid good money to do this job. I would go anywhere I feel they need me.”
Asked if he would text Horst asking for a trade, Antetokounmpo replied, “I don’t think that I would ever text [and ask for a trade]. I am not this kind of guy. They would have to kick me out.”
That seems unlikely. But so was Kevin Durant forcing a move out of Brooklyn. It’s the job of an NBA GM — at least a good one — to prepare for the unlikely.
The Mavericks reportedly reached out to Milwaukee about Antetokounmpo at the deadline before instead dealing for Davis. Others will surely circle back in the summer. It would be shocking if Marks isn’t among them.
He has collected the most future draft picks (31) and most first-rounders (16) in the league, not to make them all but to flip at least some for an impact player.
There are few more impactful than Antetokounmpo, who Marks watched beat his Nets in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals en route to the title. The star dropped 50 in the Finals clincher over the Suns.
But after a second-round exit the next season and first-round ousters in each of the past two years, there is speculation among NBA personnel that Antetokounmpo could put the Bucks on the clock to prove they can still be a championship team.
“Everyone knows Giannis Antetokounmpo loves the Bucks, but I’m here to tell you, he loves winning more,” Shams Charania said on ESPN. “That’s why everyone in that Bucks organization knows what’s at stake: the pressure.”
“Every summer, when Giannis looks around and looks at the Bucks’ roster, he looks at sustained, long-term winning and where he would be able to find that. And he has said audibly on the record that if he feels like that’s not attainable anymore in Milwaukee, he will look elsewhere.”
