Nets preparing to strike if Giannis Antetokounmpo pushes Milwaukee for trade

Rival teams maintain that the Nets are positioning themselves to make a run for Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo should he someday request a trade, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. 

While Stein cites league sources ensuring Brooklyn has no desire for Miami’s Jimmy Butler in free agency, he does claim the Nets eventually intend to pursue Antetokounmpo despite there being no reason to believe Milwaukee would entertain offers without his demand. The Nets would certainly be in a better spot than any to acquire the 2021 NBA champion and Finals MVP, able to provide the Bucks unmatched salary cap relief and draft capital.

Brooklyn owns 15 first-round picks across the upcoming seven drafts, four in 2025 alone. 

“The scenario repeatedly cited in conversation with rival teams always winds up in the same place: The Nets have long been described and continue to be painted as a team determined to be in a position to trade for Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo someday,” Stein wrote. “Reminder: Someday depends on Antetokounmpo pushing the Bucks to trade him ... something he has shown no known inclination to do. There remains zero expectation that the Bucks would even consider the notion of trading Antetokounmpo unless he pushed for it.”

Stein also interestingly notes that ‘sources with knowledge of Brooklyn’s thinking’ suggest the Nets won't handcuff themselves to chasing a superstar this offseason and are willing to build through the draft instead. This report comes just over a week after ESPN’s Brian Windhorst stated the Nets plan to go ‘star searching’ in the summer either via trade or free agency.

“Teams that study Brooklyn, though, continue to describe Antetokounmpo as its dream target,” Stein concluded.

The six-time All-NBA First Team selection has spent 12 seasons in Milwaukee, averaging 23.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists through 822 regular-season appearances. In 35 minutes per contest this season, Antetokounmpo entered Sunday with a league-high scoring average of 31.7 points on 60.2 percent shooting from the field. This 30-year-old athletic anomaly is also the only player in NBA history to average at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal in multiple seasons, which he’s done five times since 2018.

Antetokounmpo is owed $112.5 million over the next two years, with a $62.7 million player option for the 2027-28 campaign. Meanwhile, Brooklyn has more flexibility under the new CBA than any other team in the league – not a bad ace to keep up your sleeve, even if for a long shot. 

Nets general manager Sean Marks recently told the New York Post quite directly that decisions aren’t being made in an attempt to win games right now, yet to get lucky this summer. Brooklyn, prior to upcoming clashes with lottery rivals Utah and Portland, has an 8.3 chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick and a 34.8 percent chance of securing a top-four selection.

“We’re going to have to be systematic with some of the decisions we make, and they may not always be in line with winning the next game or putting the most talent out there,” Marks admitted. “To be frank, you’ve still got to get a little lucky. We all know that. The hot-button topic has always been the draft. We all know we’ve still got to get lucky. At the end of the day, the ping-pong balls are going to drop a certain way.”

Tank: embraced. Draft picks: banked. Stars: to be chased. Is 2025 becoming Giannis Antetokounmpo, draft lottery magic, or bust for Brooklyn?