Giannis Antetokounmpo is a top-three NBA star, with a good chunk of his prime left in the tank. That also makes him a player everybody should want, no matter where they are in the league's competitive landscape.
This includes the Brooklyn Nets, who are reportedly ready to "pounce" on Giannis now that he's contemplating his future, according to the New York Post's Brian Lewis. If this is indeed the end of Antetokounmpo's time with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nets just might have the assets necessary to poach him.
And yet, if they're smart, they won't do it.
Now isn't the time for Brooklyn to go all-in
One question sums up why the Nets have no business entering the Giannis sweepstakes: Who will they be left with after acquiring him?
A recent mock trade had them giving up six first-rounders and Nicolas Claxton to bring Giannis to Brooklyn. That isn’t as prohibitive as it seems. Giannis, again, is a top-three player. And the Nets can trade up to 13 first-round picks this summer. They can make this deal, or one that is similar, and have the flexibility left over to keep improving.
To what end, though? Regardless of who Brooklyn surrenders or keeps in trade talks with Milwaukee, it won’t have a viable No. 2 next to Giannis. General manager Sean Marks will have to go out and acquire one. And while the Nets will still have offseason-defining cap space to play around with, the 2025 free-agency market isn’t conducive to bagging another marquee name.
That’s where Brooklyn’s remaining trade assets come into play. They will have the financial flexibility and first-round equity to pull off another big move. That’s great! But what then? Does a rotation built around Giannis, a to-be-determined No. 2, and, um, restricted free agent Cam Thomas punch their ticket to title contention?
Probably not. And even if it does, the Nets will be incredibly top-heavy, leaving them with very little margin for error. Putting themselves in that position, after they just escaped a similar situation two or so years ago, short-circuits their long-term future.
Missing out on Cooper Flagg only made things worse for Brooklyn
Trade talks with the Bucks would go a lot smoother if Brooklyn won the right to draft Cooper Flagg. It didn’t. Flagg is headed to the Dallas Mavericks, or to whichever franchise Mavs team president Nico Harrison inexplicably trades the No. 1 pick to this June.
The Nets didn’t even land one of the highly coveted top-four spots. They are drafting at No. 8. They will not get Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, or VJ Edgecombe. And without one of them, they will invariably have to increase the compensation they send out for Giannis.
Remember, the Bucks currently do not control their own first-round pick until 2031. Any Giannis trade must see them land a tentpole prospect around whom they can immediately build. The Nets have no way of including that type of player. They can make up for it by offering cap relief, and tons of draft picks. But the more first-rounders they send out, the fewer they’ll have to use as sweeteners in subsequent deals they’ll need to make in order to properly capitalize on Giannis’ window.
Yes, there is real urgency in Brooklyn. The Houston Rockets still control the Nets’ 2027 first-rounder. Brooklyn will ideally be in a position to compete by then. Except that’s only one year. The Nets control all their own firsts thereafter. Mortgaging their entire future, again, just to be semi-ready to compete in 2027 makes absolutely no sense—not even for someone as transcendent as Giannis.
Dan Favale is a Senior NBA Contributor for FanSided and National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.