Giannis Antetokounmpo may be running out of patience with the Milwaukee Bucks. They have not had any playoff success over the past three years whatsoever, and their roster is projected to be worse than ever. Following the latest reports on Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, maybe we shouldn't rule out the possibility of the Utah Jazz.
Reports from Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst confirmed three important details between Antetokounmpo today:
-The Bucks discussed trading their two-time MVP to the New York Knicks
-Antetokounmpo's patience is running thin with Milwaukee
-Many expect that Antetokounmpo will leave the Bucks at some point.
So while the team most linked to Antetokounmpo currently is the Knicks, him potentially being available in the future opens the door for any team to trade for him, and yes, that should include the Jazz.This idea has been brought up before and for good reason. In short, it's Giannis Antetokounmpo.
He's one of the NBA's best players currently and of all-time and he's still in his prime. Acquiring him automatically elevates a team to playoff contender at the very least - it's pretty impressive how badly Milwaukee has failed him in that regard - because of how much he impacts the game on a nightly basis.
So yes, even a team like the Jazz can use him if the Bucks plan to give him up.
Utah has a better package for him now than they did a few months ago
There was a devil's advocate piece for why Utah should steer clear of Antetokounmpo, but that had nothing to do with his abilities as a player because you'd be a fool to doubt that. More importantly, that was during the 2024-25 season, when the Jazz's place was a little less certain.
But now things have changed. Utah has acquired some exciting young talent to go with some enticing talents that would be hard for Milwaukee to pass up. The only two players who should be off the table in an Antetokounmpo trade are Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler. Other than that, every other Jazzman should be on the table.
Not only do they have the picks and the players that could help Milwaukee kickstart their rebuild, but they also have the expiring deals to match for the all-time player. Antetokounmpo's preference might be the Knicks, but they don't have nearly the same assets the Jazz do.
Plus, the trio of him, Markkanen, and Kessler would automatically shift the Jazz's fortunes drastically to the point that they would go from tanker to West playoff contender. Now that the Antetokounmpo whispers has picked up some legitimate steam today, it works out perfectly for Utah if they plan to get in on the sweepstakes.
The Jazz are currently in an excellent position long-term with their rebuild, but there's no telling what it will amount to. If they get their hands on Antetokounmpo while keeping Markkanen and Kessler, among others, then a hypothetically glorious future suddenly becomes a lot more legitimate.