Nets acquire Bucks player Giannis Antetokounmpo

With the Milwaukee Bucks now 1-3 after three straight losses – one to the Brooklyn Nets themselves – questions are beginning to arise about superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the franchise.

The Bucks will certainly have time to bounce back in the Eastern Conference, but one report has already surfaced that the Greek Freak may already be looking for greener pastures: Brooklyn being one of them.

There are many reasons why a Nets-Bucks trade would be a challenge, starting with Antetokounmpo’s deal and Brooklyn’s recent rebuild. But we’ll at least look at the logistics of what the deal would look like:

Let’s start with the fact that Milwaukee could offer countless better deals than this on the open market. But Antetokounmpo is one of the few players in the league with a no-trade clause, so this does allow Brooklyn to enter the game if he so chooses.

Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson are the team’s best assets and offer the same salary as Antetokounmpo, so they agree to the deal.

We haven’t seen a deal of this magnitude before – a former MVP signed through the 2027-28 season. We’ve seen players like Mikal Bridges get drafted as many as four, so Antetokounmpo’s value may not even be as attainable as it currently is.

However, four unprotected first moves (the last one coming in 2031) and three trades could certainly close some of the gap.

Our simulated trade did the best it could, but overall the real deal doesn’t make much sense. Even if Brooklyn were to acquire Antetokounmpo, its roster likely wouldn’t be good enough to make a splash in the East. And the Bucks could probably do better attracting young, up-and-coming talent than the Nets’ players, even from Miami.

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