According to Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, there are no failures, only steps to success. This is certainly an admirable mindset to have in the aftermath of one of the most embarrassing first-round playoff defeats in NBA history, one that's indicative of Antetokounmpo's priorities that lie way beyond basketball. However, the NBA is a business, and defeats of this magnitude can usually lead to wholesale changes which other teams, such as the Portland Trail Blazers, can pounce on.

It's not a secret that Damian Lillard is yearning for help while toiling away on a Blazers team that's going nowhere fast despite their efforts to build around the flamethrowing floor general. The Blazers have not been able to make the requisite additions to build off their surprising run to the Western Conference Finals in 2019. As a result, the franchise is now approaching a crossroads, as they may have to entertain the idea of trading away Lillard if they're unable to build a stellar supporting cast.

Thus, it would merely be due diligence for the Blazers to try and put out feelers regarding a potential trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, as impossible as the thought of a trade involving the Bucks star may be. Crazy things have happened in the NBA in the past, so it's tough to say that something truly is impossible in the association.

One thing's for sure: Damian Lillard is all for the possibility of teaming up with Antetokounmpo. The Blazers certainly owe it to their loyal franchise star to try their best to make this pipe dream a reality.

Here is one Giannis Antetokounmpo trade scenario that ends up with the Bucks star teaming up with Lillard in the Pacific Northwest.

Blazers trade Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, 2023, 2025, 2027, 2029 POR first-round picks (unprotected), 2024, 2026, and 2028 first-round pick swaps, and 2023 NYK first-round pick to the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo

As mentioned earlier, there are no impossibilities in the NBA. Big names have always switched teams throughout the course of NBA history, usually after years of successive playoff shortcomings. The best players in the league have also switched teams through trade, the most recent instance of which was Kevin Durant, who requested a trade during the 2022 offseason and eventually got his wish in February 2023 after the Brooklyn Nets traded away his good pal Kyrie Irving.

However, as the Phoenix Suns can attest to, it takes a boatload of assets to snag one of the greatest players in the association even though the team they're trading with doesn't have the best of leverage. Sure, Durant was still under contract for multiple years, but when the entire league knows that the star wants out and that they franchise is desperately looking for a franchise reset, the risk is there of getting a lower trade return than expected.

Nevertheless, the Suns still had to trade away two quality wings in Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson, the former being one of the defenders in the NBA, along with four unprotected first-round picks just to acquire Kevin Durant's services.

Knowing how much the Suns had to give up for Durant, imagining what it would take for the Blazers to pry away Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Bucks would make even the savviest front offices sweat.

Antetokounmpo doesn't seem like the kind of guy to request a trade, especially when he has professed his love for Milwaukee plenty of times in the past. It hasn't even been two years since he led the Bucks to its first championship in two years with a 50-point Game 6 performance. Thus, the Bucks have no reason whatsoever to even entertain the idea of trading away arguably the greatest player in franchise history. The Greek Freak has definitely earned the right of having the final say in whether or not he stays in the Cream City.

Thus, for the Blazers to even make the Bucks not hang up the phone after the first five seconds of inquiring about Antetokounmpo's availability, they will have to dangle any and all positive assets they can offer, including all unprotected first-round picks and pick swaps.

First of all, any Blazers trade for a star will have to start with Anfernee Simons, a 23-year old explosive scoring machine who could blossom even further when given the keys to a team's offense.

Knowing Antetokounmpo's star power, the Blazers will also have to include Shaedon Sharpe, an impressive high-flying athlete who has shown the potential of becoming one of the most highly-touted two way wings if he continues to develop. Nassir Little is another piece that could develop into a quality 3-and-D wing.

Meanwhile, Jusuf Nurkic's inclusion is for salary-matching purposes only.

Even then, other teams (such as the New Orleans Pelicans or Oklahoma City Thunder, just to name a few) can definitely put together a better trade package to the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. But it never hurts to dream.