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There are no concrete indications that Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to ask for a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks after a disappointing past two seasons that both culminated in a first-round exit. Damian Lillard's injury means that the Bucks are even going to fight an uphill battle just to make the playoffs. Even then, rumor has it that Antetokounmpo's preference is to stay in the Cream City.
But still, there is no better time for dreaming than the offseason, and for a team such as the Houston Rockets who were stopped in their tracks by the Golden State Warriors (yet again) in the first round of the playoffs, acquiring Antetokounmpo would provide a clear pathway to title-contention, even in a stacked Western Conference.
It was ever evident what the Rockets' issues were last season. But they are in luck, seeing as they have all the draft assets and young players necessary to swing a blockbuster trade, should they go that route. In fact, they are one of the prime contenders to trade for Kevin Durant, who has the Rockets among his three preferred destinations.
Getting Durant would already help solve a lot of the Rockets' problems. But Durant is set to turn 37 years old before the start of next season. The Rockets, like other teams on the rise, would prefer to acquire someone like Antetokounmpo, who is turning just 31 years of age come December.
But in the aftermath of the Desmond Bane trade, teams are going to have to accept that trading for a top-five player like Antetokounmpo will require giving up their best assets. For the Rockets, ESPN has a trade idea for how they can acquire the Greek Freak from the Bucks.
ESPN's hypothetical Giannis Antetokounmpo Rockets-Bucks trade
Rockets trade: Alperen Sengun, Cam Whitmore, Reed Sheppard, Jock Landale, 2025 first-round pick (No. 10), 2027 first-round pick (via Phoenix), and 2028 first-round pick
Bucks trade: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Pat Connaughton
Rockets shouldn't even have to think twice about this trade
Perhaps the Rockets should think twice at least once about trading all of those assets mentioned above for Antetokounmpo. But that should be the extent of all the thinking they should be doing. This is a no-brainer trade that allows the Rockets to trade for one of the best players in the NBA while keeping most of their best assets.
In any Antetokounmpo trade scenario, the Bucks will be asking for Amen Thompson first. Thompson was such a multi-positional wrecker, a menace on the ball defensively while being a pest both on the passing lanes and when protecting the rim. He's such an athletic marvel and a winning player through and through who, at 22 years old, is one of the fastest-rising young players in the NBA.
His offensive game is still a work in progress, but he already puts so much pressure on opposing defenses thanks to his sheer aggressiveness when attacking the basket. The three-point shot has a long way to go before being serviceable. However, he is the crown jewel of the Rockets' rebuild and they are not going to budge even if the Bucks will be asking for him to start any trade conversations.
Thankfully for the Rockets, they have other young players to dangle, and between Thompson and Alperen Sengun, Thompson is the one Houston should want to keep. Sengun is an incredible young player, a brilliant offensive hub at the post who showed in the playoffs just how tough he can be even against a lockdown defender like Draymond Green, but his defensive limitations cap his overall ceiling.
Alas, the fit between Sengun and Antetokounmpo would be iffy at best; Sengun hasn't quite progressed as a three-point shooter. In fact, last season was his worst three-point shooting season yet, making just 23.3 percent of his attempts from deep. And in a hypothetical world where Antetokounmpo is a Rocket, there wouldn't be as much space to run the offense through Sengun like Houston did this past season.
One would think that the Rockets would immediately become one of the fastest-paced teams in the NBA after acquiring Antetokounmpo, and having Thompson around for that instead of Sengun would be a better fit.
But aside from Sengun, it's hard to argue that the Rockets aren't giving up too little in this trade. Jock Landale is nothing more than salary filler. Meanwhile, the other young pieces involved in the hypothetical trade, Cam Whitmore and Reed Sheppard, didn't even play huge roles last season for the 52-win Rockets team.
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Whitmore, in particular, is facing a logjam of talent at the forward positions, and he hasn't emerged as a preferred player in Ime Udoka's rotation since he doesn't contribute much on the defensive end, and his offensive game is limited, as he is a score-first player who rarely makes his teammates better (he has a career assist percentage of 7.4).
Sheppard remains behind Fred VanVleet in the rotation (VanVleet is expected to return to Houston on a multi-year deal), and Udoka even gave Aaron Holiday more minutes than he did. While Sheppard's shooting ability bodes well for his long-term prospects, his inability to crack the rotation in his rookie year is very worrisome. He deserves to be cut some slack though, as he's only 20 years of age.
The draft picks the Rockets are giving up aren't too valuable, either. Thus, if this is all it takes for the Rockets to acquire Antetokounmpo, especially after considering blockbuster trades in recent years (just take a look at what the likes of Rudy Gobert, Bane, and Mikal Bridges got for the Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, and Brooklyn Nets, respectively), then the Rockets should jump at the opportunity to acquire the Greek Freak and become a legitimate title-contending team.
Grade: A+
Bucks must try to squeeze Houston dry as much as possible
If the Bucks were to trade Antetokounmpo, the bare minimum return is an incredible young player (Sengun fits the bill, being an All-Star player in 2025), other young prospects they can build around, and a boatload of valuable draft assets. The Rockets, in ESPN's hypothetical scenario, are still holding back, however, and Milwaukee should make sure that they can squeeze them dry as much as possible.
Instead of Whitmore and Sheppard, the Rockets must ask for someone like Jabari Smith Jr. or Tari Eason — two pieces who have proven that they can contribute to a winning team in huge rotation roles. Jalen Green is also someone they could target, but Green's stock isn't exactly on the rise after a lackluster playoff run. Sheppard is someone who has a ton of potential, so his inclusion is something the Bucks can agree to, but Milwaukee has to do better than Whitmore.
But it's the draft assets the Bucks are getting that make this fake trade so disappointing. The 10th pick of this year's draft is a meh return for Antetokounmpo, while the Rockets' 2028 first-round pick is not likely to have much value. The 2027 first-rounder via the Suns is better, but acquiring just one pick from that flatlining franchise is not enough.
Whatever the case may be, this offer is better than most fake trades that are being put out there. Sengun is a legitimate building block who will keep them afloat, and if the Bucks decide to blow it up completely, he will command such a huge trade return by himself as well. At the very least, Sengun is a proven player who averaged 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds last season, and as a starting off point in a potential trade with the Rockets, this is as good as it can get.
But the Bucks must hold out for a better young prospect than Whitmore, and must find a way to ask for a more valuable pick down the line, if not outright ask for two to three more first-round picks.
Grade: C+
