Five Teams That Should Not Trade For Giannis Antetokounmpo

With Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks discussing his future, every GM in the NBA league is sitting by their phone, hoping for a call, thinking that they can instantly become a title contender. But not every franchise should answer. Here are five teams that need to resist the temptation, no matter how tempting a two-time MVP sounds.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets are building something special with their young core and shouldn't derail that trajectory for a win-now gamble. Amen Thompson represents one of the best young assets Milwaukee could acquire in any trade package, and Houston would likely need to include him plus Reed Sheppard or Jabari Smith Jr. That's too steep a price for a team that's ahead of schedule but not yet ready to sacrifice its future. The Rockets' timeline doesn't align with Giannis turning 31 this month, especially when their core is just beginning to gel.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls suffer from being too good to be bad and too bad to be good, and adding Giannis wouldn't cure that condition. With Josh Giddey as their primary creator, outside of Matas Buzelis, Chicago lacks the half-court offensive firepower needed to truly contend. Trading away Nikola Vučević, Buzelis, and valuable picks for Antetokounmpo would simply create a more expensive, less-than-average team, stuck between the play-in tournament and a first-round exit. The Bulls need to embrace a rebuild, not mortgage their future for another decade of irrelevance.

Los Angeles Lakers

The desire for a supertrio of superstars shouldn’t override sound decision-making. The Lakers would need to surrender Austin Reaves, multiple rotation players, and every available draft pick to land Giannis. That leaves them with an aging superstar trio, zero depth, and no flexibility to improve. After the Russell Westbrook disaster taught them the value of roster balance, gutting their entire supporting cast for one more star represents organizational insanity at its worst.

Toronto Raptors

Despite their surprising start, the players Toronto could offer aren't as enticing as what other teams can provide, meaning they'd need to overpay dramatically with draft capital. The Raptors would be betting their entire future on a two-year championship window with a 31-year-old star who's had no say in choosing Toronto as a destination. One hot streak shouldn't convince a franchise to abandon a patient rebuild for a desperation swing. While the last time the Raptors brought in a big-name star resulted in an NBA title, he left after one season. Would the team be willing to do the same with the Greek Freak?

Boston Celtics

The 2024 champions shouldn't disrupt a proven formula just one year removed from their title. In a rational world, a Jayson Tatum for Giannis swap on paper could make basketball sense, but Boston's chemistry and identity are built around their homegrown stars. Trading Tatum would shatter team morale and alienate a fanbase that just watched him deliver their 18th championship.