Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Toronto Raptors? Maybe, but don't bet on it

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If Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are heading toward a divorce, you can bet the Toronto Raptors will have heavy interest in bringing the Greek Freak north.

They’ve been after him for years, including a spirited, but ultimately fruitless attempt to trade into the 2013 draft for him (Toronto had previously dealt its pick for Kyle Lowry and tried multiple times in the late lottery to get back in for Antetokounmpo).

They also hoped to snatch him up as a free agent on a couple of occasions and the interest now is as high as ever.

The NBA rumour mill is abuzz after the Milwaukee Bucks third straight first-round playoff exit that the only option for the franchise is to sell off Antetokounmpo to the highest bidder now before he formally asks out.

The team has no prospects on the rise to speak of, won’t be in position to add free-agent help for at least two more years and won’t have Antetokounmpo’s sidekick, Damian Lillard, for most, if not all of next season after hetore his Achilles.

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Lillard turns 35 in July, had already lost at least half a step following other injuries and a blood clot scare, Brook Lopez is 37 and a free agent, and the team can’t trade for the help it needs since it doesn’t control its own first-round pick until 2031 (seven drafts from now!). Yikes.

Milwaukee wisely acquired Jrue Holiday from New Orleans and that propelled them to a title. Then they erred in going all-in on offence in getting Lillard and not ensuring that Holiday would not be re-routed from Portland to arch-rival Boston, leading to a Celtics title last year.

Antetokounmpo is as competitive as they come, the pursuit of championships drives the two-time NBA MVP and deep down he has to know there is no pathway to a second championship in Wisconsin.

He will want to land with a team that has a legitimate shot at a title. Milwaukee will want to move him (if that’s the only option he gives them after years of loyalty) to the highest bidder. Would the Raptors make sense then?

Probably not, but perhaps — if everyone does a lot of squinting.

Toronto won 30 games this season, a step up from the 25 two years ago, and added Brandon Ingram, positioning itself as a play-in shoo-in and playoff threat with good health next season.

That’s not exactly the contender Antetokounmpo craves, though. And if Scottie Barnes would be the key piece necessary to outbid any other suitors, would (A) Toronto move its franchise player, a 23-year-old it believes has all-NBA potential, along with other assets like a Top 10 pick this year, future firsts or pick swaps and, say Gradey Dick or Ja’Kobe Walter and Milwaukee native Ochai Agbaji, for a 30-year-old — even one as great as Antetokounmpo?

And, if so, could (B) Antetokounmpo be convinced that a lineup led by himself, Ingram, Jakob Poeltl, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett would be able to contend and worth uprooting for?

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Maybe, but there would be spacing issues with he and Barrett both looking to attack the paint relentlessly and with Poeltl also being a non-threat from outside.

Antetokounmpo also doesn’t scream ideal fit in Darko Rajakovic’s offensive system, since he can stop the ball and bulldoze his way through defenders at times.

But again, if everyone squints, maybe it makes sense. But we wouldn’t bet on Giannis-to-Toronto for now.

Antetokounmpo arguably is still the third- or fourth-best player in the NBA and the most dominant physical force since Shaquille O’Neal.

While plenty of teams will be after him, the league’s new collective bargaining agreement makes mega-deals far harder to pull off and that reality has to be coupled with the fact most teams don’t both appeal to Antetokounmpo and have the assets the Bucks will be seeking if they move him.

Houston and Orlando seem like more plausible trade partners, with New Orleans and San Antonio also making some sense.

The Rockets just finished second in the extremely tough Western Conference, have all kinds of young talent and own a number of juicy future first-round picks from franchises that could really stink when those selections come due.

What if Houston offered all-star 22-year-old centre Alperen Sengun, 2024 third-overall pick Reed Sheppard, talented wing Cam Whitmore and 2027 first-round picks from Brooklyn and Phoenix, plus the 2029 Suns pick? It’s hard to see anyone beating that potential offering and it’s definitely better than Toronto’s theoretical package.

It’s a lot for Houston, but they’d be a nightmare to try to score against and could find a way offensively. Antetokounmpo has two years left and can opt in for a third, is an MVP finalist seemingly every year, has made the all-NBA first team seven years in a row and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.

Orlando is another grind-it-out up-and-comer in a weaker conference. Its offer would have to include 25.9 point a game scorer and former No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero, 2023 No. 6 selection Anthony Black and a big man (Wendell Carter or Jonathan Isaac), plus picks (Orlando has its own plus some from other teams to barter with). That’s also arguably better than a Raptors offer.

The Pelicans, under new management, don’t seem a likely bet to satisfy Antetokounmpo’s championship desires, but could entice Milwaukee with an offer of its high lottery pick this year (New Orleans has the fourth-best odds of landing Cooper Flagg), Zion Williamson (a huge injury risk, but a supreme talent), C.J. McCollum (a skilled veteran on an expiring contract), a return of Milwaukee’s own 2026 first-rounder (previously acquired in the Holiday trade), plus a handful of other first-round picks, the quantity depending on where this year’s pick lands.

San Antonio could try to create the most ridiculous front court in NBA history, potentially featuring Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama, by sending over scoring guard Devin Vassell, intriguing big man Jeremy Sochan, cap ballast and two lottery picks this year (its own and Atlanta’s), plus four or five other firsts from various teams from 2026 until 2031.

The two giants plus De’Aaron Fox would be a scary sight, but this seems unlikely unless the Spurs move up in the lottery this year.

Finally, what about an all-timer of a trade: Antetokounmpo to Phoenix for Kevin Durant, plus 2026, 2028 and 2030 Suns first-rounders to make up for the age and durability gap between the two future hall of famers?

Antetokounmpo and Devin Booker would be interesting, while Durant is reportedly unhappy in Phoenix anyway.

@WolstatSun