Shams confirms several ‘aggressive’ offers made for Giannis (1:46)Shams Charania details the next steps for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks as the trade deadline approaches. (1:46)
Shams CharaniaJan 28, 2026, 11:20 AM ETMultiple Authors
The Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors are among the serious suitors for Antetokounmpo, league sources said.
Milwaukee is currently slated to have a lottery pick in the draft, possessing the less favorable of its own and the New Orleans Pelicans’ selection.
Antetokounmpo, 31, will become eligible to sign a four-year, $275 million supermax extension on Oct. 1. Without an extension, he could become an unrestricted free agent in the 2027 offseason by declining a $62.8 million player option that summer.
Because next season essentially serves as an expiring year on his contract, it increases his ability to position where he wants to be dealt. Any team willing to pay the steep price in both players and draft capital to acquire him would want to know whether he is committed for the long term. If traded in the offseason, Antetokounmpo would have to wait six months from the point of the deal to sign the supermax extension.
When asked Jan. 19 whether he is confident that he will stay with the Bucks for the rest of the season, Antetokounmpo said: “I don’t know. I don’t know. I take it day by day.” Following last Wednesday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Antetokounmpo gave a blunt assessment of the team’s current state.
“We’re not playing hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “We aren’t doing the right thing. We’re not playing to win. We’re not playing together. Our chemistry’s not there. Guys are being selfish, trying to look for their own shots instead of looking for the right shot for the team. Guys trying to do it on their own.”
When he was injured, Antetokounmpo predicted he would miss four to six weeks. On Monday, Rivers wouldn’t speculate on when Antetokounmpo might return from his latest injury.
The Bucks are 15-15 with Antetokounmpo in the lineup, a win percentage that would be good enough to have them in the play-in tournament. With Antetokounmpo off the floor this season, the Bucks have a 106.0 offensive rating, which would rank as the worst in the NBA (the Pacers are last at 108.0). The Bucks are a staggering 15 points per 100 possessions better when he is on the floor versus off, producing at a level that would make them the best in the league.
It’s the story of this season for Milwaukee, which built a team meant to amplify Antetokounmpo’s skills but instead created one incapable of functioning without him.
For the season, Milwaukee is 23rd in offensive efficiency and 23rd in defensive efficiency and is among six teams (Brooklyn, New Orleans, Sacramento, Indiana and Washington) to rank bottom 10 in both.
Antetokounmpo is averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 29.2 minutes per game, leading the NBA in points per minute and shooting the highest-ever field goal percentage (64.5%) for a player scoring 25 points per game.
He carried the Bucks to the 2021 NBA title during a run in which he quickly returned from a gruesome hyperextension in his knee that caused him to miss the last two games of the Eastern Conference finals.
Taken No. 15 in the 2013 draft, Antetokounmpo ranks first in Bucks history in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and games played and is second in steals. In addition to his two MVP awards, he won Most Improved Player honors in 2016-17 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2019-20.
From 2018-19 to 2024-25, the Bucks had the best record in the league at 368-187. Horst creatively retooled annual contending teams around Antetokounmpo with the acquisitions of Jrue Holiday in 2020, along with a host of role players in the lead-up to the 2021 championship, and the Lillard blockbuster in 2023. Both of those transactions led to extensions from Antetokounmpo. But the Bucks have lost in the first round of the playoffs for three consecutive seasons and their pool of assets and total roster talent have been depleted.
Milwaukee has tried to operate as a buyer in the trade market but has not moved forward with a transaction because of the uncertainty around Antetokounmpo’s future and the team’s limited mobility to make a major move. Forwards Bobby Portis and Kyle Kuzma are the main names the Bucks have discussed in trade talks while keeping their one tradable first-round pick (2031 or 2032) off the table unless it is moved for a no-brainer superstar, according to sources. At the draft in June, the Bucks will have their pick that night plus the 2031 and 2033 selections to move in trades.
Shams confirms several ‘aggressive’ offers made for Giannis (1:46)Shams Charania details the next steps for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks as the trade deadline approaches. (1:46)
Shams Charania details the next steps for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks as the trade deadline approaches. (1:46)
ESPN’s Jamal Collier and Bobby Marks and ESPN Research contributed to this report.
General manager Jon Horst, coach Doc Rivers and team ownership sold Antetokounmpo on title contention this season after waiving and stretching Damian Lillard’s remaining $113 million to sign Myles Turner for four years and $108 million. Antetokounmpo, however, expressed concern over the roster in the offseason and explored his best external fits, including wanting a trade to the Knicks if the teams were able to reach a deal, but he recommitted to the Bucks and gave the 2025-26 campaign a true chance.
Shams CharaniaJan 28, 2026, 11:20 AM ETMultiple Authors