There's one surprising team that may be the key to the Milwaukee Bucks possibly trading Giannis Antetokounmpo.
After three straight disappointing endings to their season, it's natural for the Milwaukee Bucks to be questioning their future. Even more so after the disastrous injury to Damian Lillard. Heading into the offseason, the Bucks are not in an enviable position. In fact, the argument can be made that they're in a pretty bad one. So much so that there may be only one move to save this franchise - trading Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks don't completely own their first-round pick until 2031, they don't have any attractive tradable contracts, or any talented young players to build around. They're stuck. Giannis has been their saving grace for years, but at a certain point, the Bucks may have to cash in on that asset in order to dig themselves out of the mess they've made over the last few years. Losing in the first round of the NBA Playoffs again, the Bucks may have arrived at that point.
Of course, a Giannis trade wouldn't be simple, for several reasons. In fact, if the Bucks were to explore a Giannis bidding war this offseason, there's one surprising team that could play an extremely important role in a deal getting done.
Why the New Orleans Pelicans are the key to a Giannis trade
Of all teams, it's the New Orleans Pelicans who hold the key to a potential Giannis trade. Why? Well, it's pretty simple. In the event that the Bucks want to blow up their roster with a trade of Giannis, you'd have to imagine that would mean a pivot toward a rebuilding phase. There's nothing surprising there. However, one variable that could complicate things is the fact that the Bucks don't have control over their next two first-round picks.
Milwaukee's 2026 and 2027 first-round pick is controlled by the Pelicans. The Pelicans own the right to swap first-round picks over the next two seasons if they want. That would make the Bucks' blowing up their roster right now a somewhat polarizing decision. Because of that, you'd imagine the Bucks would want to get those swaps back from the Pelicans in any potential trade for Giannis.
But that could be costly. Why would the Pelicans do this favor for the Bucks without some major compensation coming their way? They shouldn't. They wouldn't. And that's what makes the Pelicans such a key player in a potential Giannis trade.
Could Giannis still demand a trade in a way where the Bucks would listen and do right by him? Sure. However, for Milwaukee's sake, it would be beneficial for them to at the very least include the Pelicans in those conversations. Whether a deal could be had remains to be seen, but it's certainly something else to think about heading into the offseason.
As the whispers continue to grow louder and louder surrounding a potential trade of Giannis, it's not going to be that simple. And the Pelicans, all of a sudden, could very much emerge as a key player in the Giannis talk (if it continues to gain momentum) this offseason.