A blockbuster swap involving Giannis Antetokounmpo and former No. 1 pick Zion Williamson could happen this summer if the Milwaukee Bucks and the New Orleans Pelicans decide to change course.
Brandon Robinson, a former senior writer at Heavy, who now runs his own sports website, Scoop B, reported that the Pelicans will join the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes if the Bucks star becomes available with Williamson as the headliner of a rich trade package.
“Sources tell me new Pelicans President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars will be meeting with Zion Williamson in the near future, as the franchise continues to evaluate its future. I’m told Zion could very well be on the table in a potential Giannis deal if Milwaukee chooses to explore trade options,” Robinson wrote.
Getty Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans are in trade rumors.
Williamson was the No. 1 pick in 2019. But his extensive injury history has prevented him from becoming a perennial All-Star in New Orleans.
The 24-year-old power forward has only played 214 of a possible 472 games in his first six seasons in the league. He’s a two-time NBA All-Star who, when healthy is one of the elite power forwards in the league.
The former Duke star averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks in 30 games before the Pelicans shut him down after sustaining a low back bone contusion after a fall during a March 19 game in Minnesota.
The change of leadership in New Orleans could lead to a Williamson trade this summer, according to Robinson.
“This isn’t just speculation. There’s been growing frustration internally between Zion and Pelicans ownership — and while Dumars will get his opportunity to sit down and get a read on Zion firsthand, I’m told that a trade involving the former No. 1 overall pick is very much on the table this offseason,” Robinson wrote.
Bucks Will Only Trade Giannis on One Condition
While the Pelicans are mulling getting out of the Williamson business, the Bucks are not as keen on trading away their franchise star.
They will only trade Antetokounmpo if he requests it, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
“I don’t think Giannis himself does not want to go to the Bucks and say, ‘Trade me.’ But next year, there’s no way with Damian Lillard carrying a salary of nearly 60 million — they don’t have control of their own first-round pick till 2031 — they don’t have a pathway to build a contender around him at this point,” Stein said on the “All NBA” podcast. “But the rumbles that you always hear are that just having Giannis is so important to them financially. They’re not going to trade him unless he pushes it.”
Antetokounmpo wants to win a second ring. However, Damian Lillard‘s Achilles injury and the Bucks’ lack of assets and financial flexibility put them in a tough spot.
Pelicans Will Not Only Be Giannis’ Trade Suitor
If Antetokounmpo seeks a trade, the Bucks will likely auction him off, unlike the Dallas Mavericks, who only had one team in mind when they traded Luka Doncic.
But Antetokounmpo will have a say where he wants to go next, with no history of bad blood between him and the Bucks management.
“The whole league is on edge, waiting to see will Giannis’ representatives go to the Bucks and say, ‘It’s time. Move us, hold the auction, and start over.’ I don’t think the Bucks want to do that,” Stein said. “You could make the case that they should want to do that, that they should say, ‘Let’s go out and get the largest haul we can get back for Giannis,’ but I don’t think the Bucks are there. We’re going to see where Giannis is.”
Bucks Linked to Former No. 1 Pick for Giannis Antetokounmpo