Several teams appear to be dropping out of the race for The Greek Freak.
At least five teams are not expected to factor into the trade sweepstakes for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer said during a livestream on Tuesday. Those five teams are the Boston Celtics, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Houston Rockets.
Antetokounmpo, the 31-year-old former NBA MVP, is under contract for $58.5 million next season. He can test free agency in the summer of 2027 (by turning down a $62.8 million player option), which thus gives Antetokounmpo some significant leverage over where he will ultimately end up.
Some teams might be getting scared off by the fact that Antetokounmpo appeared in just 36 games this season due to injury and missed at least 10 games in six of the seven seasons prior to that. Other teams have also reportedly been put off by Antetokounmpo’s brothers Thanasis and Alex (who would likely accompany him on the roster of any potential new team).
That said, there are still plenty of other teams left in the race for Antetokounmpo aside from the five aforementioned ones not expected to factor in. Earlier this week, we learned that two specific teams were already in hot pursuit of the 10-time All-Star forward.
Additionally, there appear to be some longshot teams left pursuing Antetokounmpo as well. One such team is the Los Angeles Lakers, whose reported trade offer for Antetokounmpo was recently revealed.
