For the better part of Giannis Antetokoumpo’s unique path to NBA stardom from an obscure and humble background in Greece, his older brother Thanasis has been with him throughout this journey. So close is their association that it is clear that the only reason he occupies one of the very coveted roster spots on an NBA team is because of Giannis’ star power.
To keep NBA superstars happy, teams go over and beyond to please them by accommodating their entourage, enabling their perks and stretching team rules to please their egos. For Milwaukee, that has to do with signing Giannis’ brother and keeping him on the roster but the day of reckoning is coming in what is sure to be a big way.
One of the biggest ways to identify NBA superstars is via name initials or on a first name basis and Giannis Antetokounmpo fits this bill as he is simply known as Giannis; say Giannis and pretty much every basketball person knows who you are talking about.
There is also LeBron [LeBron James for the uninitiated], MJ [Michael Jordan], Steph [Stephen Curry], Kobe [Kobe Bryant], KD [Kevin Durant], Luka [Luka Doncic] among others.
Giannis’ greatness however is largely limited to the court but off the court there is a challenge and it has something to do with the market he plays in. Prime location and prime production works hand in hand. There is a reason players in the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) List are tied to the big markets. For all his greatness, LeBron James needed to move from Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat and later to the Los Angeles Lakers to become an unquestioned global superstar. Kobe played in Los Angeles and Curry is in San Francisco which buttresses the abovementioned point.
Association is also very important in the evaluation of a career especially a career in a sport like basketball where nitpicking is the order of the day to determine players’ greatness. It is for this reason Dennis Rodman is largely rated higher in the best defensive players list than Ben Wallace since Rodman played on the legendary Bad Boys Detroit Pistons team with basketball icon Isiah Thomas and with Chicago Bulls alongside Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
San Antonio is one of the smallest markets in the NBA and in the US at large and allied to his quiet demeanor, this played a big role in how Tim Duncan’s super career is so underrated that many believe Kobe’s career was better than Duncan’s. Giannis has a more lively personality than Duncan and though San Antonio isn’t necessary the kind of market to single handedly shoot up into the superstar stratosphere, it is the best place for him to get that and also win at least one more NBA title as his play deserves.
Pairing Giannis with another star in Wemby [Victor Wembanyama] in San Antonio sorts out the two items noted in the past sentence. Reports are rife that Giannis is on the trading block as he is unhappy with the direction of the club as the team’s title chances are limited with little to no room to improve on it by making trade or attracting free agents. Free agents aren’t moving to Milwaukee because it is Milwaukee not Miami and the Bucks moved premium draft picks to get Damian Lillard whose injury woes failed to get Milwaukee closer to winning a title.
As such, there are very fertile grounds for a trade; a star player wanting to leave and his team in desperate need for a reboot on draft picks and space on the salary cap sheet to want to make the trade. The New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves are serious contenders to trade for Giannis but neither team has the best trade package to match what the Spurs can offer.
For a trade to materialize between teams, salaries must match and “trade value” must also match and this is how the Spurs hold the upper hand over the other contenders. Giannis’s contract this season is worth $54 million and to get close in matching that, Spurs need to include Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan and Harrison Barnes in the trade. Johnson and Barnes have a combined sum of $36 million while Sochan’s contract is worth $7 million this season culminating in a $43 million financial base. To top it up to the tune of $54 million, San Antonio can add Stephon Castle and three first round draft picks to the package for Giannis.
For San Antonio, pairing Wemby and Giannis recreates the team’s iconic “Twin Tower” combo of Duncan and David Robinson that led to the Spurs winning two NBA titles. Giannis and Wembanyama have very complementary game styles that wins beneath or close to the rim or from three point range without compromising the team defensively. Pairing a 6 foot 11 inch Giannis with a 7 foot 5 inch Wembanyama would definitely be something to behold with DeA’aron Fox manning the point position.
It also speeds up the team’s steps to winning an NBA title; as presently constructed and competing in the Western Conference, it would take at least two seasons if not more for the Spurs to win an NBA title. However, they correct this by trading for Giannis without depleting its depth that would be needed for sustained playoff runs while removing a major block to rookie guard Dylan Harper’s transition to play significant minutes moving forward.
On the part of Milwaukee, making such a trade aids the club to clear up its messy salary sheet that will account for the rest of Damian Lillard’s contract that will spread out $113 million owed to the point guard over a five year period. Barnes and Sochan have expiring contracts at the end of this season while Keldon Johnson’s deal comes off the books at the end of the 2026-2027 season. Beyond finances, trading for Stephon Castle ensures Milwaukee gets one of the best young players in the game to pair with another fast rising young guard in Ryan Rollins for multiple years to come.
Milwaukee get even more chances to create further salary cap space to sign Castle and Rollins to lucrative multi-year contract extensions by dumping Kyle Kuzma’s contract that expires at the end of the 2026-2027 season. Should Myles Turner keep playing well, he could serve as the defensive anchor behind Rollins and Castle if the latter pair ascends the NBA stardom ladder to make Milwaukee an Eastern Conference playoff mainstay and a semifinal contender or he could also get traded for further draft picks and young inexpensive players.
The San Antonio Spurs trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo would be a stark departure from the kind of deal the Dallas Mavericks pulled off that traded away Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers. Such a deal would fit in the rare list of trades that the teams involved walk away from in a better space that before.
