Giannis Antetokounmpo will be on the move this summer—it's not any stretch of the imagination to see this coming into fruition.
After an absolutely anticlimactic trade deadline this February, Giannis' clock in Milwaukee has been delayed until June, at least. After being at odds with the organization for the better part of a year, the evidence is overwhelming that he will begin the 2026-2027 season battling under a new banner.
The multi-million-dollar question remains—who's most likely to get him? Unfortunately for Atlanta, they may have been overtaken by a surprising new foe: the Portland Trail Blazers.
Portland's surprising rise to power in the loaded Western Conference
Portland is making its case on two critical fronts. First and foremost, they're proving that their core is legit and ready to take the next step with the addition of Giannis.
Prior to the postseason, the Blazers were written off as bottom-conference fodder in an utterly ludicrous West. Teams like the Jokic-led Nuggets, Shai's Thunder, Wemby's Spurs, and Luka's Lakers headlined a playoff stack that seemed impossible for Portland to crack.
Coach Tiago Splitter had other ideas, though. Winning 42 games en route to a Play-In Tournament victory against the Phoenix Suns ultimately bought them a ticket to a 2-7 series with San Antonio.
The Blazers were able to steal a down-to-the-wire Game 2 against the red-hot San Antonio Spurs, tying the series at 1-1. Even without Wembanyama, the Spurs are quite fearsome—they won 28 of their final 30 regular season games, after all.
While Portland seems fated to lose to San Antonio with Victor's inevitable return from concussion protocol—and a Wemby-less victory on the road in game three to hamstring Portland to a 1-2 series deficit—they've already sent their message to Giannis.
Unfortunately for Atlanta—who are clearly sending the exact same message thanks to their shocking demolition of New York in back-to-back Game 2 and Game 3 victories—Portland owns something Atlanta only owns in part: Milwaukee's future.
Milwaukee's pick situation is complicated, but favors Portland
During the Giannis era, Milwaukee doled out a plethora of picks, through 2030. See their situation below:
Pick Year | Pick Rights |
|---|---|
2026 | ATL receives more favorable of NOP/MIL, NOP receives 2nd most favorable |
2027 | NOP receives most favorable of NOP/MIL, ATL receives 2nd most favorable. If both NOP, MIL are top 4, NOP receives both |
2028 | Swap worst, POR |
2029 | Swap worst, POR. WAS may swap their pick for worst of POR/MIL |
2030 | Swap worst, POR |
At present, New Orleans controls the Bucks' 2026 and 2027 picks, with the caveat that if the Bucks' 2027 pick falls outside of the top-four range and New Orleans picks higher than Milwaukee, Atlanta owns the rights to Milwaukee's pick.
While Atlanta has some degree of bargaining power with Milwaukee's future picks, they're outbid by both New Orleans and Portland. The Trail Blazers own the exclusive right to swap picks with Milwaukee for three consecutive years—a monopoly if ever there was one.
Atlanta could make things interesting by trading Risacher, Kuminga, and other young assets to package with Milwaukee's two picks that they own partial rights to (2026, 2027), but Portland simply has more leverage.
Look for Portland to make an emphatic run at The Greek Freak this summer—something along the lines of Deni Avdija, Jerami Grant, Shaedon Sharpe, and Milwaukee's full locker of picks returned to them in exchange for Giannis.
If Onsi wants to make things competitive, he'll have to dig deep into the Hawks' treasure chest—an idea that may prove too costly to overcome.
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