Utah Jazz Mailbag: Could Jazz Trade For Giannis Antetokounmpo?

SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz mailbag, where this week we look at what type of package the Jazz could piece together for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Each week we will send out a prompt on X and BlueSky asking for the questions you have about the Jazz.

Then, we’ll respond to as many as we can in that week’s Jazz mailbag.

Jazz Mailbag: What Could A Jazz Trade For Giannis Antetokounmpo Look Like?

Alex From PGH on BlueSky: If the Jazz get the 5th pick, how aggressively do you think they’ll pivot to Giannis, and what do you think it’ll take to get him in a Jazz uniform?

Answer: When Damian Lillard, the greatest basketball product ever from the state of Utah, went down with a torn Achilles on Sunday, a 55-gallon drum of blood was poured into the ocean of sharks that is the NBA.

Related: Damian Lillard Tears Achilles Against Pacers

Every front office and fan base first felt heartbreak for Lillard, who is one of the NBA’s most likable players, before quickly shifting to the potential availability of Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer.

The Milwaukee Bucks are down a major piece for the rest of the playoffs after former Weber State Wildcat Damian Lillard tore his Achilles.https://t.co/nbpikyrdyl

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) April 28, 2025

After all, the Lillard trade was the Bucks’ final Hail Mary to build a second championship roster around the Greek superstar, and when the guard collapsed to the floor, so did the hope of bringing another title to Milwaukee.

While it may sound predatory, several teams around the league (including the Jazz) have been waiting for the watershed moment that forced the Bucks’ hands into trading their superstar, and Lillard’s injury may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

So, how could the Jazz get themselves into the Giannis sweepstakes?

As Alex mentioned in his question, if the Jazz fall to the fifth pick on lottery night, they’ll almost certainly explore options to pivot out of the selection if they see a better opportunity to improve the roster.

Remember, Danny Ainge once tanked a season in Boston in hopes of drafting Kevin Durant, only to slip to fifth, which the Celtics traded to the Seattle Sonics for All-Star Ray Allen, and 12 months later, with the help of Kevin Garnett, Beantown had another championship.

If the Jazz were dead set on landing Antetokounmpo, they could make themselves the frontrunners by including their pick in trade talks, regardless of where it lands on lottery night.

Even if Antetokounmpo doesn’t publicly request a trade, if the Jazz were to land the top selection and with it, the rights to Cooper Flagg, the Bucks would have to listen to any offer Utah put forward.

If the @utahjazz win the NBA Draft Lottery, they’ll select Cooper Flagg with the top pick.

Why is Flagg the runaway best player in this year’s draft, and how would he fit with the current Jazz roster? #takenote https://t.co/kkwTkQjsBk

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) April 23, 2025

However, with few exceptions (if any), it is highly unlikely that an organization would sacrifice seven years of team control over a potential superstar in Flagg for what could be a two-year rental of Antetokounmpo before he can hit free agency.

The question then becomes how high of a pick the Jazz would be willing to throw into an Antetokounmpo trade, and what else they would have to give up to complete the deal.

If the Jazz were to pull off this blockbuster trade, they would have to retain enough talent to prove to Antetokounmpo that they could compete for a title before he opts out of his contract two summers from now.

Should Lauri Markkanen be included in the trade, along with the matching salaries of select young players, would the Jazz have enough talent between John Collins, Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler, and the leftover youngsters to catch the Oklahoma City Thunder in the next 24 months?

That might depend on what other moves the team could pull off this summer to build out the rest of the roster.

If the @utahjazz fail to land the top overall pick, Ace Bailey is a name they’ll take a close look at in the top five.

How would the high-scoring wing fit with this Jazz roster?#TakeNote https://t.co/E2reMUaLWj

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) April 28, 2025

Could the Jazz offer their lottery pick (2-5), the salaries of Collins, Sexton, Clarkson, and Isaiah Collier, plus a combination of future picks, in exchange for Antetokounmpo and Kyle Kuzma, giving the Bucks a high draft pick, tradable expiring deals, a promising young guard, draft capital, and salary cap relief, in order to keep Markkanen and Kessler in Utah with Giannis?

Is giving up the right to draft Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, or VJ Edgecombe too rich for a two-year Antetokounmpo rental, even if they’re inferior prospects to Flagg?

And on the flipside, what deals would Milwaukee be turning down to accept an offer from the Jazz?

The San Antonio Spurs have young talent and nine tradable first-round picks, the Oklahoma City Thunder have Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, several other young players, and 10 tradable first-round picks, the Brooklyn Nets have 12 tradable first-round picks, while the Houston Rockets have young talent and four tradable first-round picks.

All of those teams are already better than the Jazz, and would seriously explore a blockbuster move for Antetokounmpo with confidence that they could retain him in 2027.

Ultimately, the Jazz would be attempting to thread the thin needle of offering the best package for Antetokounmpo, retaining enough talent to compete with him in Utah over the next two years, while also beating out other trade offers around the NBA.

It’s not impossible to do, but the Jazz may not be as desperate as other teams, nor as close to a championship as they would need to be to justify what would be an enormous cost for the Bucks superstar.

Want to ask questions in next week’s Jazz mailbag? Give us a follow at @kslsports.

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Ben Anderson is the author of the Jazz Mailbag, a Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports, and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky. 

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