Giannis Antetokounmpo has finally indicated that he wants out of Milwaukee. The Bucks aren't in a rush to trade him by the Feb. 5 trade deadline and could wait until the offseason to deal their superstar if the right deal doesn't present itself in the coming week. They have an asking price of a "blue-chip young talent and/or surplus of draft picks," according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
In other words, the Bucks want to initiate a full-on rebuild in their post-Giannis era, and they're willing to wait until they find the best package to help achieve that. There's no better way for them to improve their long-term outlook than to get their own picks back from the Blazers.
Bucks picks give Blazers unique leverage in Giannis sweepstakes
Thanks to the Damian Lillard trade, Portland has Milwaukee's 2028 first-round pick as well as swaps in 2028 and 2030. Without them, the Bucks would have no incentive to bottom out. That's the last place a rebuilding team wants to be in -- a struggling roster with no end in sight.
That bleak future outlook is what ultimately led a loyal superstar like Giannis to request a trade. He realized this roster was going nowhere fast, and the rumored trade targets like Zach LaVine or Jerami Grant weren't going to solve any of their problems in the scheme of things.
Giannis' trade request could prove to be a blessing in disguise for the Bucks, as it saved their front office from itself. Instead of digging a deeper hole at the deadline, they are finally forced to think about their future.
Landing Giannis is still a pipe dream for Portland, but the rest of the league should be concerned if they do decide to accelerate their timeline by pursuing such an aggressive move. The Blazers have unique leverage thanks to those picks and could offer the Bucks something no other team could.
They don't have the "blue-chip young talent" to trade, especially since Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara are essentially unavailable due to their extensions prior to the season. But they do have multiple up-and-coming players they could include in a package for the Bucks to build around, whether that's Scoot Henderson and/or Donovan Clingan.
Adding two recent top-10 picks and getting your own draft capital back has to be the best option for Milwaukee. The Blazers could even include additional first-round picks to sweeten the deal.
The Bucks are wisely planning a rebuild without Giannis, judging by their reported asking price. And while other teams have young players or picks that could field a competitive offer, no team can combine both better than Portland.
How do you beat Portland's potential offer when Milwaukee wants to tear down its roster and get its own picks back? That's the selling point of these entire sweepstakes.