Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talks are only intensifying as the Feb. 5 trade deadline approaches. If the New York Knicks do manage to pull off a trade for the Milwaukee Bucks superstar in the coming days, the Portland Trail Blazers could find themselves playing a key role as a facilitator. Milwaukee would certainly want insurance on its future if it moved on from Giannis, making the draft picks from the Damian Lillard deal even more valuable.
Meanwhile, the Blazers have "long admired" Knicks wing Mikal Bridges (subscription required), according to NBA insider Jake Fischer. So there's a realistic scenario in which Portland can come away with a key piece of its own in a multi-team deal.
It's a lot to sort out, so credit CBS Sports' Sam Quinn for attempting to make sense of it all in the form of a blockbuster three-team deal that could benefit all involved parties -- much easier said than done.
If the Blazers are interested in Mikal Bridges as Jake Fischer suggested, we might have a workable Giannis/Knicks outline here.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) January 24, 2026
I imagine Portland wouldn't want to give up Bucks pick control in all three years, but maybe something like this: pic.twitter.com/wdUithPLNv
Here is the deal in full:
Knicks receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jerami Grant
Bucks receive: Karl-Anthony Towns, Miles McBride, Pacôme Dadiet, a 2026 first-round pick from New York (via Washington), a 2028 first-round pick from Portland (via Orlando), return of 2028 and 2030 first-round pick swaps (via Portland), and 2030 and 2023 first-round pick swaps (via New York)
Blazers receive: Mikal Bridges and Guerschon Yabusele
Blazers cash in some of their valuable Bucks chips for Mikal Bridges
In this scenario, the Blazers part ways with an overpaid veteran in Jerami Grant, the 2028 first-round pick (via Orlando) they received from their draft-day trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, and Milwaukee's first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030 from the Lillard deal.
Not quite the haul New York sent to land Bridges in the first place, but the Knicks would not be complaining about depreciated value if it ultimately nets them a top-five player in the world.
In fact, Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey recently graded this mock deal for all three teams, giving the Knicks an A, Bucks a B, and Blazers a B-.
That sounds about right from Portland's standpoint. The Blazers accelerate their rebuilding timeline by adding an impactful two-way wing in Bridges, someone they've always wanted and who is a perfect fit for the defensive identity general manager Joe Cronin has established. They also manage to finally shed Grant's contract, all while only surrendering one true first-round pick -- and a projected late one at that.
So why isn't this a no-brainer for Portland? It's simply the value of those pick swaps and the upside they have thanks to an already crumbling Bucks roster that would absolutely fall apart without Giannis.
Portland may want to diversify its future investment and dump one of those swaps so that it's not overly dependent on Milwaukee's future. But they'd also be kicking themselves if it resulted in a top-five pick and all they had to show for it was Bridges.