The latest NBA rumors may end up having quite a big effect on the Portland Trail Blazers and their future plans. According to trusted journalist and insider Marc Stein, there is already growing anticipation about the Milwaukee Bucks attempting to include the New Orleans Pelicans or the Trail Blazers in a potential trade involving Giannis Antetokounmpo. If Portland ends up being involved, they may be able to free themselves from Deandre Ayton's contract.
Let's give some context to this situation. The Bucks are in the midst of losing in round one of the playoffs for three seasons in a row. Clearly, things are not going well for what should be a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference.
It was reported earlier in the week that Giannis will explore playing elsewhere outside Milwaukee for the first time in his career this summer, although he hasn't officially requested a trade. That obviously creates a lot of interesting scenarios for a lot of teams around the league.
When it comes to the Blazers, they would have a chance to do business with the Bucks for a second time in the last two years. Of course, with the first being the September 2023 trade that sent Damian Lillard to Milwaukee.
The Blazers were listed as a potential player in a Giannis trade
Perhaps the most pertinent piece of information in this report would be that the Bucks are supposedly going to prioritize recouping draft capital if they do end up opting to trade Antetokounmpo this summer. What that means for Portland is a potentially big opportunity.
Of course, option number one would involve Giannis landing with the Trail Blazers in the trade. Talk about a dream scenario. But even if Portland is just a part of this trade to help facilitate it, they could use it as a chance to get off of Deandre Ayton's contract.
With one year remaining on his four-year deal, Ayton will be owed $35.5 million next season. He's the highest-paid player on the Blazers' roster. If you're Portland, shedding these types of excessively big contracts are going to be key to gaining flexibility for the road ahead.
Of course, that could also mean packaging draft capital to send to Milwaukee... But the Trail Blazers could hypothetically just end up sending back the picks they got from the Bucks in the 2023 trade for Lillard. Either way, this has the potential to be a great situation for Portland.