The 2026 NBA Draft order is set after the Washington Wizards won the first overall pick in the lottery on Sunday. With the lottery completed, the fun part of draft season begins for teams whose offseason has already begun: digging in on prospects and ramping up trade discussions. The biggest of those potential deals is a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, as has been the case for nearly a year, as the former two-time MVP’s tenure in Milwaukee has seemingly run its course.
While Antetokounmpo hasn’t issued a formal trade request and the Bucks spent the entire 2025-26 season on the fence about dealing him, they are now “open for business” on the Antetokounmpo trade front, per ESPN. While that’s not a surprise, it is a step closer to confirmation that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks will finally part ways this summer rather than reaching an agreement on a contract extension to continue the saga.
The timing of that report comes after a Draft Lottery that wasn’t particularly kind to the Bucks. While they weren’t the biggest losers of the lottery — sorry, Pacers — the way the balls bounced on Sunday wasn’t helpful to Milwaukee’s cause in quickly rebuilding on the heels of an Antetokounmpo trade.
For one, the Bucks did not miraculously move up in the lottery and will instead hold the 10th overall pick in June. That was always a long shot given that the Atlanta Hawks owned the better of Milwaukee and New Orleans’ picks, meaning both would’ve needed to move up for the Bucks to jump. Perhaps more critically, none of the teams that landed top-3 picks figure to have any interest in an Antetokounmpo deal, meaning Milwaukee isn’t likely to turn Giannis into an immediate franchise-type player in this year’s draft.
The Washington Wizards are finally ready to take the next step in a rebuild, but have been desperate to land a young star for years and now have the means to do so. While Washington will reportedly listen to offers for the No. 1 pick, that’s expected to be talks with the other teams at the top of the lottery to move down a position or two, not to trade it for Antetokounmpo.
The Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies are both mid-rebuild as well and in search of a franchise cornerstone. The Jazz might be interested in flipping No. 2 and something else for that No. 1 pick to land BYU star AJ Dybantsa, but trading it for Antetokounmpo doesn’t make much sense.
The best pick the Bucks could probably hope to get in an Antetokounmpo trade at this point is No. 4 overall from the Chicago Bulls. That would require not only the Bulls to have interest, but for Antetokounmpo to want to make the short move from Milwaukee to the Windy City. Superstar trades rarely involve a surprise destination, and that’s especially the case for a star on an expiring deal. The Bucks will have to work with Antetokounmpo to send him to a preferred destination where he’s willing to sign an extension, and that list may not include any teams currently in the top 10.
The Golden State Warriors (pick No. 11) and Miami Heat (pick No. 13) have been hovering around the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes for years and might be the only lottery teams Giannis has interest in joining — although the Warriors may not even be on the list, as Antetokounmpo reportedly has his eyes on staying in the East. Neither of those two rosters is teeming with young talent, but the Bucks may have to settle for as many picks as they can get and hope to strike gold again in the late lottery like they did with Antetokounmpo more than a decade ago.
All told, the Draft Lottery didn’t change much on the Antetokounmpo trade front. The Bucks are never going to find a trade that brings back true value for a player who, when healthy, is still pretty conservatively a top-5 player in the league. Their challenge is figuring out what they value most and finding the team Antetokounmpo is interested in that can give them the best possible return.
Unfortunately for Milwaukee, after the lottery, it’s hard to see that return include a top pick in the loaded 2026 NBA Draft.
