Getty

Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls would land two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in this Heavy Sports trade proposal.

The Chicago Bulls have resisted the slow build that typical rebuilds require for years, and the only way to win in the NBA is with stars. Those two factors come together to form the impetus for a new trade proposal that would see the Bulls land Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetkounmpo’s future is again in question following an early playoff exit from his Milwaukee Bucks against the Indiana Pacers.

This Heavy Sports trade proposal aims to land Antetokounmpo in line with a recent suggestion.

Bulls get:

• Giannis Antetokounmpo

Bucks get:

• Coby White
• Kevin Huerter
• Patrick Williams
• 2025 first-round pick
• 2026 first-round pick (lottery protected via POR)
• 2027 first-round pick

NBC Sports’ Logan Reardon listed Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis as potential trade assets for the Bulls to land Antetokounmpo in an article on April 30. Giddey is a restricted free agent, though, and Buzelis just finished an uneven rookie season, making their value difficult to gauge.

Sending Williams offloads the remaining four years of his five-year, $90 million contract. Moving White avoids having to pay him another extension.

Huerter’s inclusion in the proposed trade is as salary-matching fodder on the Bulls’ end.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bulls Comments Resurface After Bucks’ Elimination

Antetokounmpo just finished a would-be five-year, $228.2 million contract in four years, with a three-year, $173 million extension taking its place starting in 2025-26. He has flirted with the idea of playing for the Bulls before, and those remarks have started to turn heads again.

Even then, though, he reaffirmed his allegiance to the Bucks in response to a direct question.

“I think anybody you asked that question – that plays basketball – if he said no, he would be a liar. It’s a team that won the multiple championships. It’s a team that one of the greatest players, if not the greatest player, to ever play this game, played for. So it’s a no-brainer. Everybody would love to play for Chicago,” Antetokounmpo told reporters in August 2022. “Down the line, you never know. We never know how life brings it. Maybe I play for Chicago. But for now,  I am committed to Milwaukee.”

He left the door open for a potential exit after getting bounced from the playoffs. He said he could not offer the same level of commitment to the Bucks as in previous years.

Milwaukee’s playoff exit is compounded by the fact that Damian Lillard is expected to miss most if not all of the 2025-26 regular season after tearing his Achilles during the postseason. The Bucks also lack the assets to acquire further roster upgrades.

Bulls a Longshot for Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade

If that package seems light for a player of Antetokounmpo’s ilk, Reardon certainly agreed that the Bulls would likely be a long shot landing spot.

“Another big-market team that has long been linked to Antetokounmpo but probably doesn’t have the pieces to make a trade happen,” Reardon wrote. “Some of the Bulls’ young players took steps forward this season, but the lack of picks makes this less intriguing — unless, of course, Chicago has some lottery luck this year.”

Moreover, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas has also asked for “patience” from fans this offseason. That was a notable departure from his previous messaging about seeking roster upgrades.

All of that is before even considering the bidding war that would take place if Antetokounmpo were made available.

At that point, it might take an outright request for the Bulls to be serious suitors for the star.