Report: Nets Still Targeting Giannis Antetokounmpo

There being just seven games remaining in the 2024-25 NBA season isn't deterring the Brooklyn Nets from exploring future transactions.

Per Brian Lewis of the New York Post, Brooklyn and general manager Sean Marks still see Giannis Antetokounmpo as the eventual centerpiece of what was meant to be a long, complete rebuild.

"Multiple league personnel that have spoken with The Post say Giannis Antetokounmpo has been and remains Plan A for the Nets," Lewis wrote on Monday.

Equipped with the most cap space leaguewide and likely a top selection in this summer's draft, Marks certainly has the assets available to swing the blockbuster deal. That's not the concern. Antetokounmpo's willingness to be moved—as well as whatever the Milwaukee Bucks' asking price may be—are still yet to be determined.

The Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic at February's deadline shook the professional basketball landscape, while also forging the question: what exactly are franchise cornerstones worth?

Would perhaps a sign-and-trade involving Cam Thomas, the Nets' draft choice this summer—on top of multiple other first-round picks—be enough to get the deal done? Antetokounmpo, 30, is under contract through the 2027-28 season, but an unwillingness to remain in Milwaukee could work in Brooklyn's favor. That is, of course, if the two-time MVP believes he can no longer win a championship with the organization that drafted him over a decade ago.

Lewis continued by pondering should the "Greek Freak" be dealt to someone other than the Nets, Marks could commit to constructing in house, abandoning the "trade for a superstar" blueprint.

"If Antetokounmpo gets traded elsewhere this summer, that may make GM Sean Marks’ path simple, tanking for another year and building through the lottery," he wrote.

Brooklyn has attempted this multiple times before, and it hasn't worked out yet. Assembling superteams by trading for big-time names in 2013 (trading for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett) and in 2019/2021 (signing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, trading for James Harden) set the franchise back decades in its development.

However, with Jordi Fernandez—a player development guru—now at the helm, both he and Marks may be able to supply Antetokounmpo with an ample supporting cast in a hypothetical championship quest.