Latest Giannis update proves Suns could get into mix if he becomes available

If there is one franchise that currently has no chance of landing what appears to be the next disgruntled superstar to switch teams in the NBA in Giannis Antetokounmpo, it is without question the Phoenix Suns. Assuming they want to keep Devin Booker in town - and every indication is that they do - they don't have the draft picks or trade assets to make a move happen.

Giannis has never shown any desire to want to swap Milwaukee for The Valley - if the rumors are to be believed it is the New York Knicks that hold the most appeal to him - while from a legacy standpoint swapping the Bucks for the team he beat in the NBA Finals back in 2021 doesn't appear to make any sense either. And yet...

Suns will be in better position to try for Giannis in 2026.

If you allow us to dream for a moment - which heading into the 2025-26 season is about all Phoenix has got - this may look like a different conversation in 12 months. As Marc Stein laid out in his most recent substack below, the expectation around the league is that Antetokounmpo will not get traded midseason.

This suits the Suns, because right now they have zero outside of Booker to offer up. But come next year - and if the new players they got in their various deals this offseason pop - Milwaukee might at least pick up the phone and entertain a conversation. Also worth pointing out is the well-established fact that Suns' owner Mat Ishbia has absolutely zero patience when it comes to team building.

He might have gotten burned by Kevin Durant in the past, but if he could trade everything except Booker to land Giannis, you know that he would. He's not alone in that either, but Ishbia and his front office would be coming to trade talks armed with an additional first round pick for way, way down the road, which is at least a starting point.

Given Ishbia's methods of doing business, Suns first rounders have been among the most sought after picks in recent years, and for good reason. Then there is rookie center Khaman Maluach, who at 19-years-old could yet morph into a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Obviously so much has to go right for that to be the case, but let's look at this from the most optimistic point of view here.

You would think that midseason Phoenix could get a first round pick - or perhaps even two - out of the likes of Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, Nick Richards or even Oso Ighodaro. Much as Suns fans love both Ighodaro and Ryan Dunn, both would either have to be in a Giannis deal or else moved on to recoup some draft picks to get that massive trade completed. No point getting too attached then.

Jalen Green would also need to have an All-Star level season to really make this conversation interesting, given he is still only 23-years-old. As for Dillon Brooks? Hard to see a rebuilding Bucks having any interest, although the Suns never looked likely to land him this summer and he's already in town and changing the culture, so never say never.

Of course this is madness to consider, but so often we're blindsided by monster deals that get done. If we're being told Antetokounmpo won't get traded until next summer, then the Suns have a full year to look as appealing as possible as a trade partner. After all, the Bucks are already panicking if their own latest acquisition is anything to go by. Crazier things have happened.