The 2025 summer was supposed to center around the Phoenix Suns-Kevin Durant trade sweepstakes, but the latest report from ESPN's Shams Charania changed that. On Monday, the NBA insider reported that Giannis Antetokounmpo is "open-minded" about leaving Milwaukee.
The Pacers eliminated the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year. It was the third time in three seasons that Milwaukee failed to make it past the first round. The Bucks (including Giannis) dealt with injuries the past couple of seasons during the postseason, but that didn't make the early exits any less disappointing.
Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee to its first-ever NBA title in 2021, but since then, the Bucks have made it to the second round once. The front office shook things up before the 2023-24 season when it traded Jrue Holiday to Portland in a package for Damian Lillard. Boston traded for Holiday from Portland, and he won a championship in his first season with the Celtics. Meanwhile, Milwaukee has nothing to show for its time with Dame.
Teams had been lurking in the shadows, waiting for things to go south in Wisconsin with Giannis. The NBA offseason hasn't officially begun yet, but instead of it being the summer of Durant, it's shaping up to be the summer of Giannis.
Giannis trade rumors could dominate the NBA offseason
The Suns need to score the best possible haul for Durant, given they have no valuable draft assets and no wiggle room financially. Charania previously reported that several teams were interested in KD before the deadline. A few of those teams could shift their attention to Giannis if he does want to leave Milwaukee.
What would that mean for Phoenix? For starters, the Durant trade interest wouldn't be as high. The worst-case scenario for the Suns would be the Giannis trade sweepstakes dragging out, meaning a KD trade would take longer to take form than Phoenix would want. The sooner the Suns can execute a Durant deal, the better.
Phoenix would never be able to get back anything compared to what the team gave up for Durant in 2023, but it might get even less than expected if Giannis talks dominate the summer. Remember how long it took for a Lillard trade to form after he requested a trade?
Hopefully, Brian Gregory is ready to take on whatever challenges come this summer regarding trading KD. His lack of substantial experience in an NBA front office concerns fans. He can help ease those concerns if he correctly handles a Durant trade this summer.