Giannis Antetokounmpo is officially on the trade market, ending what feels like an eternity of speculation about the Bucks' "will they or won't they" stance.
The team is falling well short of expectations as a usual Eastern Conference contender, currently sitting at the 12th seed and an underwhelming 18-28 record. Without Giannis this year, Milwaukee has been atrocious, going 3-13 in those games, and looking like one of the league's worst squads when he's off the floor.
On the flip side, one team out East that’s managed to stay consistent despite a host of challenges is the Toronto Raptors. They’re currently the fourth seed with a positive record of 29-20. Toronto has long been one of the top rumored destinations for Giannis, especially back in the Masai Ujiri era, when their connection was seen as a major factor if the "Greek Freak" ever hit the market. Now, here we are in 2026, and the Raptors’ chance of turning that dream into reality is finally within reach —though Ujiri isn’t in the picture anymore.
However, there's a glaring concern that could cause the Raptors to fall significantly behind in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade race.
ESPN analysts Brian Windhorst, Tim Bontemps, and Tim McMahon discussed this in a recent episode of The Hoop Collective podcast. They highlighted the Raptors' involvement in the Giannis sweepstakes, noting that they could be an interesting contender. However, their pool of tradeable player contracts isn’t particularly appealing in the marketplace.
Raptors' contracts aren't attractive in a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo transaction
McMahon mentioned that contracts are their biggest "problem," and Windhorst echoed that sentiment, adding, "Some of the players they'd be getting back are not great contracts." Bontemps, on the other hand, goes all-in, highlighting Toronto’s tempting offer — potentially putting all their future draft assets on the table to sway the Bucks in their favor. That's a whole other bag of worms on its own, and I’ll get to that scenario shortly, so stay tuned.
But unfortunately, this is the harsh reality the Raptors are facing. That doesn’t mean their players are subpar — far from it. Guys like RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley often get a bad rap, but I think they’re actually pretty skilled roster pieces, with some upside still to reveal itself.
Sure, IQ has been pretty streaky most of the year, and his price tag isn’t exactly something rival teams are lining up to rave about if they take him on. Then again, we are talking about a recent Player of the Week right there.
As for Barrett, he's been injury-prone this year and is about to hit the market soon. I don't necessarily think Milwaukee would see him as a key piece for the future and give him a big payday. And if we include Jakob Poeltl in the mix — I’m pretty sure the Raptors would love to move off his contract — he’s arguably Toronto’s most negative-value asset right now.
So, when it comes to money, Toronto can definitely meet the target — that's not even in question. But their offer to the Bucks, with those contract terms, isn't quite spicy enough to seal the deal.