Why Giannis Leaving the Bucks May Not Be the Biggest News Before NBA Trade Deadline

NBA fans know the biggest mystery ahead of this year’s February 5th trade deadline is where the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo will end up. Despite the two-time MVP being a core member of the Bucks’ roster and leading the team to an NBA Championship title in 2021, his nearly thirteen-year tenure with the team has seemingly soured during this NBA season after a number of disappointing losses. 

Antetokounmpo has been openly critical of the team’s performance on the court and overall chemistry. And while he hasn’t publicly demanded to be traded, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports: 

"Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is ready for a new home at the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline or in the offseason as several rival teams make aggressive offers to the Milwaukee Bucks for him, and the franchise is starting to listen."

With that being said, I have my doubts that Antetokounmpo will be the biggest trade deadline story. From a Bucks’ perspective, it may prove more lucrative to keep the power forward until the offseason, when there are likely more players to trade for and pick up in free agency. So Antetokounmpo may not be going anywhere until the end of the current season. Additionally, there are some other big names in the league who have been mentioned in possible trade talks that may completely rock the NBA. One new name in particular has me completely shocked. 

Is Donovan Mitchell Leaving Cleveland? 

After leaving the Utah Jazz in 2022 and finding regular-season success with a young Cleveland Cavaliers team, it looked like the mesh between guard and franchise was a perfect match. The Cavs even seemed as if they could make a real run at an NBA Championship. Unfortunately, in his first year with the team, the Cavs lost the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Then, in the following two years, the Cleveland team lost in the second round of the playoffs. While on paper that’s commendable, like most franchises in the league, the goal is a championship. 

On an episode of the Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN writers Windhorst and Tim Bontemps discuss the Cavaliers and their playoff runs over the last few years and the team’s prospects for this year. It was during this conversation that Bontemps stated (around the 42-minute mark): 

"I think they're the most interesting team to watch in the entire league, because people around the league are watching the Donovan Mitchell situation. He's got one guaranteed year left on his contract. He has not made it out of the second round of the playoffs in his career."

Bontemps further comments about the pressure on the Cavs to get to the finals this year. He goes on to say, “They have a lot of interesting players on big salaries that can move around, and there’s motivation to do deals.” 

Now, at the time of publication, I can’t confirm there are serious talks for the Cavs to trade Mitchell. However, the team did recently acquire Dennis Schröder, Keon Ellis, and Emanuel Miller. 

Where Could Donovan Mitchell Land? 

Let’s say the Cavs are quietly entertaining offers to trade Mitchell. Immediately, you have to consider where he could end up. Although that creates a lot of different hypothetical scenarios, I’ve landed on the possibility that Mitchell could land in Miami. 

The not-so-subtle elephant in the room with the Miami Heat is that they don’t have all the pieces to come out of the Eastern Conference Finals realistically. However, acquiring someone like Mitchell could make a huge difference. In exchange, the Cavs could possibly acquire Heat guard Tyler Herro and another player or draft option. Heck, who’s to say the two teams can’t bring in another team and make a three-team trade deal? 

Obviously, this all lies in the realm of theory for now. But as an avid NBA watcher and Miami Heat fan in particular, I’ll be keeping my eyes open.