Glenn Kaplan
There have been a lot of trade rumors involving the Cleveland Cavaliers and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Last season, the Milwaukee Bucks were interested in Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley, but Cleveland was not interested in making the swap at that time. For better or worse, it was the right move for Cleveland’s franchise. Antetokounmpo was injured toward the end of last season. Mobley grew up a lot for the Cavaliers in the playoffs.
The only way that Cleveland is going to move on from him this offseason is if they trade him for Antetokounmpo. There is a chance that the Cavaliers are not going to trade him away because Giannis is probably going to wind up with either the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics. What are the odds that Cleveland trades for Antetokounmpo this offseason?
CBS Sports Sam Quinn reveals the likelihood the Cleveland Cavaliers trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Sam Quinn of CBS Sports listed 12 different teams that Giannis could be traded too this offseason. He listed six likely teams to make a trade for him and listed six mystery teams to make a trade for him. Quinn listed the Cavaliers as one of the mystery teams to trade for him. He ranked Cleveland eighth overall to make a trade for Antetokounmpo. He said, “If you were picking an ideal Antetokounmpo teammate, you’d land on someone like Donovan Mitchell. Antetokounmpo shouldn’t be his team’s primary late-game scorer. Khris Middleton was the shot-maker when the Bucks won it all in 2021. Yet Antetokounmpo wants to be the primary ball-handler most of the game. Few scorers cleanly check both boxes. Mitchell is one of them. The two of them might be the NBA’s best duo next season if they stay healthy.
The troubles are everywhere else. James Harden is a clunkier fit next to Antetokounmpo, even before you consider their feud. Jarrett Allen as a traditional center would be an iffy front-court partner. Could the Cavaliers swap him for Myles Turner in the deal?
Who is playing perimeter defense here? Cleveland, to this point, has acted as though Evan Mobley is off of the table in trades. No Mobley, no Giannis. The Mitchell fit is tempting enough that Cleveland has to be in the conversation. but there are so many other questions that the Cavaliers falling out of the equation after some reported deadline discussions isn’t all that surprising.”
Miami Heat and Boston Celtics the favorites to land him
The only way that the Cavaliers can trade for him is to give up Mobley. If Cleveland is not going to trade Mobley for Giannis, then they are going to have to look elsewhere to upgrade the roster. It is a nice thought for Cleveland to pair Giannis together with Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, but it might feel like a total pipedream at this point.
Quinn has the Celtics as the number two favorites to land him and the Heat as the number one favorites to land him. At this point, it would feel like a surprise if he does not wind up with the Heat or the Celtics next season. Antetokounmpo is better off with Boston than he is with Miami. A lot of talks about him being in Cleveland for next season is nice, but it feels like it is dwindling down day-by-day.
