The Hawks’ perfect Giannis Antetokounmpo trade for the Bucks

The Atlanta Hawks at least made it clear at the start of the 2025-26 season that they are no longer unhappy whenever Trae Young is off the floor. In fact, Young’s absence seems to have emboldened the rest of the team. Jalen Johnson, in particular, looks like an All-NBA player in the making, and he’s almost guaranteed to make the 2026 All-Star Game roster in Los Angeles, provided, of course, that the torture he’s currently going through isn’t too severe.

Without Young, the likes of Nikhil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels have also played much better, with the former flourishing despite taking on more scoring and the latter a more active playmaker and more significant contributor in attack. This has led some NBA analysts to think that there could very well be a path forward for the Hawks without Young.

Of course, that seems a bit premature. Hawks just submitted 113.7 points per 100 possessions on the season (this is before their Friday night matchup against the Denver Nuggets), which ranks 20th in the league. Their defense is a lifeline, as they have a top-10 defense going into the season without Young for most of it. But is the trade-off that comes with Young’s absence worth the defensive boost? Some think so.

This debate is what opened up the framework for the Hawks to build a roster around defense without sacrificing offensive production. Young’s return would give Atlanta’s defense a weak spot for other teams; perhaps adding an untargetable superstar on that end of the floor would allow them to go from good to great.

Enter Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Hawks are going all-in with the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade

Hawks trade: Trae Young, Zachary Rizacher, Aisha Newell, 2026 first-round pick (better than NOP and MIL first-round picks), 2027 first-round pick (worse than NOP and MIL), 2029 first-round pick (top three protected), 2028 first-round trade

Bucks trade: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gary Trent Jr.

Antetokounmpo is the best player in this league, and players of that caliber rarely, if ever, change teams via trade. The Luka Doncic trade will always be the exception to the rule. The The Dallas Mavericks didn’t get nearly enough for their perennial first-team All-NBA star, as all they got for him were Anthony Davis, Max Christie and an unprotected 2029 first-round pick.

Of course, it helps that the Los Angeles Lakers had Davis, who is a perennial DPOI candidate and a legitimate star in his own right. Davis has plenty of trade value himself, so that gave the Lakers a leg up. Perhaps the Hawks would think they have a similar situation with the Lakers as they do with Young, as Young is a 25-10 nightly threat and is one of the best point guards in the league, at least on the offensive end — helping to entice the Bucks in any potential trade.

But if there’s one position the Bucks don’t need to fill, it’s at guard. Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. are playing greatand adding Yang to the mix is ​​an unnecessary complication.

Having Young as the primary return for any Antetokounmpo trade is reasonable, but the Hawks would have to trade up a lot more given that their star point guard is on the mend and his size limitations will always limit his impact on the defensive end, no matter how much effort he puts forth.

Adding four first-round picks, including the New Orleans Pelicans’ juicy 2026 first-round pick, should help the Hawks grease the wheels. That the Pelicans selection could be the number one overall pick or, at worst, a top-five pick in a deep draft class, helping to rebuild the Bucks.

Milwaukee will also get their 2027 first-round pick back in this trade, which should give them more freedom to turn to the youth movement in 2026.

The the trade framework devised by Bill Simmons had the Hawks trading YoungKristaps Porzingis, and the Bucks’ four first-round picks for Antetokounmpo and Kyle Kuzma. In a world where they can get to Antetokounmpo, having Porzingis around might be too much, especially when Onieka Okongwu has also blossomed into a solid three-point shooter.

Getting Porzingis would also give the Bucks some relief for next season, and trading Young would be even more beneficial to that end. But the Bucks must prioritize getting young players and as much draft capital as possible in any Antetokounmpo trade, which is why they’ll likely just swallow the Kuzma pill for now if it meant acquiring Zachary Rizacher and Ace Newell, two former first-round picks with plenty of room to move up.

It becomes evident that Rizacher will not be a starbut he’s a 3-and-D starter-caliber player in the league at worst. He’s only 20 years old, so the sky’s the limit — maybe a bigger role in Milwaukee would help get the best of the previous first overall pick.

Newell barely got a minute, but that’s a testament to the fact that the players above him in the rotation (Johnson and Mohamed Gueye) are much better. He’s only 20 years old, so the Bucks will have two more young prospects to develop in addition to Young and whatever first-round picks the Hawks have to offer.

Now the question is whether the Hawks will find this price too steep for their taste. Acquiring Antetokounmpo is not without risk. He will be a free agent in 2027; will he be willing to commit his future to Atlanta, which is not the biggest market or franchise?

There’s also the question of his fit on the Hawks’ roster. Johnson is a much-improved three-point shooter, but like Antetokounmpo, he likes to handle the ball, do handoffs with his guards and then rampage his way to the rim. Having Antetokounmpo around can lead to overlapping playing styles.

Antetokounmpo is also going through some calf injury issues, which has nothing to reject. Teams are especially cautious with calf injuries, so it would be best for the Hawks to wait out the severity of the Bucks star’s injury before making any drastic moves.

The Hawks would then start a big frontcourt of Johnson, Antetokounmpo and Porzingis, with Daniels and Alexander-Walker partnering each other in the backcourt. By purchasing Gary Trent Jr. will also add to their bench which would then consist of himself, Okongwu, Whit Krejci, Luke Kennard and Gueie.

Will that be enough for the Hawks to compete for the title? It should be. Antetokounmpo is a transformative presence who averages 30-11-6 on a nightly basis, and he’s a monster defensively, allowing Atlanta to be even better on that end of the floor. There will be no weak spots for them defensively, and they may end up being the second best defensive team in the league when all is said and done, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Johnson will need to take a backseat, and his shooting diet will need to lean further toward the perimeter. Clipping Johnson’s wings may not be ideal for the Hawks.

But rolling the dice on someone as talented as Antetokounmpo is a risk any team looking to contend with is willing to take. The most likely scenario for the Hawks would be to sit back and watch how the team performs once Young returns from injury. However, if the team struggles and perhaps gets burned in the first round of the playoffs, then Atlanta may see fit to risk it all.