Rich Paul suggests Giannis Antetokounmpo as a replacement for Jalen Johnson

The Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo could be heading for a divorce this season, and there will be plenty of teams looking to acquire the star. There are some teams that could actually put together a respectable package for Antetokounmpo, and the Bucks would be happy with what they got in return.

Rich Paul and Max Kellerman talked about it on their new show, and both noted that the Bucks won’t be getting a star like Luka Doncic in exchange for Antetokounmpo, but rather a young, up-and-coming star. Pavle had the perfect personand it’s actually one of his clients.

“If I’m the Buckeyes, I’m looking at a young player, high character, high talent, high IQ,” Paul said. “I’m calling Atlanta. I want to.” Jalen Johnson. He’s from Milwaukee.”

Rich Paul suggests that the Milwaukee Bucks should trade Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for his client Jalen Johnson: “If I’m the Bucks, I’m looking at a young player, high character, high talent, high IQ. I’m calling Atlanta. I want Jalen Johnson. He’s from… pic.twitter.com/T9BhARc6gL

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) December 10, 2025

The Hawks were one of the teams mentioned in rumors that could offer a good package for Antetokounmpo, but most trade scenarios have Treo Young in the deal instead of Johnson. That’s because Johnson was gone this season while Young was sidelined with an MCL injuryand the Atlanta Hawks are playing just fine.

If the Bucks were choosing between Young and Johnson, they’d probably go for the latter, just because he’s younger and has a chance to be a real star in the league for a while.

The problem is that the Hawks are more likely not to trade Johnson, and that he will be the team’s center moving forward. The Hawks, in general, have a good foundation with the young players they have, and they may want to lean on that group instead of trying to trade for a player like Antetokounmpo and rush the process.

The Hawks are also waiting to see what the team might look like when Young returns, and there’s no way they’ll make any major changes at this point. They have recently been in trade rumors for Anthony Davis, but in that scenario, Johnson and Young would be out of the question.