Bucks face ‘unrealistic’ Giannis price as draft nears

Bucks’ unrealistic – With the 2026 NBA Draft less than a week away, Milwaukee’s willingness to move Giannis Antetokounmpo is colliding with how other teams view the price. At the same time, Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart is expected to be available after a rough postseason, while Boston

The 2026 NBA Draft is less than a week away, and the trade market is already moving like a door that won’t stop opening.

In Milwaukee. the conversation has centered on Giannis Antetokounmpo—two-time MVP. the franchise’s longtime face. and widely expected to be dealt this summer. The Bucks would prefer to keep him. But they’re also weighing a deadline that feels closer than any basketball calendar: if Antetokounmpo makes it clear in October that he won’t sign an extension. Milwaukee would rather trade him than let him walk in free agency for nothing next summer.

That’s the pressure point. And in the middle of it, league teams are telling the story in the same way—only with one word they keep repeating: “Unrealistic.”

Multiple personnel engaged in Antetokounmpo trade talks say Milwaukee GM Jon Horst has set especially ambitious asking prices in negotiations. Those teams argue the Bucks’ return demands would leave whoever acquires Antetokounmpo “too barren to contend for a championship. ” even though Giannis is the kind of player known to be hunting a long-term commitment with a contender if he finally leaves Brewtown after 13 seasons.

The Bucks’ stance is understandable on its own terms. If they’re forced to part with one of the best players in franchise history. they’ll want a major return to jumpstart their rebuild. But the counterargument is built into the contract math. Antetokounmpo has just one guaranteed year left on his deal. and the market for him isn’t the same as it would have been last summer or two years ago. If Milwaukee has to adjust. the biggest question becomes simple: what does the “too much” turn into when the offers start arriving?.

Across the East, other teams are already planning for the kind of summer that doesn’t wait.

The Detroit Pistons—who finished first in the Eastern Conference last season—are preparing for major changes after an early postseason exit. One name that keeps surfacing in that reshuffle is Isaiah Stewart.

Stewart was one of the Pistons’ best backup bigs last season, averaging 10 points, five rebounds and 1.6 blocks on 55% shooting. In the playoffs, though, his production dropped sharply: he put up just four points and 2.4 rebounds. His spot in the rotation also slipped. with Paul Reed taking more of the minutes by the end of the second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. which the Pistons lost in seven games.

That’s the backdrop to the next expectation: Stewart could be on the move. League reports say the Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart is not merely available but bracing for a trade that sends him elsewhere this summer as part of any move to bolster their shooting and playmaking depth.

The appeal here is partly performance, and partly the contract. The 25-year-old Stewart will have suitors because he has a reasonable deal with two guaranteed years at $15 million per year. including a team option for 2027-28. The teams mentioned as having expressed interest include the Bucks. the Boston Celtics. the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs.

Boston’s summer promises to be louder still.

The Celtics are in the mix for Antetokounmpo, but it remains unclear whether they’ll make a swing that could demand big costs—especially parting ways with franchise pillar Jaylen Brown. Derrick White has also been a recurring name in rumor cycles. Boston is expected to be active this summer.

Ahead of the draft, the Celtics’ activity includes interest in moving up from their No. 27 slot. And while it’s not believed that Boston is actively shopping either Brown or Derrick White, trade inquiries for both key cogs from the title team are said to have come in more intently than ever before.

For White, the picture is cautious rather than destructive. It would be a surprise, sources say, if the Celtics cut ties with him. The 31-year-old is described as a beloved part of the organization, and his two-way backcourt work has put him in annual All-Star contention as a Celtic.

To understand why that kind of caution is even being tested, you have to go back to last season’s shape.

Everyone expected a “gap year” for Boston. Yet the Celtics won 56 games and finished second in the Eastern Conference despite losing Jrue Holiday. Kristaps Porzingis. Luke Kornet and Al Horford. and playing the first 62 games without Jayson Tatum. Still. the postseason ended with a bruise: Boston blew a 3-1 lead in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers and was knocked out.

After that loss, president Brad Stevens called for an “honest assessment” of the roster. In May. Stevens said. “Our margin for error needs to get bigger. and at the same time. I don’t think we’re. like. way far away.” He added that they’ve been through high-level runs—“we’ve been to six Eastern Conference finals. a couple Finals in the last few years. We’ve won one”—but “when you get beat in the first round, you’re not there.”.

Stevens also pointed to next season’s different landscape. saying. “You have to consider the other teams that are at those levels. ” and then describing how the league’s incentives shifted: “there were a lot of teams in the NBA that were playing for draft positioning this year. ” which “will not be the case next year.” He concluded that the league “is gonna be a lot better. ” that the regular season “could be a lot harder. ” and that it will likely “give you a better indication of what everybody really is.”.

Taken together, the offseason pressure across Milwaukee, Detroit and Boston has the same edge: teams know they have to improve, but they also know how hard it is to do so without paying a price.

The Bucks may be trying to cash in the moment before Antetokounmpo’s future becomes locked by timing. Detroit may be looking to reset quickly after playoffs exposed weaknesses. Boston may be trying to correct a roster reality without losing what it already built.

All of it is converging at the same time—right as the draft calendar turns, and the league turns with it.

NBA trade rumors Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks Jon Horst Isaiah Stewart Detroit Pistons Boston Celtics Jaylen Brown Derrick White 2026 NBA Draft New York Knicks Miami Heat San Antonio Spurs Cleveland Cavaliers Philadelphia 76ers