"I don't know what's going to happen" - Brian Windhorst shares that the Giannis trade rumors are a mystery

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"I don't know what's going to happen" - Brian Windhorst shares that the Giannis trade rumors are a mystery originally appeared on Basketball Network.
With Kevin Durant traded to the Houston Rockets, many people wonder where Giannis Antetokounmpo will end up. Some say the San Antonio Spurs, while others say the New York Knicks or the Miami Heat. Some mention the Brooklyn Nets, and a couple even throw the Golden State Warriors into the conversation.
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ESPN's Brian Windhorst says it may be premature to look at possible landing spots because Giannis has not asked his team to trade him, and the Milwaukee Bucks have not declared that they want to move on from their superstar forward.
What's certain, though, is that the Bucks have seven free agents this summer, including four rotation players. They don't have the cap space to sign free agents or draft picks to trade. Damian Lillard is also expected to miss a significant time after he suffered an Achilles tear.
Aside from those facts, Windhorst says everything else is purely speculation. However, how teams approached trading for KD was interesting.
"When you see teams not go after Kevin Durant to save their assets for something bigger, I can't say for sure. I can't say absolutely what's in Pat Riley's mind, as he doesn't put all of his assets on the table that he could for Kevin Durant. I can't say exactly what Leon Rose is thinking as general manager and president of the New York Knicks when they elect to pass on Durant. But I can state those facts surrounding the Bucks and you can extrapolate what you can extrapolate," said Windhorst.
Riley did not make everybody available
Before the Phoenix Suns shipped Durant to the Rockets, they negotiated with the Heat. Still, Pat Riley reportedly did not want to include Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith and the No.20 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, as their restrictions were among the reasons they could not reach a deal.
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Meanwhile, after failing to win the Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks were expected to make a big move. But they did not get Durant and reportedly did not even make an offer.
Windhorst then compared the Giannis saga to predicting the Rudy Gobert trade in 2022.
"I don't know. In the case of Rudy Gobert, I knew he was getting traded. I don't know what's going to happen here, and not knowing is enough to leave some teams to leave their options open," he added.
Related: "We only needed one more guy" - Patrick Beverley says the Clippers lost SGA because Kawhi thought he needed more help
It all started from a rumor spread by Shams
Antetokounmpo has not publicly declared that he wants out, nor have the Bucks shared that they are making the Greek Freak available. Looking back, it was Shams Charania who opened Pandora's box when he floated the rumor on ESPN's "Get Up" last month.
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"Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two-time NBA MVP, he has not made any firm decisions about his future. But sources tell me for the first time in his 12-year NBA career, he is open-minded about whether his best fit is in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere — and exploring what those options outside of Milwaukee look like," he claimed.
If there's smoke, there is fire. But in this case, Giannis has hinted a couple of times that Shams' rumor is just, well, a rumor, including a couple of weeks ago when he tweeted about missing Woj, which was an obvious shot at Charania.
Related: "If you just let that go, you fu*** it up" - Carmelo says trading Giannis can't be an option for the Bucks
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.