The Cleveland Cavaliers enter the offseason needing to upgrade the roster in order to truly compete in the Eastern Conference. One name that has been linked to the Cavs via trade has been Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. But is the Greek Freak a legitimate possibility for the Cavs?
Not so fast. In order to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Cavs would likely have to give up Evan Mobley, something the organization is reluctant to do, as per NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake L. Fischer of The Stein Line.
“Sources say the that Cavaliers should be regarded as unlikely to factor in to the trade chase for Antetokounmpo this summer,” The Stein Line reports. “No matter how high Evan Mobley ranks on the Bucks’ wish list for trade returns in a theoretical Giannis deal.”
Both Stein and Fischer go on to report that the Cavs’ concerns over Antetokounmpo potentially not re-signing long-term after his current contract expires is another significant hurdle as to why a deal would not get done.
As for Mobley, the Cavs view him as a franchise cornerstone post-Donovan Mitchell, and do not want to be left without a star player as they were in the immediacy of the post-LeBron James era.
The Bucks reportedly have Mobley near the top of their list in terms of trade targets they would want in a hypothetical Antetokounmpo deal, and they supposedly reached out to the Cavs right around the deadline to gauge interest, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel. They were, of course, rebuffed.