Raptors Trade Rumor: Massive 5-Player Proposed Deal Lands Antetokounmpo in Toronto

The Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors won't go away. Not before the trade deadline, and not even after it. The Milwaukee Bucks' two-time MVP seems to have one foot in and one foot out with the team, still deciding on whether his future is in Milwaukee or not (hint: it almost certainly isn't).

With that, trade buzz has continued to percolate all over the NBA, and the latest has him connected to the Toronto Raptors, a team that always seems to be hovering around when Greek Freak trade rumors pop up.

With their strong improvement this season, sitting with 4-seed in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors could be that one superstar away from another championship, just as they pulled off with Kawhi Leonard in 2018-19. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report has come up with this wild blockbuster proposal that he feels could land Giannis north of the border:

Toronto Raptors receive:

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks receive:

RJ Barrett
Jakob Poeltl
Collin Murray-Boyles
Ja'Kobe Walter
2030 first-round pick
2032 first-round pick
2031 first-round pick swap

Pairing up Antetokounmpo with Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram feels like an elite threesome, both offensively and defensively. Depth would be a problem, as the rookie CMB and Walter have both been nice pieces off the bench. And they'd have to find a big man somewhere, as that position is already thin for them.

As Buckley writes, "The Raptors... (would) have to figure out how to divvy up touches between Antetokounmpo, Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes, but just like they once did with Leonard, they'd grab the great player now and worry about making everything else fit later."

For the Bucks, this would be a nice haul. Two good young players, two first-rounders (plus a swap), and an excellent offensive player in Barrett to tide them over a bit as the rebuild gets underway. Buckley also figures they would ultimately flip Poeltl for another asset.

"Teams that are forced to trade away a star rarely come out ahead, and chances are Milwaukee wouldn't be breaking the mold here. Still, it would get a reasonable building block in Barrett, a 25-year-old who's generally good for 20-plus points per night, and perhaps two more in Walter, the No. 19 pick in 2024, and Murray-Boyles, this year's No. 9 pick," writes Buckley.

And those first-rounders could be quite valuable, as Giannis almost certainly wouldn't still be in Toronto come the early 2030s.