Surprise West lottery team preparing trade bid for Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo | Sporting News

A Western Conference club that hasn't made the playoffs in years is reportedly angling for a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.

Per Ashish Mathur of Hoops Wire , the San Antonio Spurs have been so dead-set on acquiring the nine-time All-NBA Milwaukee Bucks superstar power forward that they never even proposed a trade for 15-time All-Star power forward Kevin Durant.

The two-time Finals MVP had been made very available by the Phoenix Suns this summer, and was eventually dealt to the Houston Rockets in exchange for wings Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, the No.

10 pick in last month's draft (used on Duke center Khaman Maluach) and five second round picks.

As Mathur notes, the Spurs have a variety of draft picks at their disposal, should Antetokounmpo eventually demand a deal out of Milwaukee.

The Bucks lost nine-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard to an Achilles tendon tear during the playoffs this spring, and opted to stretch-and-waive him this summer rather than keep him rostered.

Milwaukee's biggest new free agent additions this season have been its signing of 3-and-D center Myles Turner and veteran shooting guard Gary Harris.

Those additions plus the team's retention of Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., and Taurean Prince are likely not enough to vault the Bucks into Eastern Conference contender status, even though the conference has been depleted by even more playoff-acquired Achilles tendon tear injuries (to Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton).

Should Antetokounmpo get fed up with a fourth straight season of non-contention, will he demand a deal out of town? If so, the Spurs are in optimal position to pounce.

Pairing Antetokounmpo and All-Star big man Victor Wembanyama would create one of the most defensively formidable frontcourts since, well, the days of David Robinson and Tim Duncan in San Antonio.

Most importantly, the Spurs used their No.

2 pick in the 2025 draft on Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, making for a very guard-heavy rotation.

Harper will compete for minutes with pricey All-Star point guard De'Aaron Fox and Rookie of the Year guard Stephon Castle.

Young wings Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson and forwards Harrison Barnes and Jeremy Sochan are San Antonio's other chief assets.

San Antonio made some intriguing swings this summer, shoring up its frontcourt depth by signing ex-Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet to a three-year, $41 million free agent contract and trading for floor-spacing ex-Washington Wizards power forward/center Kelly Olynyk.

They will presumably support Wembanyama in some configuration.

MORE NEWS: Myles Turner pens touching Pacers tribute after departing for Bucks.

This article has been shared from the original article on sportingnews, here is the link to the original article.