About a month removed from the NBA trade deadline, which largely fell flat for the Sixers, details of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talks are starting to leak out. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne recently mentioned two players the Milwaukee Bucks had interest in — one of them being VJ Edgecombe.
“Multiple sources across the league said the Bucks’ asking price was enormous, with an executive from a third team describing the Bucks’ process as “gauging the market” and their price as “all our draft picks and good
young players.”
The Golden State Warriors offer included four unprotected first round picks in pursuit of Antetokounmpo, sources said, but never seemed to gain much momentum on a deal.
The players the Bucks did seem interested in were younger building blocks such as VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers or Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers, sources said.“
The Bucks’ rationale isn’t hard to figure out. If you’re trading Antetokounmpo, you’re kicking off a rebuild, and getting a younger, NBA-tested player accelerates that process. Both Edgecombe and Mobley fit that mold. A player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber hasn’t been traded in quite some time — the closest comparisons being the Suns’ deal for Kevin Durant and the Nets’ trade of James Harden, both of which netted an absolute haul of assets.
From a Sixers’ standpoint, things get messy fast. Matching Antetokounmpo’s massive salary would require at least one of Paul George or Joel Embiid to be included, and that’s before factoring in Edgecombe being packaged alongside them. A realistic offer probably looks like George, Edgecombe and a slew of draft capital — just to get Milwaukee to the table. You’d be locking in a Maxey-Antetokounmpo-Embiid core while giving up depth, future upside and flexibility to do it.
Despite the massive hurdles, the idea of Antetokounmpo ending up in Philly isn’t something to completely dismiss. Between this report of the Bucks openly fielding offers and an earlier report that Maxey was one of two players Antetokounmpo wanted to play alongside (the other being Anthony Edwards), there’s at least something worth monitoring here.
While the idea of Antetokounmpo in Philly is a fun fantasy, it’s likely just that. Antetokounmpo is advancing toward the twilight of his career, the injuries have been stacking up, and the trouble of pulling off that trade is probably more than it’s worth. The future of the NBA appears to be built around youth, and Edgecombe looks like a true franchise pillar for years to come. The Sixers have made it clear they had zero interest in moving him, and for good reason. This is a 20-year-old who has already been asked to do way too much in his rookie year, and yet he’s not only held his own against NBA veterans but stood out doing it. That isn’t too common for a rookie guard.
Maxey has gone to bat for him repeatedly, with this quote from January standing out in particular:
“We’re blessed to have him,” Maxey told reporters. “Super. Thank you, basketball gods, Lord, Baylor, I don’t know. Daryl Morey. Everybody.”
Antetokounmpo talks are bound to ramp up this summer, with the divide between both sides continuing to widen. Owner Wes Edens has even gone on record saying Antetokounmpo will be traded if he doesn’t accept their extension offer. For the Sixers, the smart play is to stay out of it if the price is their electric rookie. Edgecombe is exactly the kind of asset you build around, not the kind you throw into a blockbuster to rent a star on the back nine of his career.
