Proposed trade involving Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, Duke Blue Devils basketball phenom Cooper Flagg deemed ‘self-sabotage’ for Nico Harrison

The Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks have been linked to a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade ever since the latter franchise landed the rights to select Duke Blue Devils basketball phenom Cooper Flagg.

The Ringer’s Michael Pina doesn’t believe that’ll happen. Furthermore, Pina deemed such a deal a potential “self-sabotage” for Mavs GM Nico Harrison to even consider it with Antetokounmpo’s contract and potential to not age gracefully due to his physical style of play.

“As the NBA’s silly season quickly approaches, in a new world where sensibility has been stained by Harrison’s incompetence and shock value no longer exists, there’s some broad, connect-the-dots speculation about whether Dallas would potentially offer the no. 1 pick to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo, doubling down on the present and exchanging a likely decade-plus run with Flagg for a two-time MVP who will turn 31 in December, has not won a playoff series in three years, and may not age gracefully,” Pina wrote.

“This would be self-sabotage for a few reasons, including the age and financial gaps that sit between Antetokounmpo and Flagg. It’s taking a seat in that aforementioned life raft and immediately looking for the sharpest object you can find to stab a hole in its center. They’ve already short-circuited one lengthy runway for no reason. Accelerating their timeline again, without full control of their own draft capital—Dallas does not have control of its own first-round pick in 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030—would be irredeemably myopic.”

Milwaukee likely knows that. Hence, Newsweek’s Noah Camras relaying the Bucks’ likely acceptance of a Flagg-Antetokounmpo deal.

“While plenty of teams could make a compelling package to Milwaukee, it's hard to imagine anything being more enticing than adding Flagg, the 19-year-old coming off a season in which he won the AP Player of the Year award, the Naismith Award and the Wooden Award at Duke,” Camras wrote.

“A package centered around Flagg and contracts to make the money work would almost certainly get Milwaukee's attention. On the flip side, Dallas would yet again be trading a young superstar to get one of the best bigs (and defenders) in the league.

“Antetokounmpo, a nine-time All-Star, five time All-Defensive Teamer and the 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year certainly fits the type of player Harrison and the Mavericks have said they coveted.”

A Flagg deal has already been confirmed not to be happening. But the Antetokounmpo rumor will persist given his imminent departure from the “Cream City” and Harrison’s erratic behavior in the Mavericks front office.

The Luka Doncic deal will haunt Harrison until Flagg gets him a title. Because it won’t be Antetokounmpo who will lead Dallas to the promised land as long as the Mavs hold onto Flagg.