With the 2026 NBA Draft now less than a week away, the trade market is beginning to stir. The biggest storyline remains centered on the Milwaukee Bucks and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is widely expected to be moved at some point this summer. Still, Milwaukee is far from the only team that could be busy as the offseason takes shape.
The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics are also teams to watch closely. Detroit and Boston finished first and second in the Eastern Conference last season, respectively, but neither club made the kind of postseason run it had hoped for. After watching the New York Knicks capture the championship, both organizations understand that staying put may not be enough.
As the draft approaches and free agency looms shortly after, the league’s trade landscape is beginning to come into sharper focus. Here are some of the latest developments surrounding the market.
Bucks’ ask for Giannis ‘unrealistic’
Milwaukee’s first choice would still be to keep Antetokounmpo. However, if he indicates that he is unwilling to sign an extension in October, the Bucks are expected to explore a trade rather than risk losing him for nothing in free agency next summer. Should it come to that, Milwaukee will be looking for a massive package in return for one of the greatest players in franchise history and a centerpiece for any potential rebuild.
According to Jake Fischer, though, some teams around the league believe the Bucks’ current demands are simply too steep. Fischer shared the latest he has heard regarding discussions involving Antetokounmpo:
Fischer reported that, in conversations with NBA personnel from teams that have spoken with Milwaukee about a possible Antetokounmpo trade, one description came up repeatedly. Several sources indicated that Bucks general manager Jon Horst has set extremely high asking prices in those discussions.
The word being used most often, according to Fischer: “Unrealistic.”
That stance is understandable to a point. If the Bucks are going to part with the face of their franchise, they will want the strongest possible return. The complication, however, is that Milwaukee’s reported asking price may be so high that any team acquiring Antetokounmpo could be left without enough talent or assets to seriously chase a title. That would run counter to what Giannis is believed to want if he finally decides to leave Milwaukee after 13 seasons and commit to a long-term extension elsewhere.
The Bucks should ask for a massive return for Antetokounmpo, who, despite some injuries in recent years, remains one of the best players in the NBA. But they may ultimately have to accept a lesser deal because Antetokounmpo has just one guaranteed year left on his deal, and the market for him isn’t the same as it would have been last summer or two years ago.
If the Bucks do end up trading Antetokounmpo, it will be fascinating to see the actual return.
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Pistons’ Stewart expecting to be moved
Isaiah Stewart was one of the best backup bigs in the league last season, when he averaged 10 points, five rebounds and 1.6 blocks on 55% shooting. He was one of several Pistons who struggled in the playoffs, however. He put up just four points and 2.4 rebounds in the postseason and had largely lost his spot in the rotation to Paul Reed by the end of the second round series with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which the Pistons lost in seven games.
The Pistons are expected to make big changes this summer after their early exit, and Stewart could be on the move. In fact, he’s expecting to leave Detroit, according to Fischer:
League sources say that the Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart is not merely available but outright bracing for a trade that sends him elsewhere this summer as part of any move that the Pistons make to bolster their shooting and playmaking depth.
Despite his poor showing in the playoffs, the 25-year-old Stewart will have suitors in part because of his reasonable contract, which has two guaranteed years at $15 million per year, including a team option for 2027-28. Per Fischer, the Bucks, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs have all expressed interest in Stewart.
Celtics expected to be active this summer
The Celtics are in the mix for Antetokounmpo, but it’s unclear if they’ll be willing to make that big of a swing, which almost certainly would require parting ways with franchise pillar Jaylen Brown. Derrick White has also been the subject of rumors. Boston is expected to be active this summer, per Fischer.
I already reported on Wednesday night that Boston has shown interest in moving up from its No. 27 slot in the draft. And while I don’t believe that the Celtics are actively shopping Brown or Derrick White, it’s certainly believed that they have listened on trade inquires for both key cogs from the title team more intently than ever before.
As for White: It would also be a surprise, sources say, if the Celtics cut ties with him. The 31-year-old is a beloved member of the organization on top of the fact that his two-way backcourt work has put him in annual All-Star contention as a Celtic.
Everyone expected last season to be a “gap year” for the Celtics. But despite losing Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet and Al Horford and playing the first 62 games without Jayson Tatum, they won 56 games and finished second in the Eastern Conference. They blew a 3-1 lead in the first round of the playoffs to the Philadelphia 76ers, however, which led president Brad Stevens to call for an “honest assessment” of the roster.
“Our margin for error needs to get bigger, and at the same time, I don’t think we’re, like, way far away,” Stevens said in May. “But we’ve lived it here. Again, this is where the honest assessment part has got to come in, right? We’ve been to six Eastern Conference finals, a couple Finals in the last few years. We’ve won one. And when you get beat in the first round, you’re not there. …
“You have to consider the other teams that are at those levels, and I think the other thing that you have to consider, especially for next year, is there were a lot of teams in the NBA that were playing for draft positioning this year,” Stevens continued. “That will not be the case next year. So, the league’s gonna be a lot better. The regular season could be a lot harder, and it will probably give you a better indication of what everybody really is.”
