Portland Trail Blazers’ Surprising Betting Odds For Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Next Team

The Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated on Tuesday night in the most dramatic fashion imaginable. They fell to the Indiana Pacers, 119-118. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a public altercation with Tyrese Haliburton’s father, and, of course, betting odds are already out for Giannis’ next team, per BetOnline.ag. 

The Portland Trail Blazers have snuck into the top 10 at 12/1 odds, placing them in 7th. 

The only teams ahead of them are the Miami Heat (10/1), Golden State Warriors (8/1), Orlando Magic (7/1), Oklahoma City Thunder (5/1), Houston Rockets (4/1), and Brooklyn Nets (3/1). 

Odds are, oddsmakers have more faith in general manager Joe Cronin’s superstar acquisition skills than Basketball Gods do. At first glance, Portland sitting in 7th position seems high, just as Portland sitting in 7th position to land Nikola Jokić looks too good to be true. But like with Jokić, there are arguments for why the Blazers at least enter the discussion. 

Let’s figure out what oddsmakers see in Rip City. 

Full Betting Odds: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Next Team

Why Would the Bucks Ever Trade Giannis? 

The Bucks do not want to trade Giannis. 

Let me repeat: The Bucks (absolutely) do not (ever) want to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

If the Bucks get here, it’s because Giannis is either politely asking out or loudly demanding it. He brought Milwaukee a championship. He’s a back-to-back MVP winner. Giannis, both the player and the person, is everything a franchise wants in its leader, and that’s doubly true for any small-market team and fan base. 

That said, the reality of the situation is that the Bucks have exhausted every option to stay competitive. Giannis still gets “best player on the planet” consideration, albeit now firmly behind Jokić and, at times, Luka Dončić. However, hiring Adrian Griffin as coach Mike Budenholzer’s successor was not a success. Doc Rivers hasn’t given anyone any more hope. The Kyle Kuzma trade (if you even remember that happened this season) hasn’t inspired the team. And painfully, Damian Lillard’s Achilles tear feels like the death knell for not just Bucks contention but also Giannis’ time with the organization. 

Why Portland?

Of course, Lillard’s spot in Milwaukee is both why the Bucks might need to trade Giannis and also why Portland could enter the chat. 

For everything good that Lillard brought Milwaukee, he also cost them their defensive ace in Jrue Holiday, which has proved problematic. More to the current conundrum, he also cost them a 2029 unprotected first-round draft pick, as well as their unprotected swap rights in 2028 and 2030.

Milwaukee does not own its first-round picks from 2025 to 2030.

Lillard was worth the risk. Everything about his game and professionalism was complementary to Giannis and the Bucks. But not all risks come with reward, and so far, Milwaukee has not been rewarded for its blockbuster. Those picks the Bucks traded hurt their shot, not just to swing future deals, but they make it impossible to plan a rebuild without giving up something big first. 

That big piece is a larger-than-life trade chip that some thought would never hit the market. And if they’re looking for a team with draft capital to help them rebuild, the same team that sent them Lillard has assets. 

Is It Likely? 

As poetic as it would be to flip Milwaukee’s picks from the Lillard trade back to the Bucks for Giannis—and boy is that satisfying to think about—it’s more likely the Basketball Gods favor a team higher on oddsmakers’ lists. 

Giannis’ true top landing spots are probably the Rockets, Heat, Nets, or even Thunder, if they fall short of a title this season. And because we’ve invoked the Basketball Gods’ names multiple times, it also seems inevitable that the Golden State Warriors (8/1) get involved, and even Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs (25/1) become a sleeper. 

Portland, though, would have those draft picks. And poetry aside, it would be logical for the Bucks to desperately want those back in a deal, knowing that trading Giannis is the start of a massive rebuild with losing seasons ahead. 

The Trail Blazers have also compiled a unique blend of high-salary vets and young players with “mystery box” potential, possibly helping to navigate a trade market complicated by newer CBA rules. 

Deandre Ayton will make roughly $35.5 million next season on an expiring deal, while Jerami Grant is at $32 million with a few years to go. Anfernee Simons will be at $27.7 million in an expiring deal of his own. And Robert Williams’ expiring $13.3 million deal will also be on the table for the right suitor. 

Then there’s the young talent, which is where some fans will get uncomfortable. When names like Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara are thrown around in hypothetical deals, or say Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe from the backcourt, the emotional high of trading for Giannis levels out. That becomes increasingly true as trade ideas pop up containing multiple high-ceiling players from this list. 

Of course, there will be a pocket of Rip City ready to buy high on Giannis at any cost. The Blazers have rarely been in position to acquire a star in a trade, let alone one of the stars of the current day. But it won’t come cheap. It’s not supposed to. Unlike what we saw from GM Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks with Luka, Milwaukee will shop Giannis across the league and work with every team that has assets. 

Whoever wins the Giannis sweepstakes, should it get to that point, will have to go nuclear. And while it’s unlikely Portland emerges as a true favorite when those calls become real, the team has built a war chest that it shouldn’t be afraid to unload.