These are the best Western Conference suitors for Giannis with OKC out of the running

Despite their loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder don't appear to be considering a major shakeup this offseason.

Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported Sunday that "league sources with knowledge of the Thunder's thinking continue to dismiss them" as a real threat to acquire Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who figures to get traded within the next few weeks.

However, Fischer added that "one clear theme" repeatedly came up with team representatives across the league: "How do we combat Victor Wembanyama?" (Those conversations likely happened before the New York Knicks took a 2-0 series lead over Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.)

Antetokounmpo is one of the most obvious answers available this offseason, particularly for a team in win-now mode.

With that in mind, we've ranked the five Western Conference teams that can cobble together a legitimately intriguing offer and should have real interest in the Greek Freak.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves

According to Jon Krawcyznski of The Athletic, the Minnesota Timberwolves "got word that Antetokounmpo was open to the idea of teaming up with Anthony Edwards" ahead of the trade deadline. He added that the Wolves "explored numerous avenues, but never engaged the Bucks on anything of real substance."

Now that Antetokounmpo appears likely to get moved imminently, the Timberwolves at least owe it to themselves to reengage with the Bucks. However, there's apparently a "widely held belief" around the league that "Antetokounmpo prefers to play in the East," according to Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

While that seemingly reduces the likelihood that he end up on the Timberwolves or any other team in the West, there's no guarantee of that. No one expected the Toronto Raptors to swoop in for Kawhi Leonard in 2018. It only takes one front office to make a knock-your-socks-off offer without any guarantee of Antetokounmpo staying beyond next season.

The Timberwolves are short on tradable draft picks, so any offer would have to begin with Jaden McDaniels. He showed some untapped upside as a scorer this season, particularly against the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs. He isn't a blue-chip prospect or a high lottery pick, though. That means the Wolves would have to throw in more.

The Bucks would likely want some combination of Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert (especially if they can offload Myles Turner) and Naz Reid along with McDaniels. They might be open to constructs involving an Ayo Dosunmu sign-and-trade, too. But if they're after a considerable draft haul, especially in the wake of the new lottery reform, the Timberwolves might be out of luck.

4. Utah Jazz

By virtue of winning the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, the Utah Jazz are now a legitimate contender for Antetokounmpo or any other star who becomes available this offseason. A guaranteed choice between at least two of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer is a crown jewel.

It's also unclear whether the Jazz would be willing to trade it. Instead, they could build a few different types of deals for the Greek Freak.

The Jazz could trade one of Jaren Jackson Jr. ($49.0 million) or Lauri Markkanen ($46.1 million) as the primary salary ballast in an Antetokounmpo deal. They might be able to push the deal over the edge by including either Ace Bailey, who's on his rookie-scale deal for three more years, or Keyonte George, who becomes extension-eligible this offseason.

The Jazz also have all of their own first-round picks moving forward except for 2027—they get the second-most favorable of theirs, Cleveland's and Minnesota's—and they get the top two of their, Cleveland and Minnesota's first-round picks in 2029. They could offer as many as 4-5 first-rounders if they weren't willing to part with either Markkanen or Jackson. Instead, they could offer a Walker Kessler sign-and-trade as part of the salary-matching.

The Jazz already shifted into win-now mode with their acquisition of Jackson at the trade deadline. Why not hit the pedal to the metal this offseason? A Peterson-Bailey-Markkanen-Antetokounmpo-Jackson lineup could break basketball.

3. Portland Trail Blazers

One of the Bucks' main goals in an Antetokounmpo trade should be getting as many cracks at the next three drafts as possible. Unfortunately, the Portland Trail Blazers already own most of their future by virtue of first-round swap rights in 2028 and 2030 and an unprotected 2029 first.

If the Blazers were willing to trade Deni Avdija for the Greek Freak, that might automatically put them at the front of the queue. But they'd presumably be trading for Antetokounmpo so he could play with Avdija and reunite with both Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard.

That leaves them with a few clear paths to an Antetokounmpo trade.

Jerami Grant ($34.2 million) almost has to be involved for salary-matching reasons. But Shaedon Sharpe ($20..1 million), Toumani Camara ($18.1 million) and Scoot Henderson ($13.6 million) could be used to balance out the money as well.

If the Blazers could pair Antetokounmpo with the 7'2", 280-pound Donovan Clingan, they might have enough size to at least contend with the Thunder and Wembanyama's size. But since they own the Bucks' future picks, the Bucks should at least look to involve them in a multi-team deal even if they don't land the Greek Freak. (Perhaps they get Jaylen Brown instead?)

2. Houston Rockets

During a recent Bleacher Report livestream, Fischer poured cold water on the idea of the Houston Rockets making a run at Antetokounmpo.

"I think the Rockets made their big, major move for a veteran with Kevin Durant back last summer," he said. "And I think the Rockets really do want to see what they can do with Fred VanVleet healthy and another year of maturation from Alperen Şengün and Amen Thompson."

If the Rockets change their mind, they could jump to the front of the line by offering either Şengün or Thompson for the Greek Freak.

Şengün is only in the second year of a well-below-max five-year, $185 million contract. Thompson is earning only $12.25 million next season but is extension-eligible this offseason. Both have multi-time All-Star potential, although they also each have weaknesses that could hamper their ability to help anchor a championship team.

If the Rockets wanted to keep both of them, they could build an offer around a pair of recent top-three picks, Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard. They also own all of their first-round picks after this year, along with fully unprotected Phoenix Suns picks in both 2027 and 2029.

The Rockets would have little trouble constructing an appealing Antetokounmpo offer if they were willing to go all-in. It doesn't sound like they're seriously considering that at the moment, though.

1. San Antonio Spurs

Speaking of teams that aren't likely to seriously consider a major shakeup this offseason…

For all we know, Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs will become the first team in NBA history to come back and win the Finals after losing the first two games at home. But even if they fall short to the Knicks, they're just entering their championship window. They aren't likely to make a panic move, particularly after toppling the defending champion Thunder in the conference finals.

With that said… if other teams are considering Antetokounmpo as a potential antidote to Wembanyama, might it make sense to deprive them of that opportunity by adding him alongside Wemby instead?

Wembanyama would obviously be off-limits in those negotiations. The Spurs might prefer to offload De'Aaron Fox as the main salary-match, but the Bucks would inevitably ask about Stephon Castle and/or Dylan Harper. If the Spurs aren't willing to include either one, other teams should be able to top their best offer.

What if the Bucks are willing to settle for a Fox-and-picks-centric package, though? That should be a relative no-brainer for the Bucks, as it would clear the eventual logjam they'll have in their backcourt while adding a dynamic offensive creator who could help shoulder a huge chunk of the workload on both ends of the floor.

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