Antetokounmpo to Nets for Simmons, plethora of picks? Expert brings up possibility

NEW YORK – Australian NBA star Ben Simmons’ expiring salary was floated by veteran sports journalist Bill Simmons of The Ringer as one of the trade chips for the Brooklyn Nets in the potential Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.

NBA teams are preparing for an Antetokounmpo blockbuster trade amid the Milwaukee Bucks’ poor 3-8 start to the season.

The Nets have the draft capital to entice the Bucks should they decide to rebuild and trade away their franchise star.

"The [Nets] own their own first [round pick] in 2025, they own Phoenix’s first, they own the Knicks’ first, they own Milwaukee’s first, which is one through four protected,” Simmons said on the latest episode of The Bill Simmons podcast. “They own their own firsts in ’26 and ’29.”

"They just can say... here’s Ben Simmons’s expiring contract and here are all of these picks. Just take all of them. Take as many as you want, and give us Giannis." 

Simmons is in the final year of a five-year, $170-million max contract he signed with his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers, in 2019. 

Saddled by injuries and mental health issues over the last two seasons, Simmons has been a shell of his version that made him the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA draft. 

But the 6-foot-10 point guard has shown some promise early this season, averaging 6.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists for the Nets over his first eight games. 

In the potential bidding war for Antetokounmpo’s services, it’s not Simmons but Brooklyn’s cache of draft picks that will be the Nets’ strongest draw for the Bucks to consider. 

However, multiple reports have indicated that neither the Bucks nor Antetokounmpo are seeking to move on from each other despite their poor start. Instead, the Bucks are reportedly looking for a trade to improve their roster around Antetokounmpo.

But the Bucks are limited by their new Collective Bargaining Agreement and the absence of draft picks. They cannot aggregate salaries nor take in more money than they send out in the trade as a team above the second apron. They also don’t own any of their first-round picks until 2031.

The Bucks’ slow start only reinforces what the oddsmakers have been thinking about their ability to contend this season.

Bovada, which also offers online casino bonus like Ignition Casino Australia, has the Bucks as heavy underdogs at +3500 with 11 teams ahead of them, led by the defending champion Boston Celtics, who are the odds-on favorite at +275 to repeat. 

While the Nets are off to a surprising 5-6 start under new head coach Jordi Fernandez, their championship window has closed with the departure of their former stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in February last year.

They are in rebuilding mode with an eye toward the talent-rich NBA draft next year led by Duke’s Cooper Flagg, Rutgers’ pair of Ace Bailey and Filipino-American Dylan Harper. 

But the combination of their deep draft capital and a large cap room in the offseason also gives them the option to make a splash on stars via trade and free agency.

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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes US-based publications Heavy.com and Athlonsports.com.