Cleveland Cavaliers fans have been dreaming of a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade before the Feb. 5 deadline, but that dream might be much further from reality than assumed.
On Monday, NBA insider Jake Fischer all but officially ruled out the Cavs from the Giannis sweepstakes.
Jake Fischer suggests the Cavs aren't a real Giannis suitor
"I don't think Cleveland believes that they are a legitimate suitor (for Giannis)," Fischer said during a live stream for Bleacher Report.
Fischer also said that he doubts the Cavs are even still calling the Milwaukee Bucks about a potential Giannis deal.
Fischer didn't get into why the Cavs may have fallen out of the running for Antetokounmpo, but it's easy to connect the dots: Cleveland doesn't have nearly enough first-round draft capital to entice Milwaukee.
In fact, Koby Altman is only working with a single tradable first-round pick at the moment. The Bucks are (wisely) looking for an absolute haul of future assets for Giannis, especially if they're going to jump the gun and trade him before the deadline, as they can easily wait until the offseason to do so.
On the bright side, Cavaliers fans don't have to worry about losing Evan Mobley. The 24-year-old reigning Defensive Player of the Year surely would have been the headlining player in any realistic trade for Antetokounmpo.
Giving up Mobley for Giannis would have been defensible, of course, but also potentially regrettable, especially given Antetokounmpo's uncertain future beyond next season.
Were things not working out in Cleveland between Giannis and Donovan Mitchell, and the team wasn't contending, Antetokounmpo could ostensibly bolt in the summer of 2027. That would leave Altman looking foolish for having exchanged four-and-a-half guaranteed years of Mobley in his twenties for a season-and-a-half of Giannis.
Giannis is the kind of transcendent, generational talent that makes fans perk up by instinct the moment he's mentioned in trade rumors. But once Cavs fans had the opportunity to take a deep breath and think for a few minutes about the actual fit for Antetokounmpo in Cleveland, not to mention what it would take to get him, reality set in.
Full disclosure, Giannis would fit anywhere. He's Giannis. But given Cleveland's lack of first-round draft ammo required to enter the conversation, it behooves Cavs fans to look over at Mobley and act as if they'd never, ever sacrifice his upside for Antetokounmpo.
Cavs Nation, let's all pretend like we never wanted Giannis. Because Fischer's right -- he's not coming.