Absolutely wild NBA trade idea sends former Blue Devil to third Eastern Conference team

Former Duke Blue Devil RJ Barrett has been included in a crazy NBA trade idea that would unite superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo with Luka Dončić in Los Angeles.
Portland Trail Blazers v Toronto Raptors
Portland Trail Blazers v Toronto Raptors | Mark Blinch/GettyImages

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is currently being discussed in potential trade talks as he has openly explores options outside of Milwaukee. With a future Hall of Famer like Antetokounmpo potentially interested in finding a new home comes wild trade scenarios that would completely shake up the landscape of the NBA, and this new wild mock trade ships former Duke Blue Devil RJ Barrett off to his third franchise in his six-year NBA career.

Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus recently released a monster five-team trade idea that includes several of the league's top players, along with Barrett. The full details of the trade are quite lengthy, but the centerpieces of the deal involve sending Antetokounmpo to the Los Angeles Lakers to team up with Luka Dončić, while sending LeBron James to the Dallas Mavericks.

Barrett is sent to the Milwaukee Bucks in the deal. The full trade involves Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Dallas, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Toronto Raptors, which is Barrett's current franchise.

Although the likelihood of this exact deal taking place is a long shot, the 25-year-old guard has continuously come up in trade rumors throughout the last year or so. After getting shipped to Toronto from the New York Knicks during the 2023-24 season, which drafted Barrett with the third overall selection in the 2019 NBA Draft, the former Blue Devil has been playing the best basketball of his career.

Starting all 58 games he played in the 2024-25 season, Barrett averaged 21.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on 46.8% shooting from the field and 35.0% shooting from three-point range. He's averaged at least 20 points per game in each of his two seasons as a Raptor, a feat he accomplished just once through his four full seasons in a Knicks uniform.

After the Raptors traded for another Duke basketball player at last season's trade deadline in Brandon Ingram, Barrett has been linked to the trade block as a young piece who's been ascending over the last two seasons.

As Toronto might look to compete sooner rather than later with a top duo of Ingram and Scottie Barnes, Barrett could find himself in a new city at some point over the next year or so. This mock trade is one of many that feature the former Duke star.