A 114-116 loss in Cleveland tonight has the Bucks sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee’s terrible 1-6 record to start the season has been enough to get the rumor mill churning around the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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NJ.com’s NBA insider Adam Zagoria reported that several NBA executives are also of the opinion that Antetokounmpo is going to be a trade target sooner or later. However, there are different perspectives around the league as to when exactly the Greek Freak will throw in the towel on the Bucks.
A top executive whose team “could be in the mix” to land Giannis shared, “I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened by the trade deadline.” The trade deadline this season falls on February 6th, and if Milwaukee fails to get to even a .500 record by Week 10, it’s unlikely that Antetokounmpo will remain content with his team.
Given how much is at stake for the Bucks, the team knows they have to steady the ship and do it soon. This gives another NBA executive some confidence that Antetokounmpo will see out the full 2024-25 season in Cream City.
“Not till this summer at the earliest,” the executive commented, adding the Heat, Nets, Rockets and Clippers as potential landing spots for Giannis should he demand a trade.
However, both Brooklyn and LA are not ideal candidates for the Greek Freak. If he demands a trade, it will be to ensure that his prime is spent competing for another championship, and both the Nets and the Clippers don’t have the personnel to make that happen.
After all, any trade for Antetokounmpo will involve at least two star players and a handful of first-round picks. Only the Houston Rockets seem equipped to make such an offer without completely handicapping the roster Giannis would inherit after joining.
But a different source from the Western Conference insisted that “the only places I can see him going are Miami or [the] LA [Clippers].”
Unless the Heat can retain Jimmy Butler and either Tyler Herro or Bam Adebayo after trading for Giannis, they won’t be able to entice the Greek Freak with a contending roster either. Maybe it’s on the Bucks to keep these outcomes at bay, both for the franchise and their star.
What can Milwaukee do to hold on to Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Since 2020, the Bucks ownership has consistently prioritized Giannis, making several trades to ensure that he would see a winning future in Milwaukee. The trade for Jrue Holiday was their first signal of intent and it only took a month after that for Antetokounmpo to sign a contract extension.
The same trend repeated last season. Giannis was set to enter free agency in 2025, and the Bucks, desperate to retain their two-time MVP, traded away Holiday to land Damian Lillard. Two weeks later, Antetokounmpo signed a 3-year $184 million extension that will keep him in town through at least the 2026-27 season.
Now, there don’t seem to be any more cards left for the Bucks front office to play. The blockbuster trade for Lillard shook up their roster and Milwaukee’s early playoff exit was attributed largely to the fact that Dame and Giannis were still acclimatizing to playing alongside each other. However, they have had a full off-season together now and there are no excuses for their dismal record through two weeks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has the choice to either demand a trade or wait three years and opt out of his player option to enter 2027 free agency. Either way, what happens in Milwaukee this year has the potential to change the landscape of the NBA.
