Whenever uncertainty arises surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Bucks, the Milwaukee front office kicks into highgear. They stretch every resource and snatch up any opportunity to retool the roster to the 6’9″ superstar’s liking. We saw it in 2020. Again in 2023. Each time the ‘Greek Freak’ hinted at leaving, the Bucks scrambled to convince him to stay.
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Now, they’re swinging for the fences once more. But the million-dollar question remains: Will it be enough to keep Giannis happy? Houston Rockets legend Vernon Maxwell doesn’t think so.
The Bucks haven’t experienced a high level of success since they won the NBA championship in 2021. They lost in the second round of the 2021-22 playoffs to the Boston Celtics, and the past three seasons have all ended in a first-round elimination.
The most recent outing had big implications for the future of the roster. Damian Lillard tore his Achilles, which meant this upcoming season would be a write-off for the team and Antetokounmpo. In an effort not to waste another year of Giannis’ prime, the Bucks made the once unthinkable decision to waive Lillard to open up enough cap to acquire Myles Turner.
This addition improves the Bucks for the short term, since Lillard wouldn’t have suited up for the 2025-26 season. But in the grand scheme, Milwaukee is still a tier below the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and even the Orlando Magic.
The entire purpose of the Turner signing was to satisfy Antetokounmpo. Maxwell believes both parties need to go their separate ways. “They got to cut the cord on Giannis,” Maxwell said on the All The Smoke podcast. “Let this motherf****r go. He don’t want to be there. They’re in a rebuilding situation.”
Bucks aren’t headed where Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to go
Maxwell believes the direction the Bucks are heading doesn’t align with Giannis’ goals. The two-time MVP has made it clear that his only intention is to win championships, nothing else. Maxwell believes this current roster can’t help him on that mission.
The former two-time champion with the Rockets isn’t out of line for his assertion. This is the worst supporting cast for Giannis since the 2016-17 season. It seems like the shift happened overnight. Stephen Jackson points to the exact moment things went downhill for the Bucks.
“Once they traded [Khris Middleton] away, that’s when things started going downhill,” Jackson said. “Now Giannis doesn’t know if he really wants to be there.”
Maxwell and Jackson’s comments suggest the worst possible outcome for Bucks faithful. Luckily, Matt Barnes believes not all hope is lost. He looks to the Denver Nuggets as a team the Bucks could draw inspiration from in terms of turning things around.
“It’s a similar thing that Denver did. The small pieces to help you get that championship. Denver was able to rebound and rebuild, but Milwaukee hasn’t been able to do that,” Barnes explained.
There’s still a possibility for the Bucks to add a key piece to their roster. Despite Turner’s average salary of $27 million and Milwaukee’s dead cap of Lillard’s $22.6 million, which they stretched, the Bucks aren’t a luxury tax team.
If the right opportunity presents itself, they could make key improvements. That would be their only other choice, or else the clock of Giannis’ inevitable departure will tick faster by the second.
