“Did we participate in a competition today? No… If you don’t compete hard, you’re not going to win the competition. [You have to] At least give yourself a chance… Are you okay with not competing? I’m not okay with that s***.”
That was a frustrated Giannis Antetokounmpo after he and the Bucks were easy work for the Knicks on Friday night. That frustration has fueled the NBA rumor mill and led to speculation that the Bucks could be forced to trade Antetokounmpo, perhaps at the February trade deadline.
Don’t bet on it.
As previously reported here, league sources have told NBC Sports that the Bucks will not trade Antetokounmpo unless he demands it. While other front offices are monitoring the situation, no one realistically expects that to happen during this season. While Antetokounmpo has fueled that rumor, he fired himself with more than one comment. years ago that competing for a ring is the most important thing – and this season’s Milwaukee squad didn’t look like a contender at all – he’s been nothing but loyal to the Bucks, signing a three-year contract extension before last season, which isn’t has been the case. even fell for it. He is under contract with the Bucks until the summer of 2027, after which he can opt out. Even if he were to ask for a trade at this point, the Bucks could and would play this slowly in an attempt to adjust the roster around him.
Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps went into detail about the same idea at ESPN.
The Bucks are indeed beginning to canvass the league for a trade, league executives told ESPN. But no, not that trade. The concept of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo hitting the trade market is ripe for rumors and trade machine calculations, but it’s not a reality for Antetokounmpo or the Bucks at this point, sources say…
Milwaukee makes trade talks in search of help for Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard as Khris Middleton’s absence from offseason ankle surgery extends and the team gets off to a 2-6 start [ED note: this was written before the loss to the Knicks]…
For a league that loves drama and fans that crave trades, it’s tempting to jump to conclusions with Antetokounmpo. In this case, however, it must be understood that the Bucks are heavily incentivized to try everything to make this roster work with Antetokounmpo and exhaust all options before considering anything else. The Bucks have no control over their next six first-round picks; they traded three firsts and executed three swaps. This effectively blunts the concept of a near-term rebuild through the Milwaukee draft.
The latter is crucial: Milwaukee has no motivation to trade Antetokounmpo. First, he sets the business model for them: people pay for tickets to see him, sponsors pay to be associated with the franchise because of him, and he is worth a lot more to the Bucks than they pay him. Second, the Bucks can’t just jump into a rebuild, they have no control over their own trade picks (and even if a team sent them five first-round picks in a trade, how good would those picks be, as Antetokounmpo said lifts team to playoffs and likely battle).
Milwaukee may want to make a trade to get talent around Antetokounmpo, but they have bigger problems there. First, they don’t have many assets to trade: as mentioned, they don’t control their next six first-round picks, and they don’t have the young players on the roster that other teams covet. Second, and perhaps more worrying, the Bucks are also over the second tax apron, which means there are severe restrictions on the types of trades they can make (they can’t add up salaries and they can’t take back $1 ). than they ship, and they can’t put cash into a transaction). It is almost impossible for them to set up a meaningful transaction.
The Bucks will look around and probably make some sort of trade this offseason, but it’s probably not something Bucks fans see as a game-changer.
And Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t be among them.
Maybe something will change around Antetokounmpo this summer if the entire season goes sideways. Maybe he will change the dynamic, but we are still a long way from that.
