“I’m not going to do this… I know how it’s going to translate,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said when asked about his future with the franchise after the Bucks’ first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Pacers.
Antetokounmpo may not want to discuss it, but in league circles it is all anyone else wants to talk about: Will Giannis Antetokounmpo ask for a trade, or return to the Bucks next season? Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee’s just-extended GM Jon Horst, as well as other organizational decision-makers, soon will sit down and discuss the future, reports Shams Charania at ESPN. This is an annual meeting, but this year’s takes on added weight after the Bucks were bounced from the playoffs in the first round for the third straight season.
There’s a lot to pack here, let’s break it all down.
Antetokounmpo’s Decision
• The Milwaukee Bucks are not going to trade Antetokounmpo unless he asks for a trade (even if it’s a savvy basketball decision). He is worth too much to the franchise financially to do so — he is the reason people buy season seats, and sponsors want to be associated with the team. They don’t build the relatively new Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee without him on the roster. Who knows how long it will be before the Bucks can land another Hall of Famer and MVP player once he leaves, so the organization isn’t about to push him out the door.
• Antetokounmpo has not asked for a trade. If anything, the vibe has been the opposite of that this past season. Every report out of Milwaukee this year talks about how he has been happy with the organization and their willingness to do what it takes to compete, including trading for Damian Lillard. Antetokounmpo thought he and Lillard made progress this season.
• With his torn Achilles suffered in the playoffs, Lillard will be out for most, if not all, of next season.
• The Bucks do not have a clear path to retooling this roster around Antetokounmpo. In an effort to contend now, the team has given up long-term assets for short-term gains, so it does not control its own first-round draft pick until next decade and is already well into the second luxury tax apron for next season, limiting team building. Two of its top rotation players, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis, are free agents this summer and will be expensive to retain. How much can trading Pat Connaughton ($9.5 million contract next season) and a 2031 first-round pick really get this team?
• The Bucks we saw this season and playoffs are pretty much the Bucks we will see for the next few years — Antetokounmpo was the third-best player in the league, had an MVP-conversation level season, and this team was the No. 5 seed and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
• Antetokounmpo must decide what matters most to him: Being a one-team player his entire career, being loyal to the Bucks and living with that outcome, or contending for another ring? If another title is what matters most to him and his legacy, he has to ask for a trade.
Potential Antetokounmpo landing spots
• Other teams around the league have been keeping an eye on the Antetokounmpo situation for a couple of years, and think that watched pot may finally boil over.
• What teams are interested in an Antetokounmpo trade? All 29 of them. It’s malpractice not to at least call and kick the tires on a deal — MVP-level players in their prime don’t become available for trades often. However, only a handful of teams make real sense.
• Houston is the most obvious, because these playoffs have shown its need for an elite bucket getter, and the Rockets have a lot of young players and picks to build that trade around. How aggressively the Rockets might pursue Antetokounmpo is the question — Houston likes its young core and isn’t looking to blow it up.
Amen Thompson is reportedly off the table, but there has been some buzz that the Rockets would be open to trading Alperen Sengun in the right deal. Houston can throw multiple first-round draft picks — a 2025 lottery pick from the Suns, unprotected Phoenix firsts in 2027 and 2029, plus some of the Rockets’ own picks — as well as other players such as Jalen Green or Reed Sheppard in the mix.
• Brooklyn has said its “plan A” is to chase and land Antetokounmpo, giving them the biggest hoops star in New York. They have draft picks and the cap space to take on some contracts that the Bucks will want to dump if they are rebuilding, so this could be the best offer Milwaukee sees.
• Miami will be in the discussion, but lacks the draft picks to really get in the game at the highest levels. How much does a Tyler Herro/Jaime Jaquez Jr./Duncan Robinson return thrill the Bucks anyway?
• San Antonio would be interesting — a Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, Antetokounmpo big three would win a lot of games — and they have the draft picks to entice the Bucks. An offer centered around Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and two lottery picks this year (the Spurs and Hawks) would have to make the Bucks at least think about it.
• Oklahoma City has the players and draft picks to not only get in this race but win it, but don’t expect them to break up a young core they are already contending with.
• There will be a lot of noise about the Knicks, who could offer something along the lines of Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, and first-round picks in 2026 and 2030, but that bid would fall short.
• The NBA is poised for this to be the Summer of Antetokounmpo, but it’s going to be his decision. Does he want to stay loyal and in Milwaukee, or chase a ring elsewhere?
“I’m not going to do this… I know how it’s going to translate,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said when asked about his future with the franchise after the Bucks’ first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Pacers.
Antetokounmpo may not want to discuss it, but in league circles it is all anyone else wants to talk about: Will Giannis Antetokounmpo ask for a trade, or return to the Bucks next season? Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee’s just-extended GM Jon Horst, as well as other organizational decision-makers, soon will sit down and discuss the future, reports Shams Charania at ESPN. This is an annual meeting, but this year’s takes on added weight after the Bucks were bounced from the playoffs in the first round for the third straight season.
There’s a lot to pack here, let’s break it all down.
Antetokounmpo’s Decision
• The Milwaukee Bucks are not going to trade Antetokounmpo unless he asks for a trade (even if it’s a savvy basketball decision). He is worth too much to the franchise financially to do so — he is the reason people buy season seats, and sponsors want to be associated with the team. They don’t build the relatively new Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee without him on the roster. Who knows how long it will be before the Bucks can land another Hall of Famer and MVP player once he leaves, so the organization isn’t about to push him out the door.
• Antetokounmpo has not asked for a trade. If anything, the vibe has been the opposite of that this past season. Every report out of Milwaukee this year talks about how he has been happy with the organization and their willingness to do what it takes to compete, including trading for Damian Lillard. Antetokounmpo thought he and Lillard made progress this season.
• With his torn Achilles suffered in the playoffs, Lillard will be out for most, if not all, of next season.
• The Bucks do not have a clear path to retooling this roster around Antetokounmpo. In an effort to contend now, the team has given up long-term assets for short-term gains, so it does not control its own first-round draft pick until next decade and is already well into the second luxury tax apron for next season, limiting team building. Two of its top rotation players, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis, are free agents this summer and will be expensive to retain. How much can trading Pat Connaughton ($9.5 million contract next season) and a 2031 first-round pick really get this team?
• The Bucks we saw this season and playoffs are pretty much the Bucks we will see for the next few years — Antetokounmpo was the third-best player in the league, had an MVP-conversation level season, and this team was the No. 5 seed and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
• Antetokounmpo must decide what matters most to him: Being a one-team player his entire career, being loyal to the Bucks and living with that outcome, or contending for another ring? If another title is what matters most to him and his legacy, he has to ask for a trade.
Potential Antetokounmpo landing spots
• Other teams around the league have been keeping an eye on the Antetokounmpo situation for a couple of years, and think that watched pot may finally boil over.
• What teams are interested in an Antetokounmpo trade? All 29 of them. It’s malpractice not to at least call and kick the tires on a deal — MVP-level players in their prime don’t become available for trades often. However, only a handful of teams make real sense.
• Houston is the most obvious, because these playoffs have shown its need for an elite bucket getter, and the Rockets have a lot of young players and picks to build that trade around. How aggressively the Rockets might pursue Antetokounmpo is the question — Houston likes its young core and isn’t looking to blow it up.
Amen Thompson is reportedly off the table, but there has been some buzz that the Rockets would be open to trading Alperen Sengun in the right deal. Houston can throw multiple first-round draft picks — a 2025 lottery pick from the Suns, unprotected Phoenix firsts in 2027 and 2029, plus some of the Rockets’ own picks — as well as other players such as Jalen Green or Reed Sheppard in the mix.
• Brooklyn has said its “plan A” is to chase and land Antetokounmpo, giving them the biggest hoops star in New York. They have draft picks and the cap space to take on some contracts that the Bucks will want to dump if they are rebuilding, so this could be the best offer Milwaukee sees.
• Miami will be in the discussion, but lacks the draft picks to really get in the game at the highest levels. How much does a Tyler Herro/Jaime Jaquez Jr./Duncan Robinson return thrill the Bucks anyway?
• San Antonio would be interesting — a Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, Antetokounmpo big three would win a lot of games — and they have the draft picks to entice the Bucks. An offer centered around Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and two lottery picks this year (the Spurs and Hawks) would have to make the Bucks at least think about it.
• Oklahoma City has the players and draft picks to not only get in this race but win it, but don’t expect them to break up a young core they are already contending with.
• There will be a lot of noise about the Knicks, who could offer something along the lines of Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, and first-round picks in 2026 and 2030, but that bid would fall short.
• The NBA is poised for this to be the Summer of Antetokounmpo, but it’s going to be his decision. Does he want to stay loyal and in Milwaukee, or chase a ring elsewhere?
