The Milwaukee Bucks will only trade their homegrown superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo if he requests it, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
Questions about Antetokounmpo’s long-term future in Milwaukee arose following the Bucks’ third straight first-round exit and after losing Damian Lillard to a devastating Achilles injury that will keep him out most, if not all, of next season.
“I don’t think Giannis himself does not want to go to the Bucks and say, ‘Trade me.’ But next year, there’s no way with Damian Lillard carrying a salary of nearly 60 million — they don’t have control of their own first-round pick till 2031 — they don’t have a pathway to build a contender around him at this point,” Stein said on the “All NBA” podcast. “But the rumbles that you always hear are that just having Giannis is so important to them financially. They’re not going to trade him unless he pushes it.”
After the Bucks acquired Lillard in 2023, essentially swapping him for Jrue Holiday, Antetokounmpo agreed to a three-year extension worth $186 million, with a player option for the 2027-28 season.
‘Whole League is on Edge’
The Bucks have the leverage with Antetokounmpo locked up for the next two seasons before he can opt out of his current deal. But as a franchise player, who gave everything for the city of Milwaukee including leading them to the NBA title in 2021 that ended a 50-year drought, Antetokounmpo has earned the right to choose his next destination if he decides to move on.
“The whole league is on edge, waiting to see will Giannis’ representatives go to the Bucks and say, ‘It’s time. Move us, hold the auction, and start over.’ I don’t think the Bucks want to do that,” Stein said. “You could make the case that they should want to do that, that they should say, ‘Let’s go out and get the largest haul we can get back for Giannis,’ but I don’t think the Bucks are there. We’re going to see where Giannis is.”
After averaging 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.2 blocks, the 30-year-old Bucks superstar is among the three finalists for the NBA MVP award that is hotly contested between Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
This marks the fifth time Antetokounmpo has been a top-three MVP finisher in his 12-year career.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Wants a ‘Second Ring’
Antetokounmpo made himself clear that he wants to win a second championship. After Lillard’s injury, it’s pretty clear they are getting further away from title contention in the foreseeable future.
“I’m trying to win a second ring,” he told his brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo on the “Thanalysis Show” in April. “Everybody plays to win, but me not having a second championship… I look back at my career, and everybody can say, ‘He had an amazing career,’ first-ballot Hall of Famer, but me personally, if I’m not able to win a second ring, I’m letting down myself.”
Antetokounmpo dodged questions about his long-term future in Milwaukee after losing to the Indiana Pacers in the first round.
“I’m not gonna do this,” Antetkounmpo told reporters. “I know how this is gonna — whatever I say, I know it’s going to translate. I don’t know, man. I wish I were still playing. I wish I were still competing and going back to Milwaukee. I don’t know.”
Bucks Will Only Trade Giannis on One Condition, Says NBA Insider