Two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo could be teammates with Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards or Jalen Brunson by Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
But the Milwaukee Bucks star isn’t playing the ‘what if’ game, even though he has always had a proclivity for hypothetical scenarios. In an interview with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski, Antetokounmpo was asked if he still had a glimmer of hope of remaining in Milwaukee and winning another championship.
His response was loaded and quite telling of how he currently views the Bucks.
“You cannot say,” he responded. “I’ve always been, always, always, this is the NBA, I love watching it, I always make hypothetical scenarios.
“What if I play with LeBron [James]? [Kevin Durant]? What if play with [Michael] Jordan? What if I play with Kobe [Bryant]? Everybody makes hypotheticals scenarios. What if you could get, blah blah blah. But at the end of the day, you have to commit somewhere, right? You have to commit somewhere. And I think for 13 years I’ve committed here more than anybody, any player, ever committed.”
Giannis Trade: Bucks on the Clock
In a perfect world, Antetokounmpo would prefer to stay in Milwaukee and deliver another title, furthering his claim as the best player in Bucks franchise history.
“If you ask me what do I really want, deep down in my heart? I want to be a Milwaukee Buck until I retire and win a championship here. End of sentence,” said Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists, minutes, blocks and triple-doubles.
“If that is not possible to happen, and if then you realize maybe that’s not the case and maybe they’re looking elsewhere and that’s not what they’re trying to do, then automatically you have to be in the plans of what they’re trying to do or weigh the other options. It’s normal,” he added.
To Antetokounmpo’s credit, he made similar remarks on Media Day, saying he was committed to the Bucks but could change his mind at the end of the season.
Giannis Trade to Timberwolves?
Antetokounmpo’s love of hypothetical scenarios has reportedly led him to ponder playing with blossoming star Anthony Edwards. Per multiple insiders, the Minnesota Timberwolves are atop his preferred landing spots, closely followed by the Miami Heat.
“Talking to people around Giannis he cares about the narrative structure of his next situation just as much as his exit from Milwaukee,” insider Jake Fischer reported on Tuesday. “Joining young superstar in Anthony Edwards and helping the Wolves get past the WCF after two straight trips and a long window working with him and creating history in Minnesota they have not achieved would certainly be a major storyline.”
As for the Warriors, Antetokounmpo reportedly has some trepidation about joining the soon-to-be-38-year-old Stephen Curry and an aging roster.
“…Some in the know suspect Antetokounmpo could be turned off by the idea of joining an older team and/or facing the sort of criticism that Kevin Durant continues to absorb to this day about teaming up with Curry,” Fischer wrote on “The Stein Line.”
Giannis Talks ‘Hypotheticals’ As Steph Curry Looms as Possible Teammate