Giannis Antetokounmpo seems to be taking some preliminary steps in the direction of an exit from the Milwaukee Bucks as he enters the 2025-26 season with some stage of hope that their reshaped roster may make them contenders once more in a depleted Japanese Convention. There may be perception across the NBA that Antetokounmpo will ultimately be traded, however it turned clear the events concerned within the scenario weren’t ready to take action in the course of the 2025 offseason.
“There’s been an expectation for fairly a while that Giannis’ days in Milwaukee, a method or one other, are numbered,” mentioned ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on NBA At the moment. “Whether or not that was going to occur this 12 months, whether or not it is going to occur probably throughout this season, or whether or not it may occur subsequent summer time.
“And whenever you get to conditions like this, I discover it very helpful to give attention to actions over phrases. Let us take a look at the actions of the events that we’ve got mentioned right here,” continued Windhorst.
“The Milwaukee Bucks waived and stretched Damian Lillard. That price them $100 million in useless cash on their books. Then they spent a further $100 million to signal Myles Turner this summer time. These are usually not the actions of a workforce that’s about to commerce the perfect participant they’ve had since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“Then you definately have a look at the New York Knicks. They clearly knew it was attainable that Giannis can be obtainable. We noticed some groups this summer time probably maintain again on strikes with the concept Giannis could possibly be obtainable. So the concept you would not be ready for this type of telephone name, I do not assume is true. And regardless of understanding that, the Knicks went forward and prolonged Mikal Bridges, which considerably restricted their potential to make a serious commerce. Once more, that motion signifies that they did not assume they had been in place to make this sort of commerce proper now.
“And let’s go to Giannis. If you wish to be traded as a star participant that makes over $50 million a 12 months within the apron period, particularly if in case you have a small number of groups that you simply need to be traded to, you don’t ask for a commerce or talk about a commerce in August. These discussions occur earlier than the NBA offseason begins. That is to not say {that a} commerce could not occur, however actually he must perceive that.
“So, I undoubtedly assume the actions that we see point out in some unspecified time in the future Giannis may once more be mentioned with the Knicks or elsewhere, however I have a look at the actions right here and I do not assume they had been ever going to result in a deal over the summer time between New York and Milwaukee.”
Antetokounmpo will grow to be eligible for a four-year, $275 million extension on October 1, 2026. Antetokounmpo can grow to be a free agent in 2027 for the primary time in his profession if he doesn’t signal an extension.
Antetokounmpo has completed top-5 in MVP voting for seven consecutive seasons.
