Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s latest attempt at saying he doesn\u2019t want to play for the Milwaukee Bucks anymore \u2014 without actually saying it, so he doesn\u2019t look bad \u2014 could be what finally, mercifully gets his long, ugly, ongoing divorce from the franchise over the finish line.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
His fear of becoming the \u201cbad guy\u201d by requesting the trade he\u2019s so clearly been longing for has only prolonged this inevitable split and convinced the Bucks to bleed assets in the process. Now, as their ship sinks, they\u2019re realizing that they offloaded all of their lifeboats to cut weight because Antetokounmpo wanted to sail faster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
While Giannis is not solely to blame for this, it\u2019s impossible to argue that his impatience and constant holding his team\u2019s feet to the fire didn\u2019t contribute. Let\u2019s take a trip back to 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Months after Milwaukee captured its first title in 50 years, Antetokounmpo publicly cast doubt on his future with the Bucks, for no discernible reason at all, during an interview with GQ Magazine\u2019s Zach Baron.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cOne challenge was to bring a championship here and we did,\u201d he told Baron. \u201cIt was very hard, but we did. Very, very hard. I just love challenges. What\u2019s the next challenge? The next challenge might not be here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Huh? Less than half a year after winning a title, you\u2019re already thinking about leaving??<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cMe and my family chose to stay in this city that we all love and has taken care of us\u2014for now [with a five-year supermax extension through the 2025 season],\u201d he added. \u201cIn two years, that might change. I\u2019m being totally honest with you. I\u2019m always honest.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Giannis critics \u2014 and at this point, even Bucks fans \u2014 might argue that sometimes he\u2019s a little too<\/em> honest. After a second-round exit in 2022 and a devastating first-round upset at the hands of the Miami Heat in 2023 raised tensions further, Giannis memorably went on a long rant about how sports don\u2019t ever feature failure<\/a>, but it was his next public comments that were more notable: The star issued another public warning to the Bucks, once again hinting at an eventual departure during a September 2023 appearance on the 48 Minutes Podcast.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cSo as I said, if the Milwaukee Bucks are on the same page for the rest of my career, great. If not, I have to win. I have to win. And I think the city and people will understand it\u2026 I have to do whatever it takes for me to win. And if there\u2019s a better situation for me to win the Larry O\u2019Brien, I have to take that better situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The message echoed what he\u2019d told The New York Times<\/em><\/a> a month prior.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cBut at the end of the day, being a winner, it\u2019s over that goal,\u201d he said. \u201cWinning a championship comes first. I don\u2019t want to be 20 years on the same team and don\u2019t win another championship.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Just talking about wanting to win championships would be one thing, but his constant flirting with a trade request elsewhere to do so pushed Milwaukee into desperation mode.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n General Manager Jon Horst and the rest of the front office, with their collective palms profusely sweating, made the following moves in response to appease their perpetually noncomittal star, despite injuries being the driving force behind the team\u2019s previous playoff shortcomings:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s not a player\u2019s job to understand how roster construction works, even if they\u2019re openly imploring the team to make moves. Milwaukee\u2019s front office still did all of the above on purpose, and none of it worked. That means they deserve blame too, but now, after years of giving up assets to try and undo the mistakes they made while trying to fix previous mistakes, there isn\u2019t anything left for them to do. They have no control over their own draft picks until 2030 (with no first-rounder at all in 2029) and will have to settle for the less-favorable in three consecutive pick swaps while also working with $20 million in dead cap for the next five seasons thanks to their rush to waive Lillard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The only way to replenish those assets is by trading a star, like Giannis, for a plethora of picks and young players. It was always going to be the reality for Milwaukee. Now, in a multi-year attempt to avoid ruining his reputation with Bucks fans, Antetokounmpo has stranded them on a sinking ship\u2026 and ironically ended up with many fans sick of him anyway<\/a>, the very thing his tortured will-he-or-wont-he PR strategy seemed intended to avoid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n His unwillingness to choose between loyalty and the pursuit of winning has motivated the Bucks to do anything and everything to prolong their championship window \u2014 a window that\u2019s been closed for years due to Antetokounmpo\u2019s unavailability come playoff time in 2023 and 2024, and now permanently shut due to their desperation to reopen it just a sliver, with the team responding like they forgot their keys at the office and decided to burn down their house in response.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Even this year, he tried to save face when he reiterated to the Bucks for a few months before the Feb. 5 trade deadline that he was prepared to be moved<\/a>. According to NBA insider and personal enemy of Doc Rivers<\/a>, Shams Charania, while Giannis declined to publicize a trade request, he made it clear to all parties involved behind the scenes that he felt both sides needed to move on immediately, as the franchise was not in position to compete.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cGiannis has wanted to handle this professionally by being very up front with the team,\u201d one source with direct knowledge of the situation told Charania. \u201cThis could have been a happy resolution but instead might end up being a nasty breakup.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It would\u2019ve been a happy resolution for Giannis, who would\u2019ve left to greener pastures, but not for the Bucks, whose lack of any future assets is a result of the long list of attempts to appease their disgruntled Finals MVP — who was playing games before even signing his first contract extension.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n