NEWSLETTER
Even before the Bucks officially saw their season end at the hands of the Miami Heat, folks began to speculate about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee.
Not only is it fun for fans – of any team not named the Bucks – to imagine a soon-to-be two-time MVP on their roster, but another disappointing playoff exit for the best team in the league makes a possible Antetokounmpo departure feel all the more plausible. After all, the Greek Freak has only one more year on his contract, and if he were to turn down the extension Milwaukee will offer this offseason, an argument could be made that the Bucks should trade him. An organization doesn’t want to risk such an elite talent walking away with nothing in return, and we all know a trade package for Antetokounmpo would likely be a historic haul.
Typically, this would be the part in the post where we talk about what that trade package could look like, but Antetokounmpo puts the breaks to that one quickly.
“It’s not happening. That’s not happening,” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes on the possibility of demanding a trade. “Some see a wall and go in [another direction]. I plow through it. We just have to get better as a team, individually, and get right back at it next season.”
After the game, Antetokounmpo also said that he looks forward to building a better and brighter future in Milwaukee.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: “Hopefully, we can learn from this and get better as a team … come back and hopefully build a culture in Milwaukee for many years that we can come out here and compete every single year for a championship.”
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) September 9, 2020
Well, there goes all the fun.
As much as this makes it does sound like Antetokounmpo has plans to stay in Milwaukee, he’ll have to put his money where his mouth is this offseason. If he doesn’t happen to take the super-max extension in the coming months, speculation will be justified all over again. However, for now, all we can do is dream about a major-NBA shakeup.
*Closes eyes* to picture Giannis and AD on the Bulls each with one hand on the basketball. They rise up to dunk over LeBron James in unison. The United Center goes ballistic as Chicago goes up 145-80 in the NBA Finals. The Bulls are about to sweep. Derrick Rose is on the bench crying after dropping 40 points of his own. Joakim Noah is coaching. A thing of beauty.
