Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the focal point of trade buzz around the NBA this week. With rumors suggesting that Antetokounmpo may be facilitating his exit from Milwaukee following an underwhelming start to the season, the Bucks could be on the verge of losing their franchise cornerstone.
On this note, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green shed light on the Bucks’ current situation with Giannis Antetokounmpo during a recent episode of “The Draymond Green Show“.
“We all know that Giannis wants to compete at the highest level,” Green said. “A lot of people make a lot of noise about him deleting all Milwaukee Bucks references off of his Instagram account. If you’re Giannis and you’re trying to press the team to do something, those are the types of things that you would do in order to make the team realize, ‘I’m not happy. I’m off y’all. It’s going public now. Y’all better figure it out.'”
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s decision to remove all Milwaukee Bucks-related content from his social media effectively triggered the resurgence of trade rumors. Although Bucks head coach Doc Rivers strongly denied these rumors, it was only a matter of time before they gathered more momentum.
While rumors have seen him linked with several teams, the notion of him being traded poses a challenge.
“It’s not the easiest to trade someone who makes $50 million,” Green continued. “Because, in most cases, you usually have to deplete your whole team just to even make the salaries work. It limits the amount of teams that Giannis can go to. He’ll have a list of clubs that he’d be comfortable going to that he’ll share with the team. And I think, they’ll try to make it happen.”
Will The Bucks Trade Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Although Draymond Green suggests that Giannis Antetokounmpo’s “tactics” will eventually result in him being traded, the process does seem to be a challenge.
For starters, the Bucks are heavily invested in keeping Antetokounmpo on board. Considering that he is the face of the franchise and the sole reason the team has stayed relatively competitive early on, Milwaukee may not see any immediate benefit in trading him. However, if the Bucks decide to embrace a rebuild, Giannis Antetokounmpo remains their most valuable trade asset.
On that note, the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat have been presented as potential landing spots, with the Knicks being viewed as frontrunners.
Although there is enough evidence to suggest that Antetokounmpo may be more interested in joining the Knicks, a recent statement provided by his agent suggests otherwise. Hence, with contradictory reports on the matter, it becomes more challenging to predict the outcome.
