Giannis Antetokounmpo is facing some uncomfortable speculation this offseason. After the shocking waiving of Damian Lillard by the Milwaukee Bucks, former NBA player and analyst Jim Jackson suggested on Podcast P with Paul George that Giannis may have played a behind-the-scenes role in Dame’s exit.
The theory? That Giannis didn’t stop the Bucks from cutting ties and that silence, in situations like these, speaks volumes.
“When you’re a Giannis, a LeBron, in that situation, that kind of controls the franchise… A non-answer is as bad as an answer.”
“So if you’re the coach, and management comes to the star player and says, ‘What do you think about the coach? We’re going to do this, or we may fire him,’ and your star player is like, ‘Well, you know, you got to do what you got to do as an organization,” — he’s not saying, no, don’t fire him, and he’s not saying, yes, I advocate for him.'”
“So in that, a lot of times and I’m going to get to your point about loyalty, a lot of times it’s like a player being in a situation like, ‘Look, I didn’t know, I didn’t say anything, I’m upset.'”
“But did you really advocate to have this person stay? Or did you just kind of let the organization, when they asked you the question, do what they had to do? And you can’t play that in between.”
“Now, loyalty, there ain’t never been no loyalty in the league. So, stop it. Never has been, never will be.”
Initially, reports painted a picture of Giannis being blindsided by how the Lillard situation unfolded. But later, conflicting narratives surfaced suggesting Giannis was aware of the plans well before they became public. Lillard’s reaction to the exit, which went viral, revealed genuine shock, frustration, and perhaps even a sense of betrayal.
But in the days that followed, the tone around his departure began to shift.
Lillard’s agent released a bold statement suggesting that his client had actually gained something valuable in the end. Lillard himself has remained mostly quiet, but he appeared to co-sign a viral post that claimed he was “elated” to be leaving the Bucks.
This all unfolded as the Bucks executed a surprising offseason pivot. Lillard, who is recovering from a torn Achilles and expected to miss the entire 2025–26 season, was waived and had the remaining $113 million of his contract stretched over five years.
In doing so, Milwaukee created the cap space necessary to sign Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million deal, a massive win for a team desperate to stay in contention.
Turner, one of the league’s elite rim protectors and stretch bigs, now joins Giannis in a revamped Bucks frontcourt. But while this acquisition barely improves Milwaukee’s title odds, the circumstances under which it happened have raised eyebrows.
Giannis and Dame were supposed to be the pairing that brought another banner to Milwaukee. They had public praise for one another and seemed to be building strong on-court chemistry, even winning the NBA Cup in 2024.
Yet Dame’s injuries derailed the season and, ultimately, the partnership. In the unforgiving business of professional basketball, sentiment rarely saves a contract.
It’s entirely possible Giannis didn’t push Dame out but simply chose not to interfere. As Jackson pointed out, in today’s NBA, that can be just as powerful. The Bucks are betting that Turner’s arrival can recapture some of the defensive dominance they once thrived on, especially as they aim to rebound from three straight first-round exits.
Whether this move ends up being the right one remains to be seen. But if Milwaukee fails again, and Giannis decides he wants out next, the front office may find itself wondering whether they misunderstood who was truly calling the shots all along.
