The trade rumors surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo appear to be heating up as we get closer to the team deadline. With several teams emerging as potential suitors, the Milwaukee Bucks may reluctantly be forced into a situation where they have to facilitate a trade for their superstar.
Still, the Bucks will have some significant demands to secure their future once Giannis Antetokounmpo leaves. On this note, ESPN’s Shams Charania recently revealed the Bucks’ expected asking price for the nine-time All-Star.
“The Bucks are being patient,” Charania stated. “But my sources say that they’re giving indications that they want either: a young, blue-chip talent, and/or a surplus of draft picks. Probably, a combination of both things as they sift through these offers this week and next week.”
“They’re not in any rush, as they could handle this in the offseason,” he added. “In the offseason, that’s where Giannis will have even more level of control, because next year will essentially be the expiring, final year of his contract, because he has a player option in 2027. The closer you get to the end of your contract, the more leverage a player like Giannis will have in determining where he ends up.”
The Bucks’ chances of contending, or even competing for a playoff spot, were effectively nullified when Giannis Antetokounmpo recently sustained a calf injury. With no timeline for return, the team is likely to suffer more losses during this stretch.
For the most part, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been clear in expressing his intentions of staying in Milwaukee. However, with the team struggling to put together a series of wins this season, essentially languishing outside the top ten in the East, Antetokounmpo may wish for a change.
The Bucks Tried Different Methods To Retain Giannis Antetokounmpo
It has been quite evident that retaining Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the Milwaukee Bucks’ priority, although this may not align with the superstar’s wishes. Among the different methods they used to convince him to stay, Shams Charania noted that the Bucks even tried to convince Antetokounmpo to take a “gap year.”
“This has been the culmination of nine months,” Charania claimed. “Giannis and his camp and Bucks GM Jon Horst have been discussing his future, what’s best for him – for him to be there or for him to be elsewhere. The Bucks at one point were pitching him on a gap year; they knew at the age of 30-31, he didn’t want a gap year this year.”
“They tried to salvage something. They waived Lillard and went out and signed Turner. They tried to give this another go, but this team is nine games under .500 and the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference. They don’t have the upward mobility right now, or really in the summer, to make this team into a championship-contending team.”
While Charania noted the Bucks’ earnest efforts to bring in star-caliber talent to support Giannis Antetokounmpo, it has been evident that the experiment hasn’t yielded much success. Despite the development of Ryan Rollins this season, the Bucks lack the firepower to assert themselves as a dominant team in the East.
Currently, the Bucks still have some ways of improving their roster ahead of the deadline. With links to a superstar like Ja Morant, Milwaukee could still swing for the fences and attempt to convince Antetokounmpo of the team’s potential. However, with matters gradually approaching critical mass, it would appear that parting ways may be inevitable.
