Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks has been a big talking point in recent weeks after their third straight first-round exit in the postseason. Antetokounmpo is said to be open-minded about leaving the Bucks, and NBA insider Chris Haynes reports he is expected to meet with the team next week.
“I was told the Bucks made contact with Giannis Antetokounmpo as early as this morning,” Haynes said on Haynes Briefs. “And sources relayed to me that a meeting is expected to be scheduled for mid-next week. This is where Giannis is going to have the chance to speak with Bucks brass and talk about the direction of the team.
“And there’s a lot going on with the Bucks this offseason,” Haynes continued. “Knowing Giannis personally, one of the toughest competitors we have in this league. A guy who has great ambition. He wants multiple championships, that’s all he wants to do is be put in a position where he can play alongside a team that has a chance to fight for a title. This is gonna be a very, very crucial meeting next week.”
Antetokounmpo and the Bucks won the NBA championship in 2021, but it’s been all downhill since. They looked like a good bet to repeat, but Khris Middleton got injured in the playoffs, and they lost to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2022.
An injury to Antetokounmpo would then contribute to the Bucks being eliminated in the first round in 2023. They then proceeded to go all in by trading for Damian Lillard in the following offseason, and it seemed like a great move on paper.
The Antetokounmpo-Lillard partnership never quite flourished, though, and it didn’t help matters that the injury bug didn’t stay away either. One or both of them would miss time in the 2024 and 2025 playoffs, and that led to two more first-round exits.
Lillard tore his Achilles in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Indiana Pacers this year, and the future is looking very bleak in Milwaukee. The chances of the team winning another title anytime soon seem slim.
So, if Antetokounmpo wants to win another championship or two, leaving the Bucks this offseason might be in his best interests. The 30-year-old will have plenty of suitors if he does ask out and the Bucks grant his wish.
Antetokounmpo is one of the very best players in the NBA and just averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game in the 2024-25 season. Players like the nine-time All-Star don’t tend to be available for trade all too often.
NBA insider Brian Windhorst has the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets as the frontrunners to acquire Antetokounmpo. Neither of those teams might be on the top of his list of preferred landing spots, though.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson revealed Antetokounmpo’s preferences for his new team. He would prefer to stay in the Eastern Conference, have some control over roster and coaching decisions, and be in a market where other stars would want to join him.
We listed out four realistic destinations for Antetokounmpo based on that and the packages each team could offer. One of them might no longer be a viable landing spot, though, as Antetokounmpo reportedly has reservations about going to the Miami Heat because of team president Pat Riley.
Antetokounmpo is set to be the biggest talking point this offseason, and you wonder what jersey he’ll be wearing at the start of the 2025-26 season.
