Giannis Antetokounmpo has done everything short of confirming that he will be on his way out of the Bucks this summer after a rollercoaster season saw them miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
While these rumors have been swirling since last season, the media narrative after the Bucks decided to keep Antetokounmpo through the February trade deadline became that the Bucks may have missed their chance to get the maximum value in potential returns for a player like Antetokounmpo, as he is now entering the final guaranteed season of his contract and could become a free agent next season.
However, that narrative may now be changing. According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne, Victor Wembanyama’s elite playoff run with the Spurs this postseason may have swung the pendulum in a different direction altogether.
“I got to say something. I think as much grief as the Milwaukee Bucks took for not trading Giannis the last year and a half, like we all were, ‘like they probably waited too long. The best offer is already because he’s going to have only one more year guaranteed under contract.”
“This postseason, I think, has completely reframed the trade discussions for Giannis because of how good Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are. Every single person watching these playoffs says, “Oh, maybe we’d better get Giannis.” Like, “Oh, maybe we need that guy. Like, I don’t know how we’re going to compete with the Spurs for the next 5 to 10 years if we don’t have another star like Giannis.”
“And so I think they might have looked into some better offers because there are a lot more teams that have motivation to go trade for a Giannis Antetokounmpo to try to compete with the San Antonio Spurs and this looming giant who is going to dominate the league for the next 10 years,” said Shelbourne in her recent appearance on the Rich Eisen Show.
Victor Wembanyama is currently averaging 23.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, and 2.8 assists while shooting 51.2% from the field and 35.5% from beyond the arc in his first-ever playoff run.
There is another reason why waiting until the summer was probably the right decision for the Bucks. Now teams will have access to more tradeable draft picks than they did before the trade deadline. So more teams can make compelling offers for Antetokounmpo.
No team would want to give up their warchest for a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo if he doesn’t plan on staying with that franchise long term. Therefore, they would still expect the Greek superstar to be on the same page with them about his plans for the future.
However, Victor Wembanyama’s solid run in the West has certainly rung alarm bells for other franchises across the league for their need for a quality big man to compete with the 22-year-old star in the long term.
And among the most elite big men who can still give at least five to six more years to a franchise, there is no better target in the market right now than Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In an injury-riddled 2025-26 season, Antetokounmpo averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists while going 62.4% from the field and 33.3% from behind the three-point line.
Hence, now that the Bucks’ front office is listening to trade offers for Antetokounmpo, they may have a lot better packages to decide from.
