NBA teams eyeing Giannis Antetokounmpo trade as Milwaukee Bucks star weighs future

05/05/2024

Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors, Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo helped engineer the hiring of Adrian Griffin as head coach last offseason and wanted the trade for Damian Lillard. Less than a year later, NBA teams are hoping the two-time MVP is just as influential in forcing a trade out of Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo, age 29, didn’t play in the Bucks’ first-round series loss to the Indiana Pacers due to a calf injury. After Milwaukee was eliminated in the first round for the second consecutive year, the All-Star forward admitted he needed to think about his future.

The comments came just a few months after Antetokounmpo signed a three-year, $186 million contract extension with the Bucks and seemed to be committed to the organization long-term. However, with his hand-picked coach gone and Lillard already being floated in NBA trade rumors, it appears the 29-year-old is thinking about his own future with Milwaukee.

NBA insider Mac Stein shared on the latest #thisleague UNCUT podcast that NBA teams are still keeping a close eye on the situation in Milwaukee and hoping the All-Star forward rethinks his future with the franchise and requests a trade this summer.

“Teams are already hoping, crossing their fingers tightly, wishing, praying that Giannis is moved to rethink his future as a Milwaukee Buck, even though it was just last October that the Giannis response to the Damian Lillard trade acquisition was to immediately sign a three-year max extension with Milwaukee, but that’s not going to stop potential Giannis trade suitors from lusting after the idea that he is somehow unsettled there anew.”

Marc Stein on NBA teams waiting to see if Giannis Antetokounmpo requests a trade

While the Bucks remain fully committed to Antetokounmpo, there are questions about whether or not a championship-caliber team can be built around him in Milwaukee. The Lillard trade depleted what little remaining trade assets the Bucks had and Doc Rivers failed to deliver positive results after taking over midseason as the Bucks head coach.

For now, the only NBA rumors suggesting Antetokounmpo could be traded come from teams making it clear they want to pursue it if it becomes a possibility. Considering the comments the Bucks’ star made after Milwaukee’s first-round exit, those hopes for a trade demand around the league likely aren’t going away.

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