Giannis Antetokounmpo is giving the Bucks a license to trade him, and they should at least consider doing it

Giannis Antetokounmpo has quadrupled down this offseason on his urgency to win some other championship, be that during Milwaukee or in other places. He has stated it it seems that. No bones about it. If Milwaukee is not in the industry of championships, he is out. 

It’s now not an abnormal factor for a famous person to stay the power on his franchise by way of threatening, implicitly or explicitly, to depart. Only the reverse, if truth be told, can be abnormal — if Giannis was once going round pronouncing he was once satisfied in Milwaukee win or lose. 

What’s hanging is the depths and levels to which Antetokounmpo is going to ship his message. He’s now not out right here shedding little hints. He’s giving dissertations on the topic. When he was once just lately requested on the “48 Minutes” podcast whether or not he sees himself enjoying the remainder of his profession in Milwaukee, he may’ve simply diverted. Or saved it easy. I’m now not fearful about that at this time. I’m simplest fearful about this season. Standard stuff. Instead, he went in this rant:

“At the end of the day, I am a winner,” Antetokounmpo stated (at the 23:26 mark of the podcast). “I want to be a winner. Contracts, fame, status, comfort zone does not matter to me. What matters the end of the day is that thing right there.” Then he pointed to the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the back of him. “That’s what matters. And I don’t want to be able to get stuck in this lifetime to keep on talking about the same story: ‘Oh, we went to Game 6 in the NBA Finals, we won. We were down 2-0, we came back, we won four games.’ I’m tired of hearing the same story over and over again.”

He endured:

“I feel like people get stuck on that — which is unbelievable, it’s great, I know people are excited, I know that we hadn’t won a championship for 50 years — but at the end of the day, I want to create new memories. I want to win another championship. We talk about Hakeem [Olajuwon, with whom Antetokounmpo plans to work out before the season starts], he has two championships. The moment I win a second championship, then maybe I can be compared to Hakeem. Right now, I cannot be compared to Hakeem. He has two, I have one. Let me just say it as simple as I can. 

“But at the finish of the day, if the Milwaukee Bucks group — which is the identical factor I say each and every unmarried 12 months I’ve been with the Bucks — so long as we’re in for a championship, so long as no one’s at ease, so long as everyone’s sacrificing the identical period of time and sweat and blood that I’ve sacrificed for this town to win a championship, we’re all excellent. The second I think like persons are complacent and they’re OK — as a result of at the finish of the day, this is the NBA, you’re looked after. You keep in a five-star resort, you consume the easiest meals, lobsters. You move and … drink wine. I do not drink, however you already know. You get in a constitution, your airplane. On the fifteenth and the 1st, you get your paycheck. Everybody is at ease. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No method, no method. By being at ease, I will not succeed in my complete doable. As you guys have noticed, annually I take a look at to recuperate. Better annually. Every 12 months, that is the manner I’ve for the recreation and that is the manner I’ve for existence. I do not want to be at ease. I would like us to win some other championship. 

“But at the end of the day, I talk too much and the game is played, it’s not talked. But as long as we play and we approach the game every single day the right way and we all sacrifice for a common goal, I can see myself being with the Milwaukee Bucks for the rest of my career. But the moment I feel like people are not as committed as I am to get that golden thing in the back, I am not. It’s more than the money, it’s more than the fame, it’s more than the lobsters, it’s more than the charter flights, private flights. For me, it’s all about that [trophy]. And I want that. 

“So as I stated, if the Milwaukee Bucks are on the identical web page for the remainder of my profession, nice. If now not, I’ve to win. I’ve to win. And I believe the town and folks will perceive it. Because I’m one in every of the best guys, and I’ve given the whole thing that I will for the town of Milwaukee. I bleed inexperienced. I’m in truth dressed in the Milwaukee Bucks [shirt] in this interview. I’m in truth dressed in that and the shorts, and I’m in truth about to move to mattress. So I’m a Milwaukee Buck. But most significantly, I’m a winner. I would like to win. And I’ve to do no matter it takes for me to win. And if there is a higher state of affairs for me to win the Larry O’Brien, I’ve to take that higher state of affairs.”

Again, this is a lot greater than he wanted to expose. And once more, this is the 2d time he has long past right here. Less than a month in the past, in an interview with Tania Ganguli for The New York Times, Giannis indicated that he does now not plan to signal an extension with the Bucks this summer time prior to pronouncing he does not intend to spend “two decades on the identical crew and [not] win some other championship.”

The phase about Antetokounmpo now not signing an extension this summer time may merely be, and virtually indubitably is, financially pushed. This summer time he can simplest signal a four-year extension. Next summer time he can signal for 5, and that ultimate 12 months, with the method the wage cap is going, might be price reasonably a bit of cash. 

But that is beside the level. Everyone is aware of avid gamers are going to stay up for the maximum fiscally opportune time to signal contracts and we all know famous person avid gamers need to win championships. This seems like greater than that. This seems like exact warmth he is hanging on the Bucks to proceed hanging a premier crew round him. And the drawback is, the Bucks is probably not a place, at least now not for for much longer, to ship on his call for. 

Khris Middleton is 32 and, if ultimate season is any indication, probably on the decline. Jrue Holiday is 33 with a $39.4 million participant choice to make a decision on subsequent summer time. Brook Lopez will flip 36 this season. Milwaukee is smartly into the luxurious tax this season and subsequent, and simplest has one first-round draft select (2029 or 2030) to be had to trade over the subsequent seven years on account of all the choices they nonetheless owe New Orleans from the Holiday deal and the method the ones choices fall in relation to the Stepien rule. 

Translation: They are ageing temporarily and don’t have any actual approach of changing Middleton, Holiday and Lopez with a new core of top-tier improve body of workers. It begs the query: Should the Bucks get forward of this issues and at least consider buying and selling Giannis if issues do not move smartly this season? 

It sounds loopy, and it may well be. Some folks really feel there are specific participant which might be just too excellent to trade, irrespective of circumstance. If you could have Giannis, or Steph, or Jokic, or top LeBron, you do not trade the ones guys. Period. You simply stay urgent your wager, leveraging each and every asset conceivable and driving out no matter you could have left of improve avid gamers till you sooner or later move bust. Then the big name leaves and you get started over from 0, confidently with a championship or two in the can. 

But LeBron, simply for instance, has left each and every crew he ever left on skid row. If the Bucks do not want that to occur with in a post-Giannis generation, it would now not be unreasonable to at least consider buying and selling him. And if they have been to move that path, they would have these types of public ultimatums that Giannis has been issuing as a form of insurance coverage towards the PR lashing they would unquestionably obtain for buying and selling a participant of this caliber in the heart of his top. 

Look, the man principally stated he was once going to depart if we did not put a identify contender on the flooring, and we not have viable avenues for doing that. What have been we intended to do?

Contrary to the method this in most cases is going, there is no rule that a franchise has to wait till a big name participant is going public with a trade request prior to they trade him, or at least glance into buying and selling him. The Blazers will have moved on Damian Lillard years in the past and been justified in doing so, however they rode it out till he went public and now they have principally 0 leverage to carry again the more or less price they’re giving up. 

In these days and age of stars enjoying musical groups, franchises have to get started getting forward of this type of factor. You can not press your wager perpetually. Eventually you crap out. At some level you could have to take your whole winnings and re-up with a new wager. 

I’m now not pronouncing the Bucks should do that, essentially. But they should take a decent glance at how issues move this season, and if they do not move smartly, they should at least consider, as loopy as it sounds, buying and selling Giannis, who can be in the ultimate 12 months of his contract subsequent season (there is no probability he is choosing up his $52M participant choice for 2024-25). 

Because if they do not, they may fail to see what might be the greatest trade go back in NBA historical past simplest to finally end up observing Giannis play for any person else anyway.