The Milwaukee Bucks continue to figure out their next move as the team falls apart and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future becoming the main story. Antetokounmpo is reportedly looking at his options for the future, including a trade to a new franchise at the upcoming trade deadline. This season’s poor start is the main reason why, but some offseason moves created negative momentum for the Bucks relationship with Giannis.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst claimed that Antetokounmpo’s frustration with the franchise started when they shockingly waived Damian Lillard during the summer:
“I can’t emphasize this enough. Giannis saw that move and then was interested in being a Knick. He couldn’t have been more clear about where he felt about the Bucks roster.”
Reports indicated that Antetokounmpo expressed a desire to get traded to the New York Knicks during the offseason. However, the former two-time MVP did not officially request a trade and was open to entering the season in Milwaukee. The bigger takeaway from Windhorst comment’s is that Antetokounmpo did not have faith in the Bucks’ roster after losing Lillard.
Bucks Hoped Move Impressed Giannis Antetokounmpo
The main reason for Milwaukee pulling off a cold move of waiving the injured Lillard was to improve the roster by using the free space to sign Myles Turner. Bucks’ management knew Antetokounmpo was growing upset with first round eliminations, so they felt a bold move was needed once Lillard got injured with the expectations of missing a full entire season.
Milwaukee feared that Lillard remaining on the roster as a massive contract unable to play would make things worse. The game plan saw them waiving the legendary point guard to steal a respected center in Turner away from the Indiana Pacers. Windhorst’s quote prove that this move did not win over Antetokounmpo in the way the team hoped.
The unhappiness by Giannis likely stems from both seeing a fellow superstar treated coldly and losing the only game-changing teammate he had. It appears that Antetokounmpo would have preferred a limiting season this year and giving it another chance at contending once Lillard returned. Lillard has expressed happiness over getting to return to the Portland Trail Blazers and ending his career with his legacy franchise.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Has Fully Lost Faith
The smoke of Antetokounmpo removing posts involving the franchise from his social media pages led to the fire of trade reports coming out. A current injury to Antetokounmpo may make the trade more realistic as the Bucks continue losing games without him.
The trade deadline coming in a little over two months means that Milwaukee will have a lot of time to field offers and figure out the next step for their future. Antetokounmpo’s unhappiness starting in the summer and growing stronger now puts the writing on the wall that he’s gone sooner or later.
The Bucks do deserve credit for taking some swings on trades to keep adapting to the timeline with Giannis leading the way. Names like Lillard, Turner, and Jrue Holiday were all acquired due to the desire to contend for a title. Unfortunately, the clock is running out, and the next trade will be their franchise player hopefully giving them assets to retool.
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