All has been quiet on the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade front for some time now. The rumors began the moment Damian Lillard tore his Achilles in Game 4 of Milwaukee’s first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks were eliminated in Game 5, and on May 12, Shams Charania reported that Antetokounmpo was “open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere.” Five days later, on May 17, Chris Haynes reported that the Bucks were expected to meet with Antetokounmpo to discuss the team’s plans within the next week.
Ever since then? Radio silence. There has been almost no substantive reporting on Antetokounmpo’s future, and it is not known if such a meeting ever took place. With the calendar flipping to June and the NBA Draft and the unofficial start of trade season looming, there is, according to insider Jake Fischer, a growing skepticism among rival teams that Antetokounmpo will become available through a trade this offseason. Fischer did not make any official declarations on Friday’s Bleacher Report livestream, but he shared the growing sentiment within the league that Antetokounmpo could stay put.
“Of late, I’d say that that confidence has been replaced with skepticism,” Fischer said. “To a man, from talking to agents, team executives, whoever, there is not a lot of belief right now at this juncture. It’s only June 5th — anything could happen — and I’ve been told all along that if there is a decision, a formal decision made to shut or open the door on trade conversations for Giannis this summer, that it would likely happen closer to the end of June and when the offseason really, really begins.
“But I’d say for now, for now, talking to people around the league, the assessment and the expectation is that they’re going to believe it when they see it — that someone who has valued being the franchise face, that the central lynchpin of the Bucks franchise, is going to want to play somewhere else.”
Again, this is not definitive reporting. It is the current sentiment among league executives, and league executives are perfectly capable of getting surprised. Consider the Luka Dončić trade as a recent example. There are benefits to moving in silence, and it’s also plausible that Antetokounmpo and his camp have not decided what they want yet.
He has, in the past, sent mixed messages on this front. In a 2023 New York Times interview, he said that competing for more championships was more important to him than remaining in Milwaukee. In February, he said the Bucks “would have to kick me out” to get him to leave. He has issued similar quotes in the past. The Bucks have also made significant moves in the past based on the pressure his impending free agency put on them at the time. They landed Jrue Holiday in 2020 and Lillard in 2023, with both deals coming as Antetokounmpo was eligible for extensions. He re-signed on both occasions.
Much of the trade buzz that followed Milwaukee’s elimination came because of that stated desire to continue competing for championships. If the Bucks still controlled their draft picks or had any young talent, they perhaps could have been in a position to continue doing so with another major trade.
For now, though, they do not control any of their own first-round picks until 2031. Lillard will likely miss next season, and there is no telling what sort of player he will be when he returns. Their deadline acquisition of Kyle Kuzma was a disaster, and key center Brook Lopez is a 37-year-old impending free agent. Milwaukee’s immediate future, with or without Antetokounmpo, is bleak. Marc Stein reported in late May that part of Milwaukee’s pitch involved “selling Antetokounmpo on the idea of a so-called gap year that enables them to retool the team,” but without youth or draft picks to work with, it’s unclear how exactly they would do that.
But Antetokounmpo has spent his entire NBA career, and life in the United States, in Milwaukee. He is an icon in the community and a pillar within the Bucks organization. That is not something he appears eager to give up lightly. It may be weeks before we know for sure what he has decided, but for now, the likelihood of a trade appears to be decreasing by the day.
