Bucks would’ve ‘seriously considered’ trading Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo have agreed to a historic contract extension. The deal will keep the superstar with the team for the next five years.
However, if the negotiations between the two-time NBA MVP and the Bucks fell apart, Milwaukee would’ve seriously considered trading arguably the best all-around player in basketball, according to Sam Amick, Eric Nehm and Shams Charania of The Athletic.
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If Antetokounmpo had given some assurance that he was likely to re-sign in Milwaukee as a free agent, perhaps indicating that he’d be back so long as their season didn’t end before, say, the conference finals, then sources say Bucks officials likely would have taken their chances and moved ahead with the partnership. But if there were no assurances given, with Antetokounmpo simply stating that he planned on being a free agent and that he’d figure out his future when that time arrived, it’s clear the Bucks would have seriously considered whether they needed to take trade calls on him.
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The Bucks would’ve had no lack of interest in Antetokounmpo had those contract talks fallen apart. The Miami Heat were arguably the most interested team in the superstar forward. The Heat would’ve been one of many teams that would’ve reached out to Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo would’ve been a hot commodity on the trade market. Although now the Bucks will have him as their face of the franchise for at least the next half-decade. That is unless things start to go sideways.
