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Multiple sources across the league said the Bucks' asking price was enormous, with an executive from a third team describing the Bucks' process as "gauging the market" and their price as "all our draft picks and good young players." The Golden State Warriors offer included four unprotected first-round picks in pursuit of Antetokounmpo, sources said, but never seemed to gain much momentum on a deal. The players the Bucks did seem interested in were younger building blocks such as VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers or Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers, sources said.
The Bucks do not own their first-round pick in 2027 as the last remnant of the Holiday trade, so there is no impetus for the team to “tank” or once again be a bad team next season. So, league sources have told the Journal Sentinel for the better part of a year that should they elect to trade Antetokounmpo, they will try to extract any and all desirable assets from the acquiring team.
Team sources familiar with ownership’s thinking have long maintained to the Journal Sentinel that competing for championships has been and remains their intent. But going forward, it is something disgruntled fans, as well as Antetokounmpo, want to know as well via clear language and action.
So far, the Bucks' play on waiving-and-stretching Lillard in order to sign Turner has backfired. Antetokounmpo has missed 32 games with various injuries, Turner has not been impactful, and the Bucks have struggled to find any consistency. After a season like this, multiple league executives made the case that the Bucks' best strategy would be to trade Antetokounmpo for a haul of draft picks and strong young players rather than doubling down on this season's failed experiment and offering him a massive extension. "He's still a game changer, but he's 31 with a history of leg injuries," a rival executive said. "And now you'd basically be trading for a guy on an expiring deal, so I'm not sure the offers they'll get this summer are going to be better than what they already got."
"It's not an accident that teams like the Lakers, Clippers, Heat and Warriors all have lined up to have cap space in 2027 when Giannis can be a free agent," one NBA executive told ESPN. "A player like Giannis can tilt the balance of power in the league for years to come. "What nobody knows yet is whether they'll really trade him before he gets to free agency -- and how they're making that decision."
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Those who have done business with the Bucks, including teams that inquired about Antetokounmpo before the trade deadline, told ESPN that Haslam was more involved in decisions than before. One team owner even had direct negotiations with Haslam rather than Edens about a potential deal for Antetokounmpo, multiple sources with knowledge of the discussions told ESPN. "We mostly dealt with [GM Jon] Horst," an executive with one of the teams that heavily engaged with the Bucks told ESPN. "But our impression was that Jimmy was really the one who would decide this."
While hailed for its boldness and potential at the time, not only did it not work out as planned, it diminished the team's assets as the pressure built to win with Antetokounmpo in his prime. To add insult to injury, Holiday ended up winning a title with the Bucks' Eastern Conference rival, the Boston Celtics, the next season. Subsequently, sources told ESPN that Antetokounmpo confided to Holiday how much he and the Bucks missed Holiday's defense and leadership.
“So that’s another good one in terms of: when do you know? You could go viral every day if you wanted. You can report something every day if you want, but if it has long-term ramifications for your credibility, your responsibility, how you treat people, and your relationships, then obviously you have to make a decision. If something you report is going to be unfair or irresponsible, or you’re not giving it the proper time to really marinate and play out, then you’re putting yourself in a tough spot.” Shams Charania: “So yeah, the Giannis one, specifically, is certainly one where I think a million times I could have probably reported exactly what I reported the week before the deadline, which was that he was prepared and ready to move on and the team was listening to offers. They literally were listening to the New York Knicks making offers in October. “So they had listened to offers, but the slight difference was that it had reached such a fever pitch at that point, and they were talking to and listening to Minnesota, Golden State, and Miami. And I’m going on TV. I’m having to report on this. He’s one of the biggest names in the NBA, one of the best players in the NBA. “It’s irresponsible for me not to report, not to do my job. What I think about more than anything is that I’m a servant for the audience. The audience is going to be let down if I’m not reporting what’s actually going on behind the scenes—not what someone might be telling you, or something you want to hear, or something that might be easier on the ears. I’m always going to try to keep it real when I can.”
Milwaukee Bucks co-owners Wes Edens and Jimmy Haslam told ESPN in a joint 90-minute interview that they will decide the path to take with their two-time MVP together, and the most important factor will be whether Giannis Antetokounmpo signs the four-year, $275 million extension he is eligible to receive on Oct. 1. "Giannis is going into the last year [of his contract]," said Edens, the team's controlling owner until April 2028. "So one of two things will happen: Either he will be extended or he'll be traded." "The likelihood you'll let him just kind of play out the last year, we can't afford that. It's not consistent with what's good for the organization. That's not a Giannis issue. That's any player that's in their last year."
Yet team sources, rival executives and league insiders question whether the situation is that simple. Interviews with more than a dozen people with knowledge of the situation say what's happening in Milwaukee goes beyond a typical NBA franchise's struggle to maintain a winning roster: A unique ownership structure has made it difficult for opposing franchises to identify who is actually running the team. "This has nothing to do with Giannis and whether he asks out," said one source with knowledge of the team's operations. "It's about who's making the decision on whether to trade Giannis, and I don't think anyone knows that. I deal with them all the time and honestly it depends on the day. "They're not even close to being ready to make a decision like that."
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Instead of looking to trade Antetokounmpo this summer, the Bucks could try to acquire new players -- most likely other teams' distressed assets -- in the hope of convincing Antetokounmpo to sign the extension they can offer him in October. "There's still another play," said one source close to the organization. "Put a maximum contract extension in front of Giannis -- and dare him to turn it down."
Eric Nehm: Before tonight's game, I asked Doc Rivers how close he thought Giannis Antetokounmpo was to returning. Rivers: "I don't know. I really don't know. He's working. He wants to be healthy."
The Giannis Antetokounmpo relationship with Milwaukee currently is what, Brian? Brian Windhorst: “The Giannis Antetokounmpo relationship with Milwaukee currently is not connected. And this entire season has really been a complete disappointment for them. They made one of the more aggressive transactions I can remember in the modern era last summer when they waived Dame Lillard’s money, keeping it on their books and paying it off over the next five years, and then immediately went out and signed Myles Turner for $100 million. So it was like a $200 million transaction there: $100 million in dead money, $100 million in new money. And while Myles Turner is a quality player, Dame Lillard is a difference-making player. Myles Turner is not.”
