Giannis Antetokounmpo ‘Open-Minded’ to Leaving Bucks: Report

Giannis Antetokounmpo has yet to request a trade out of Milwaukee, but he’s open to it. 

On Monday, ESPN reported that the Bucks star has not asked out of his current team, but is “open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere.”

Antetokounmpo’s future is the biggest potential domino to come during the NBA offseason. And the report comes on the morning of the NBA Draft lottery, where teams will learn who gets the chance to select Duke’s Cooper Flagg No. 1 overall. 

Since winning the 2021 NBA title, the Bucks have been bounced in the first round of the playoffs three times, including a 4–1 series loss to the Pacers in late April. During the series, Damian Lillard, Antetokounmpo’s co-star in Milwaukee, tore his Achilles, which will likely keep him out for all of next season. As a result, the Bucks’ ability to contend for a championship for the remainder of Antetokounmpo’s prime, left many wondering if the 30-year-old would seek a trade elsewhere. Antetokounmpo was asked about his future in Milwaukee after the Pacers series and declined to go into it. 

“I’m not going to do this,” Antetokounmpo said when asked if he thinks he could still win another title in Milwaukee. “Whatever I say, I know it’s going to translate. I don’t know man. I wish I was still playing.” 

The Bucks drafted Antetokounmpo in 2013 and the 6-foot-10 forward has spent his entire 12-year career in Milwaukee, winning two MVPs and being selected to nine All Star games along the way. As the star of a small market team who led the organization to a championship, Antetokounmpo has been a pillar for parity in the NBA and proof teams outside the country’s major markets could regularly compete for a title. But the cost to keep the roster together can also be tougher for such teams, and Antetokounmpo’s uncertain future led former Bucks owner Marc Lasry to sell his stake in the team in 2023. 

“That was a factor,” Lasry told FOS in April. “I’m not going to tell you it wasn’t. I thought it was going to cost a lot to keep the team. That was one factor. I think the second is the team was getting older, and would Giannis stay? And so I thought it was going to be hard to recapture everything and to do everything. So I sort of looked at it like now may be a good time.”

In October 2023, Antetokounmpo signed a three-year, $186 million contract with a player option in the final year that starts at the beginning of next season, which will pay roughly $51 million, according to Spotrac. Lillard’s contract will pay $55 million next season; he’s basically untradeable because of his injury. The Bucks lack the draft capital and young players to quickly rebuild around Antetokounmpo with another big trade, which is why a divorce makes sense for both sides. 

Monday’s draft lottery could alter the contenders to land him should he ask for a trade. The Rockets are a superstar away from title contention after a first-round exit to the Warriors in an epic seven-game series and have the draft assets and young players to make a compelling offer for Antetokounmpo. The Bucks don’t have control of their own first-round pick for the next five years, which means two things: they can’t afford a full rebuild and they will likely seek trades with contending teams that have other team’s draft picks. The Rockets own the Suns’ 2025 first-round pick—that spot will be revealed in Monday’s lottery, giving the Rockets another asset to trade. The Heat, Nets, Warriors, Knicks, and Thunder have the assets and salary to put potential trades for Antetokounmpo together. 

Antetokounmpo’s representatives plan to meet with the Bucks during the offseason to discuss the future of the team and as a result, of their client, meaning a decision to stay or go likely won’t come immediately. For now, NBA teams are left to plan in case a split is coming.