While Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t demand a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks before the draft or free agency begins, the two-time MVP’s long-term future remains uncertain as he evaluates how the franchise handles a challenging offseason. Antetokounmpo reportedly remains open-minded about his future and wants to evaluate how the Bucks navigate their offseason. With the Bucks facing severe salary cap constraints, seven free agents, and no first-round picks for the next five years, rival teams are closely monitoring whether Antetokounmpo might eventually seek a change later this summer or ahead of the 2026 trade deadline.
“Let’s talk some facts before we get into anything else,” said Brian Windhorst on Tuesday’s First Take. “The Bucks have seven free agents. Seven. Three or four of which I would refer to as core players. The Bucks do not have salary cap space. The Bucks do not control their first round draft pick for the next five years. They can’t trade it. They can’t trade the pick or the swap.
“The Bucks are in situation where they cannot count on Dame Lillard for next year. Maybe he can come back, but they cannot count on it. The Bucks are not interested right now in trading Giannis Antetokounmpo. And Giannis, to our knowledge, to my belief, has not asked for a trade. Those are the facts.
“Now, we are also before the draft. We are before free agency. Will the Bucks do some things over the next two, three weeks to put themselves in a position where they can look like they could win the Eastern Conference with those limitations? Maybe.
“So, that’s why the league is waiting. People want to know why aren’t the Knicks going all in for Kevin Durant? Why aren’t the Heat going all in for Kevin Durant? Because in part, there’s other reasons, but in part they want to see what happens here with the Bucks. And we’re going to be watching closely.”
The Phoenix Suns traded away Durant on Sunday to the Houston Rockets for a package that many around the league found underwhelming. At one point this offseason, it was believed Durant wouldn’t be traded until Antetokounmpo’s situation was resolved. Because it was clear Antetokounmpo wouldn’t be traded before either the draft or the start of free agency, the Suns still had to move forward with their trade in order to make their selection with the No. 10 overall pick.
The Rockets still retain enough assets to also acquire Antetokounmpo and theoretically remain a title contender with him. The New York Knicks quickly exited trade conversations with the Suns for Durant. The San Antonio Spurs were never serious about a trade for Durant and the belief is they are “stocking their assets for potentially a bigger move.”
Windhorst elaborated his position on the current state of the Antetokounmpo situation during a later appearance on the Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday.
“Teams are looking out there and seeing those facts and saying, ‘Let’s just wait and see what happens with Giannis,'” said Windhorst. “And there is no certainty-I am not here to say any certainty with that-but, you know, I think I’m reacting to teams’ actions. And when you see teams not go after Kevin Durant to save their assets for something bigger, I can’t say for sure, I can’t say absolutely what is in Pat Riley’s mind as he doesn’t put all of his assets on the table that he could for Kevin Durant. I can’t say exactly what Leon Rose is thinking as the general manager or president of the Knicks when they elect to pass on Durant, but I can state those facts. It was surrounding the Bucks, and you know, you can extrapolate what you want to extrapolate.”
Windhorst was clear that although he is alluding to the possibility of Antetokounmpo being traded later this offseason, he legitimately doesn’t know what will happen and this isn’t akin to his infamous Rudy Gobert trade prediction in 2022.
“In the case of Rudy Gobert, I knew he was getting traded,” said Windhorst. “I don’t know what’s going to happen here. And not knowing is enough to leave some teams to leave their options open.”