Giannis Antetokounmpo will evaluate how the Milwaukee Bucks navigate the offseason and how the “chess pieces” are moved around before deciding his future. There are teams who are skeptical of the Bucks’ abilities to upgrade their roster to convince Antetokounmpo to remain with the franchise despite his intense loyalty.
“Can the Bucks between keeping their players and potentially trying to find a stopgap point guard, can they present Giannis with a team that can be a contender in the Eastern Conference? The league doesn’t think so,” said ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on Get Up.
“That is why over the last few days we have seen a couple teams who could have bid for Kevin Durant-a team like New York, a team like Miami, potentially a team like San Antonio not get into that bidding. And we saw a Milwaukee Bucks’ 2026 first round pick traded on draft night with the expectation that could be a valuable pick because teams are questioning whether the Bucks will be a strong team next year because they are questioning whether Giannis is going to be there.”
Antetokounmpo has two seasons remaining on his current contract with the Bucks, which gives them more leverage on a possible trade than they would have if they decide to wait until either the 2026 trade deadline or the 2026 offseason.
The Bucks face crucial roster decisions with key free agents including Bobby Portis, Brook Lopez, and Kevin Porter Jr.