NBA Rumors: Giannis' Brother Thanasis Eyed by Bucks for Contract amid Injury Recovery

Even though Thanasis Antetokounmpo isn't expected to play this season due a torn Achilles, the Milwaukee Bucks are considering bringing back the 32-year-old.

Per Spotrac's Keith Smith, the Bucks are trying to open a roster spot to potentially re-sign the brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo because they value his presence in the locker room.

Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on May 13 that Antetokounmpo had successful surgery to repair a torn Achilles.

Antetokounmpo played the final three minutes of garbage time in the Bucks' 120-98 loss in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers on May 2 that ended their season.

Per Shams Charania and Eric Nehm of The Athletic, Antetokounmpo suffered the injury during a workout in the days after the loss to Indiana.

NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on Saturday that the Bucks have informed teams of their interest in trading MarJon Beauchamp to potentially bring back a defensive-minded wing player.

Milwaukee's roster is currently at the maximum 15 players, not including those on Exhibit 10 and two-way contracts.

Beauchamp was the Bucks' first-round draft pick (No. 24 overall) in 2022. The 24-year-old has flashed some promise, particularly as an offensive player, in limited action over the past two seasons. He shot 40.0 percent from three-point range last season, but only had 75 attempts in 48 appearances. He will make $2.7 million this season in the final guaranteed year of his rookie contract.

The Bucks have made a point of keeping Thanasis on their roster since it makes Giannis happy. It's a strategy that has served them well since Thanasis was the one who convinced his younger brother to sign a three-year, $186 million extension with the club last offseason.

Even though Thanasis won't be able to make any impact for the Bucks on the court this season due to the injury, keeping Giannis in good spirits going into a very important season for the franchise counts for a lot.

Thanasis has spent five seasons with the Bucks after originally signing with the team in July 2019. He has appeared in 196 games with the club, averaging 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per contest.