Bucks' Plan to Convince Giannis Not to Request Trade Reportedly Revealed amid Rumors
As Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to mull over his future, the Milwaukee Bucks are putting together a pitch they hope will convince the two-time NBA MVP not to request a trade.
Per NBA insider Marc Stein, the Bucks' plan involves pitching Antetokounmpo on staying in the Eastern Conference given how wide open things look going forward and selling him on a "gap year" in 2025-26 that will allow them to retool their roster:
"Milwaukee has indeed been eliminated in Round 1 by Indiana in each of the past two springs … which can't exactly be described as promising when the Pacers have a real shot to make their first trip to the NBA Finals since 2000. Yet simply staying in the East would almost certainly enhance Antetokounmpo's chances of winning the second championship he so deeply craves given the injury-related uncertainty facing contenders like Boston and Philadelphia and how much harder it clearly is just to get out of the West and into the NBA Finals. A significant aspect of the Bucks' pitch, then, is selling Antetokounmpo on the idea of a so-called gap year that enables them to retool the team while allowing him to maintain his one-team affiliation after 12 seasons in Milwaukee. The very forgiving East landscape certainly enhances the notion that it wouldn't take years (with an s) to return to contention."
Stein also noted the Bucks are hopeful head coach Doc Rivers can boost their case because he is believed to have a "strong working relationship" with Antetokounmpo during their two seasons together.
One reason for the "gap year" idea is the Bucks will likely be without Damian Lillard for most, if not all, of the 2025-26 season. He tore his Achilles in Game 4 against the Pacers and had surgery to repair the injury on May 2.
In the aftermath of Milwaukee's first-round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers, speculation about Antetokounmpo's future started. It was the third consecutive year the team has lost in the first round of the postseason.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported on May 12 that Antetokounmpo hasn't made any firm decisions about his future, but he was "open-minded" about seeing if his best path forward is with another organization.
There is a pathway for the Bucks to get out of their difficult cap situation this summer, though it does come with a caveat that could make them worse next season.
Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, the Bucks are set to be $23 million under the luxury tax entering the offseason if they don't bring back Brook Lopez. He did add they would move back into the tax by retaining Lopez, use their $14.1 midlevel exception and fill out the roster.
There aren't a lot of draft assets in Milwaukee's cache to use in trade offers. The club doesn't control its first-round pick until 2031.
As this is happening with the Bucks specifically, the conference around them is in a state of transition.
The Boston Celtics, who have been the dominant force in the East for most of the past nine years, might look to take their own gap year given how expensive the roster will be for the incoming ownership group, assuming the $6.1 billion sale gets approved, if they run it back.
Boston's situation was made even more complicated when Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles in Game 4 against the New York Knicks. The possibility of playing all of next season without him might push the front office to trade from its core this summer.
If the Celtics are out of the equation, who is the dominant team in the East going forward? The Pacers would seem like the favorite having reached the conference finals in back-to-back years with a talented core that is signed for multiple years going forward.
Beyond the Pacers, though, everyone has question marks going forward. The Cleveland Cavaliers aren't going to have a lot of flexibility if they run things back as a second-apron team.
The Knicks are already thin in terms of depth and only control one of their first-round picks from 2025 to '29. Teams like the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic have promising young rosters, but they are still a few pieces away from being a viable title contender.
It's a complicated path for the Bucks to get back to being a top-tier team in the Eastern Conference, but you can see it if you really look hard.
Antetokounmpo is arguably the best player in the conference right now, which would give them a leg up on many of their competitors. He has acknowledged being very loyal in the past that could certainly help Milwaukee's pitch to retain the superstar.
The 30-year-old finished third in MVP voting this season, his eighth consecutive year being in the top seven. He averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game in 67 starts.
