Bucks Must Go All-In to Keep Giannis from Requesting Trade Amid Latest NBA Rumors
The Milwaukee Bucks and star Giannis Antetokounmpo will wait to decide on a potential trade until later this summer, after the NBA Draft and the start of free agency, insider Shams Charania reported on ESPN Get Up.
The two-time league MVP, Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and 2021 NBA champion wants to add more Larry O'Brien trophies to his resume. He wants to win and there are questions about the Bucks' ability to do that, especially facing the uncertainty of Damian Lillard's future following a torn Achilles in the first round of this year's playoffs.
Antetokounmpo was second in the league in points scored per game in 2024-25 with 30.4, he shot 60.1 percent from the paint, grabbed 11.9 rebounds and added 6.5 assists. He is not an aging player whose skills are diminishing.
If anything, he is in the prime of his career and had it not been for a couple of injuries that kept him on the sidelines for 15 games last year, he probably would have been an MVP candidate.
For that reason, the Bucks must go all in to keep the face of the franchise happy and in Milwaukee.
The team needs guard help and there are several free agents with ties to head coach Doc Rivers who the team could look to complement Giannis. Matisse Thybulle and De'Anthony Melton fit that category, as does the much more recognizable Chris Paul, who played under Rivers in Los Angeles.
Paul saw his play time decrease in each of the last two seasons, and he is not the scoring threat he once was, but he is a wily veteran and future Hall of Famer who knows how to dish the ball, with assists remaining one of the bright spots of his game.
Adding him to the mix would be a great, and affordable, addition to the roster as he signed a one-year, $10 million deal with San Antonio a season ago and could likely be signed for something similar, if not a bit less, this year.
The team has a $7.2 million trade exception that was awarded to them after the deal that brought Kyle Kuzma to town in exchange for Khris Middleton, giving them an option to bring in someone making under that number, too.
There are avenues for the organization to take but every single one of them must come back to their megastar and satisfying him, so that the front office does not feel inclined to make a trade that would end any championship aspirations they have and potentially put themselves in an unenviable position moving forward.
