Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks has been referred to as into query because the group finds itself on the enterprise finish of a turbulent season.
Milwaukee’s marketing campaign has been marred by a sequence of dangerous losses, and with a first-round playoff sequence in opposition to the Indiana Pacers looming, the Bucks are heading into the postseason in unconvincing vogue. To make issues worse, Antetokounmpo’s well being standing is unsure for Game 1 in opposition to the Pacers.
All this implies a first-round exit is fully doable, and in keeping with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, that may spark some severe issues round Giannis’ future in Milwaukee.
“If they lose in the first round, the first person you’re worried about isn’t Dame, it’s Giannis,” Windhorst said on Get Up.
“If [the Bucks] go down in the first round again … I’m not sure where Giannis is going to be.”
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— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 16, 2024
“You want to make sure Giannis is still committed, and also when you talk about this first round, you got to worry about where Giannis’s calf is, if he’s going to be 100%. But if they go down in the first round again, and they have that disappointment in back-to-back years, I’m not sure where Giannis is going to be.”
Windhorst went on to say the Bucks have discovered themselves on this place partly on account of a flawed roster.
“No matter what happens, this is a flawed roster,” he stated. “The panacea that they thought Dame Lillard was going to be wasn’t the case. They’re going to should make adjustments a method or one other, they usually’ve mainly mortgaged their total draft sooner or later, in order that they’re going to should get inventive.
“And I do think it’s possible that Dame [being traded] could be looked at, but you got to make sure Giannis is committed to it first.”
Since successful the championship in 2021, the Bucks have didn’t make it out of the primary spherical. They misplaced to the Celtics 4-3 within the 2022 Eastern Conference semifinals, and went all the way down to the Miami Heat 4-1 within the first spherical of the 2023 playoffs.
Giannis continues to be underneath contract for subsequent season, when he’ll enter the ultimate 12 months of his present five-year, $228 million deal. But latest NBA historical past is affected by star gamers demanding trades effectively earlier than their contracts have completed. Milwaukee higher hope Giannis isn’t the subsequent one to comply with the pattern.
READ MORE: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Stance on Partnership With Damian Lillard
