Giannis Antetokounmpo Could Demand A Trade If He ‘Loses Confidence’ In Bucks’ Ability To Win Championships
In the past months, rumors have been continuously swirling around reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and his future with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks have already revealed their plan to offer Antetokounmpo a massive contract extension, but as of now, the All-Star power forward hasn’t given any assurance he will ink a new deal with Milwaukee in the 2020 NBA offseason. However, as of now, he looks happy and committed to the Bucks.
That could change though. According to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, Antetokounmpo may consider finding his way out of Milwaukee if he starts losing confidence that they are capable of winning an NBA championship title.
“Though all indications are that he’s on good terms with team management, league sources believe that Antetokounmpo would want out of Milwaukee if he loses confidence in the franchise’s ability to win championships,” Letourneau wrote, as quoted by Bleacher Report. “This is why the NBA shutdown could buoy the Warriors’ chances of landing their long-coveted Greek.”
Several NBA teams are currently monitoring Antetokounpo’s situation with the Bucks, including the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors may be expected to suffer a huge disappointment in the 2019-20 NBA season, but they won’t likely remain at the bottom of the league for long. Aside from making sure that their core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green will be in perfect shape before the start of the 2020-21 season, there are speculations that the Warriors are planning to pick up a fourth star this summer.
The Warriors have long been interested in acquiring Antetokounmpo. As a matter of fact, Letourneau revealed Golden State has been “preparing for years” to target Antetokounmpo either via trade or free agency. Once the Bucks fail to convince Antetokounmpo to sign the massive contract extension and decide to make him available on the trading block, the Warriors would surely do everything they could to bring Antetokounmpo to their team.
The Warriors are in a strong position to engage in a blockbuster deal with the Bucks this summer. They could use Andrew Wiggins’ lucrative deal for salary-matching purposes and their future draft picks as sweeteners. Aside from their own 2020 first-round pick, they also possess the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2021 first-round selection, which has a strong chance of becoming a lottery pick if the Karl-Anthony Towns-D’Angelo Russell experiment doesn’t work.
A trade package that includes Wiggins, the Warriors’ 2020 first-round pick, and the Timberwolves’ 2021 first-round pick is undeniably a good haul for the Bucks, especially if they would immediately consider undergoing a full-scale rebuild in the post-Antetokounmpo era. Meanwhile, the successful acquisition of Antetokounmpo would not only make the Warriors a top favorite to fully dominate the Western Conference, but it would also give them a realistic chance of winning multiple NBA championship titles.
