The latest chapter in the GreekSeek got written Monday just hours before the NBA Draft Lottery.
The first shoe has dropped.
In an early morning report hours before the NBA Draft Lottery, Shams Charania reports that Giannis Antetokounmpo, the 6’11” Nigerian Greek big man, is for the first time willing to talk about a future outside the Milwaukee Bucks organization.
The two-time NBA MVP has not made any firm decisions on his Bucks future after the franchise’s third consecutive postseason exit in the first round, but for the first time in his career, Antetokounmpo is open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere, league sources told ESPN.
Although Shams doesn’t further identify “league sources,” it seems unlikely they are anyone outside Antetokounmpo’s camp and indeed, the ESPN insider says the Greek Freak and his representation will soon be meeting with the Bucks.
The Bucks and Antetokounmpo’s representatives, Giorgios Panou and Alex Saratsis, are expected to sit down during the offseason to discuss the future, sources said…
At the same time, Shams notes that the possibility that Antetokounmpo is willing to move will stir the NBA pot at a time when teams are in Chicago waiting the final draft order, which in the case of several teams — presumably including the Brooklyn Nets — could alter their off-season plans.
For the rest of the NBA, team executives, coaches and players all understand the landscape-altering focus on Antetokounmpo’s future and how it impacts all 30 franchises. From the draft lottery on Monday night to draft night in June, the prospects of Antetokounmpo being moved loom largest on league movements.
The Nets are the heavy odds-on favorites to acquire the 30-year-old according to Las Vegas sports books, and Sean Marks in a carefully crafted comment at the team’s end-of-season media availability made it clear if the Nets were to acquire any maximum level contract, it would have to meet certain parameters.
“If you’re going after max-level talent, they have to automatically and absolutely change the trajectory of your team,” said Marks. “This can’t be like let’s go get this [guy] and lock ourselves into being a 6-7 seed. When we go all-in, you’re going in to compete at the highest level and contend.” [Emphasis ours.]
Reporters on hand for that April 14 discussion were unanimous in believing that description fit only one player likely to be available this summer: Antetokounmpo. Around the same time, Antetokounmpo made it clear on his brother Thanasis podcast that winning is his top priority.
“Me not having a second championship — I look back at my career and everybody can say, ‘Oh, incredible career, active Hall of Famer, first ballot, whatever.’ But me, my personal goal, if I am not able to help my team win a second ring, I’m letting down myself,” Antetokounmpo said last month on the “Thanalysis Show.
Antetokounmpo has been loyal to the organization that took him at No. 15 in the 2013 Draft built a championship team around him. While the Bucks won the 2022 NBA title and have the best regular season record in the NBA since 2018-19, a variety of factors, led by an aging and injury-prone roster as well as a change in ownership. Shams laid out the tale of woe.
The Bucks have seven players under contract for next season — Antetokounmpo, Kyle Kuzma, AJ Green, Andre Jackson Jr., Chris Livingston, Tyler Smith and Lillard, whose 2025-26 season is in jeopardy after he tore his left Achilles tendon during Game 4 against Indiana. Lillard will turn 35 in July and is owed $113 million in the next two seasons. Lopez, Portis (player option), Taurean Prince, Kevin Porter Jr. (player option) and Gary Trent Jr. all could become free agents this summer.
Pat Connaughton also has until June 24 to opt into his $9.4 million contract for next season. Antetokounmpo, Lillard and Kuzma would earn $130 million of the Bucks’ $164 million in payroll next season.
Moreover, Marc Lasry, the principal owner of the team during its run and someone close to Antetokounmpo, sold his stake in the team last year to Jimmy and Dee Haslam, whose stewardship of the Cleveland Browns hasn’t been filled with parades.
Shams doesn’t mention any teams in Monday’s story, but the Nets position as a leader in tradeable assets and long-standing reports that he is the franchise’s “Plan A” has tagged them as an early favorite along with big markets like the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors.
NO team has the combination of draft picks — 31 total, 29 tradeable — cap space — starting at a bare minimum of $45 million — market and money that Marks and Joe Tsai have husbanded. It’s a haul. On the other hand, the Nets roster is limited.
Meanwhile, the Bucks, having traded so many assets to help Antetokounmpo, currently have only one first round pick in 2031. After the June 25-26 Draft they’ll get access to the 2032 first. They’d presumably want both picks and young players.
“I think we need to be opportunistic,” Marks said when discussing the upcoming free agent period in that same media availability. “In this market we’re always going to have various different free agents and opportunities thrown at us. Just simply being in a top five market in the league, that’s going to happen.”
For his part, Antetokounmpo has not hinted at a possible new destination. After losing in the first round for the third straight time, he was asked about the possibility.
“I’m not going to do this. I’m not going to do this,” Antetokounmpo said when asked if he thought he could still win another chip in Milwaukee. “I know … whatever I say, I know how it’s going to translate. I don’t know, man. I wish I was still playing. I wish I was still competing and going back to Milwaukee. I don’t know.”
Of course, the timing of Shams’ report coincides with the Draft Lottery. Would a team that wins the overall No. 1 be willing to trade it in package for Antetokounmpo? In an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up”, Brian Windhorst said he saw that scenario “unlikely” … “stunning.”
Windhorst also said he believed that the three most likely suitors for Antetokounmpo are the Lakers, Knicks, and Warriors.
In his report, Shams didn’t provide a timetable for the meeting between the Bucks and Antetokounmpo but in his appearance on “Get Up” noted that with all 30 teams top executives on hand for the Lottery and NBA Combine, the top topic for the week will be Antetokounmpo’s future.
- Sources: Giannis Antetokounmpo to explore best fits outside of Milwaukee – Shams Charania – ESPN