Reports Are Swirling That For The First Time In His Career, Giannis Is Actually Considering Leaving Milwaukee

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There's no denying that the Bucks enter the offseason in a tough spot. With Damian Lillard out for what you assume is most of, if not all of next season, things aren't looking all that great for their immediate future. Due to poor trades, the Bucks are extremely limited in terms of draft capital and when it comes to available cap space as a way to improve in free agency, it's not like they have a ton to work with either given what their roster situation looks like

For a team that has lost in the 1st round in 3 straight years and hasn't made an ECF since they won the title in 2021, the pressure is certainly on for them to figure out how to get back into contention.

As we inch closer to the offseason, according to Shams there's now an entirely new potential disaster for the Bucks to worry about, and I'm not sure Bucks fans are going to like it

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.

OK, first off, let's be real about something here.

We tend to hear some version of this "report" every offseason after the Bucks underachieve. Every single time, it wasn't about Giannis leaving or wanting and leave and more about putting pressure on the front office to get off their ass and do something. Whether that was trading for Jrue Holiday (and then paying him) or trading for Dame, no player "leaks" about leaving more than Giannis as a way to motivate his bosses to stop being complacent and improve the roster.

As a Bucks fan, this is the copium I would be overdosing on after reading that Shams report. It's certainly better than the alternative right? 

But, what if things are actually different this time? It's not like this is a contract/extension thing, given that Giannis is about to start Year 1 of his 3/175M extension next season

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so it is possible he's looking around at the Dame situation, his age, what their roster looks like in addition to their ability to improve? It's easy to say "OK, get better in free agency" this summer, but who is that guy that's hitting the market who is going to MIL? Who helps from this group that's even remotely realistic?

That's why this time around I wouldn't blame anyone for putting more stock into this Giannis rumor compared to ones we had previously. Situations in the league change in an instant. Doc Rivers is still the coach, the rest of the conference continues to get better, would it be crazy if Giannis finally started entertaining the idea of looking around?

I'm not sure Shams would just be making that part up about how this is the first time he's ever legimiately considered it. He heard that from somewhere, whether that was Giannis' side, or maybe even the team side. You don't phrase things like that just out of the blue. It should be noted, none of the other Giannis reports or rumors from seasons past were ever worded that way. That has to be factored in on some level.

If Giannis does hit the trade market? Holy shit. This is not going to be a Luka Doncic Trade situation where we see a generational talent get traded for a ham sandwich (or at least I would hope for MIL's sake). Every single thing in the NBA stops until that Giannis trade is figured out. No trades, no signings, no nothing. It would be the biggest domino to fall in recent NBA history, and for all we know the Bucks may view this as the only possible way for them to truly rebuild given their asset situation. Perhaps that's why Giannis is now "open" to the idea for the first time ever? How do we know the team didn't present this opportunity to Giannis and tell him he gets to decide what he wants.

If that's go somewhere else, tell them where and they can figure it out. If that's to stay and be there for the next phase, OK fine. If anyone should get to decide what to do with the next stage of their career, I'd say Giannis certainly qualifies.

There's this idea that the grass might always be greener in another situation, but that's not always the case. Just as Dwight Howard

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His situation in ORL wasn't all that different from Giannis' and MIL, outside of not having a title to his name (thanks Courtney Lee!), so if anyone knows what Giannis might be thinking or going through, Dwight certainly might.

The question now becomes, where's he going to go? Whoever trades for him has to have the salaries to match and picks to trade, so where is that destination? Can the Nets close the deal? If OKC loses in the 2nd round, do they just cash everything in to bring in Giannis? With the new CBA rules it's not exactly easy to move $54M in salary when you factor in it probably has to be a team in contention for Giannis to sign off on it. 

All I know is this is how things usually start. A tough, underachieving season. An early playoff exit. An aging and injured roster. No real assets/path to correcting things. Almost always when all that stuff happens we see star players ultimately be on the move.

Is Giannis next? We're only a few months away from finding out.