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Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to meet with the Milwaukee Bucks this week to discuss the direction of the team, according to Chris Haynes. On Monday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Antetokounmpo is “open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere.” This meeting, therefore, stands as a potentially crucial inflection point in deciding where Antetokounmpo will spend the remainder of his prime as an NBA superstar.
Antetokounmpo has seemingly explored the option of leaving Milwaukee at multiple points in the past, but the Bucks have always convinced him to stay with a blockbuster move. They landed Jrue Holiday in 2020 and Damian Lillard in 2023. The Holiday trade ultimately won them the 2021 championship. The Lillard trade, however, has not been as successful. The Bucks, due in part to injuries, have not won a playoff series with Lillard on the roster. Lillard tore his Achilles tendon in the first round against the Indiana Pacers, and is now expected to miss next season as he recovers.
That leaves the Bucks in an almost unsalvageable position. Milwaukee does not control its own first-round pick again until 2030. They’ve built an old and prohibitively expensive roster. Starting center Brook Lopez, uniquely qualified to play alongside Antetokounmpo as a shooter and defender, is 37 and an impending free agent. The Bucks dealt longtime Antetokounmpo co-star Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma at the deadline in one of the season’s worst trades by any team. There is no obvious path to get the Bucks back into contention at least in the short term.
According to Haynes, Antetokounmpo “has great ambition” and “wants multiple championships.” Antetokounmpo himself has said that competing for more rings means more to him than remaining in Milwaukee. “Winning a championship comes first. I don’t want to be 20 years on the same…
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