Most Likely Scenario? Giannis Antetokounmpo Back With Bucks

Already, the NBA rumor mill is continuously spitting out the name of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. And that’s probably for no other reason than it’s just the way the NBA rumor mill works.

Star player loses in first round of playoffs, star player must be moved, according to the spins on social media.

But according to multiple insiders and Hoops Wire sources, Antetokounmpo isn’t likely going anywhere. Quite frankly, a return to Milwaukee is the most likely scenario.

This was something touched on by Marc Stein of The Stein Line during the ALL NBA podcast.

“I don’t think Giannis himself does not want to go to the Bucks and say ‘trade me’,'” Stein said. “But next year there’s no way with Damian Lillard carrying a salary of nearly 60 million they don’t have control of their own first round pick till 2031, they don’t have a pathway to build a contender around him at this point. But the rumbles that you always hear are that just having Giannis is so important to them financially. They’re not going to trade him unless he pushes it.”

Yes, it’s fun to think about the possibilities of Antetkounmpo playing in San Antonio, or Oklahoma City, or some other far-off place. We write about them here all the time.

But the reality is, the Bucks aren’t likely to explore Antetokounmpo trades and most around the league seem to believe he won’t request one. That means, for better or worse, they’ll be back together yet again. Quite frankly, as it should be.