While the Damian Lillard trade to the Milwaukee Bucks came out of nowhere, the former Portland Trail Blazers star had been in NBA trade rumors for months. After seeing what happened with Lillard, Bucks’ perennial All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo is getting ahead of his own potential NBA trade rumors.
Milwaukee is expected to have one of the best NBA teams this season, vying for another championship in a crowded and top-heavy Eastern Conference. Another season of experience together for Lillard and Antetokounmpo is expected to help the Bucks’ duo, but they might not be together for much longer.
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- Giannis Antetokounmpo contract (HoopsHype): $48.787 million salary in 2024-’25, $57.605 million salary in 2025-’26, $62.213 million salary in 2026-’27, $66.821 million player option in 2017
Lillard holds a $58.456 million player option for the 2026-’27 season, so he can get out of Milwaukee fairly quickly. It’s even more likely to happen if the team fails to meet expectations this season, failing to even reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the fourth consecutive year.
While Lillard’s name would immediately pop up in NBA rumors if Milwaukee is struggling, Antetokounmpo might experience the same fate. In fact, the Bucks’ star even thinks this could wind up being one of his final years with the team.
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- Giannis Antetokounmpo stats (ESPN): 30.4 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 6.5 APG, 61.1% FG, 1.2 SPG, 1.1 BPG
Speaking to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Antetokounmpo acknowledged that he “might get traded” if the Bucks don’t win a championship this year.
While Antetokounmpo acknowledges he could be traded, it’s hard to imagine any scenario where Milwaukee makes that decision for him. He’s one of the greatest players in franchise history, keeps them in contention on his own and he’s a source of ticket sales and merchandise revenue.
Effectively, Antetokounmpo is making it pretty clear that he is willing to be traded if the Bucks can’t win a championship this season. Considering few are expecting Milwaukee to even win the Eastern Conference Finals, we could be just a few months away from Antetokounmpo being prevalent in NBA trade rumors.
