With Giannis Antetokounmpo dealing with an injury that could sideline him for the majority or entirety of the first round of the playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks may be staring down yet another disappointing postseason finish.
The Bucks are “preparing to be without” Antetokounmpo for the beginning of their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers, a team that gave Milwaukee fits in the regular season. Antetokounmpo's injury, as well as the rocky nature of this season, Damian Lillard's first with the Bucks after being acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers in the offseason, could ultimately spell doom for Milwaukee. And because of that, NBA insider Brian Windhorst said on ESPN's Get Up that the Bucks could be in jeopardy of losing Antetokounmpo's trust.
“If they lose in the first round, the first person you’re worried about isn’t Dame, it’s Giannis,” Windhorst said. “You want to make sure Giannis is still committed, and also when you talk about this first round, you got to worry about where Giannis’s calf is, if he’s going to be 100%. But if they go down in the first round again, and they have that disappointment in back-to-back years, I’m not sure where Giannis is going to be.
“But no matter what happens, this is a flawed roster. They clearly did not — the panacea that they thought Dame Lillard was going to be wasn't the case. They're going to have to make changes one way or another, and they've basically mortgaged their entire draft in the future, so they're going to have to get creative. And I do think it's possible that Dame [being traded] could be looked at, but you got to make sure Giannis is committed to it first.”
"If [the Bucks] go down in the first round again … I'm not sure where Giannis is going to be."
👀 @WindhorstESPN pic.twitter.com/NivbiUqDDh
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 16, 2024
Could Giannis Antetokounmpo leave the Bucks?
Last offseason, reports surfaced that Giannis Antetokounmpo may be unwilling to commit to the Bucks long-term if they could not build a winner around him. The Bucks seemingly responded to those reports and executed a blockbuster deal that shipped out Jrue Holiday and brought in Damian Lillard, one of the best players in the NBA. In October, Antetokounmpo inked a three-year, $186 million extension with the Bucks.
But as we have come to realize over the years, long-term contractual commitments mean very little in the NBA. Lillard, for example, signed a two-year extension with Portland in July 2022 that would keep him under contract with the Blazers until at least 2026. Less than one year later, though, Lillard requested a trade despite his extension not going into effect until two seasons from now. Other players, such as Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons, have demanded trades shortly after signing extensions as well, making the trade market even more unpredictable and noteworthy.
If the Bucks do ultimately fail to move past the first round of these playoffs, the Bucks likely do have to worry at least a little about whether Antetokounmpo is satisfied. Since winning the 2021 NBA Championship, Milwaukee has failed to make it back to the Eastern Conference Finals, with last season's 4-1 defeat to the Miami Heat, a series during which Antetokounmpo was also injured, being particularly embarrassing.
On the other hand, the Bucks have attempted to overhaul the team since then. Milwaukee fired Mike Budenholzer shortly after the season and hired Adrian Griffin, a first-time head coach of whom Antetokounmpo reportedly approved. Griffin was fired just months into the season, however, despite a 30-13 start. The Bucks hired Doc Rivers, a former NBA Championship-winning coach who also has an unfortunate history of playoff failures. Under Rivers, the Bucks went 17-19 to finish the regular season, including losing eight of their final 11 games.
Antetokounmpo's contract extension is set to kick in starting with the 2025-26 season; he will make $48.8 million next season before receiving a projected $54.3 million salary in 2025.
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