The Milwaukee Bucks have been trying to navigate a turbulent offseason, with the question on everyone's mind being whether franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo will outright demand a trade or look to stay in Milwaukee a little longer. Trade rumors have been swirling around the Bucks all summer, even after they made a seemingly win-now move by cutting the injured Damian Lillard and signing Myles Turner in free agency.
On Sunday, the Bucks' front office made another move in an attempt to appease Antetokounmpo, and it appears it worked well enough to cool things down for now.
“Thanasis Antetokounmpo is signing a guaranteed one-year, $2.9 million deal to return to the Milwaukee Bucks, sources tell ESPN,” reported NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter. “Antetokounmpo played for Bucks from 2019-24.”
Charania also noted that “this also means after a summer of exploring options, Giannis is staying in Milwaukee to start the season.”
As Charania referenced in his report, last year, Thanasis Antetokounmpo was not with the Bucks as the team opted to go in another direction (although he was still frequently seen at their games, supporting his brother).
This year, however, he will be back on the bench and in uniform, and may even see some sporadic minutes in blowouts.
Another swing for the Bucks
This summer for the Bucks' front office has essentially consisted of throwing everything Giannis Antetokounmpo staying-related at the wall and seeing what sticks. Antetokounmpo has long been very vocal about his loyalty to his family, and it appears this latest signing to bring Thanasis back to the bench signals that the former MVP is happy to stay in Milwaukee for at least a little longer.
Still, even with the addition of Myles Turner this offseason and the injury-riddled state of the Eastern Conference, it's not entirely clear how the Bucks figure to field a competitive roster around their superstar.
The Bucks have almost nothing in the way of guard or wing depth, especially now that Lillard is out of the picture, and Thanasis doesn't figure to provide much outside of support from the bench on his new contract.
All told, Milwaukee still has some decisions to make.
