Giannis Antetokounmpo recognizes pressure Bucks face entering 2024-25 season

Giannis Antetokounmpo recognizes pressure Bucks face entering 2024-25 season

After swinging a blockbuster three-team trade to pry then-33-year-old star guard Damian Lillard away from the Portland Trail Blazers, the Milwaukee Bucks had a disappointing 2023-24 season.

Mired by inconsistent play defensively plus a shocking midseason coaching change that altered the complexion of the season, Milwaukee finished 49-33 before getting bounced in the first round by the Indiana Pacers in six games.

With Lillard, Khris Middleton and superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks still have championship expectations, despite being one of the oldest teams in the NBA. Any team that has Antetokounmpo is realistically competing for a championship, and he was very candid about the Bucks’ admission if that’s not accomplished.

“Do you have it in the back of your mind, like, ‘(What) if this year doesn’t go well?’ Yeah, if we don’t win a championship, I might get traded,” he said, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. “Yeah, this is the job we live. This is the world we’re living in. It’s everybody.”

Antetokounmpo, who turns 30-years-old in December, is entering his 12th NBA season–all of which have been with Milwaukee. He’s still arguably a top-3 player in the sport, having finished top-4 in MVP voting in each of the last four seasons after winning it in consecutive years from 2018-20.

Any team, hypothetically, in a trade conversation should be willing to give up an arm and a leg for him. He’s still that good. Now, I think it would be unlikely he gets traded over, say, Lillard, Middleton (if he stays healthy) and some of their other pieces. Trading him is the last possible resort, signaling a team is slamming the reset button.

He also signed a three-year max extension nearly a year ago to date, which won’t kick in until the 2025-26 season. He’s on the hook for $48.8 million this year with cap hits for $54.1M, $58.5M and $62.8M (player option) over the next three seasons, respectively, per Spotrac.

Anything is possible in today’s NBA, even though a trade for Antetokounmpo would be complicated given the second apron complications. Milwaukee will be free of it next season, but that doesn’t mean another contender wanting Antekounmpo–all 29 teams should–is or will be.

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