In Masai Ujiri’s 12 years running the Raptors, Giannis Antetokounmpo was always the one who got away. There were other aspirations and chases, a list of ghostly possibilities, but Giannis was the dream. The two-time MVP is loyal, though, and he stuck with Milwaukee in 2020 and won a title in 2021. That’s how it should be.
But all good things must end, and the Bucks are a blimp on fire. They edged the Raptors for Damian Lillard two years ago — a lucky break for Toronto, which wouldn’t have spent a lot of player capital either way — and have now entered the bargaining stage of grief, a couple months after Lillard tore his Achilles in the first round of the playoffs.
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