After the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of this year's playoffs in five games, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Giannis Antetokounmpo is open-minded about leaving the franchise for the first time in his career.
The Bucks have won only one postseason series since winning the 2021 championship against the Phoenix Suns.
Antetokounmpo has spent his entire career in Milwaukee. He's a two-time MVP, a one-time Finals MVP, a one-time Defensive Player of the Year and a nine-time All-Star. The 30-year-old has career averages of 23.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks.
According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, Antetokounmpo hasn't yet requested a trade from the Bucks.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (34).
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (34).
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Stein is also reporting that Milwaukee is loudly reminding Antetokounmpo about the current state of the Eastern Conference to try to convince the superstar to stay.
"Word is that the Bucks are trying to build a good bit of their case for convincing Antetokounmpo to give them another shot to build a title team around him by loudly reminding him about the current state of the Eastern Conference," Stein wrote. "Milwaukee has indeed been eliminated in Round 1 by Indiana in each of the past two springs ... which can't exactly be described as promising when the Pacers have a real shot to make their first trip to the NBA Finals since 2000.
"Yet simply staying in the East would almost certainly enhance Antetokounmpo's chances of winning the second championship he so deeply craves given the injury-related uncertainty facing contenders like Boston and Philadelphia and how much harder it clearly is just to get out of the West and into the NBA Finals.
"A significant aspect of the Bucks' pitch, then, is selling Antetokounmpo on the idea of a so-called gap year that enables them to retool the team while allowing him to maintain his one-team affiliation after 12 seasons in Milwaukee."
The Greek Freak put up 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.2 blocks per game for the Bucks this season. Antetokounmpo doesn't have a no-trade clause in his contract.
The Bucks signed Antetokounmpo to a three-year, $175 million extension in October 2023.