After the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of this year's postseason in five games, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is open-minded about leaving the franchise for the first time in his career.
The Bucks have won just one playoff series since winning the 2021 championship against the Phoenix Suns in six games.
A future Hall of Famer, 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 with career averages of 23.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks.
Some believe Antetokounmpo will request a trade from the Bucks this summer since Damian Lillard could miss all of next season recovering from his left Achilles tendon tear.
However, Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony and Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George believe The Greek Freak isn't going anywhere.
Antetokounmpo told COSMOTE TV broadcasters Vassilis Skountis and Rigas Dardalis in February that he wouldn't ever request a trade from the Bucks.
Milwaukee signed Antetokounmpo to a three-year, $175 million extension in October 2023. Antetokounmpo can become an unrestricted free agent in 2027 if he declines his 2027-28 player option worth $62.8 million.
According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, Antetokounmpo hasn't requested a trade from Milwaukee yet.
The Bucks are loudly reminding Antetokounmpo about the current state of the Eastern Conference.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
"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.
"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."
Antetokounmpo made the All-NBA First Team this season. He turns 31 on December 6.