There's one disturbing sign that the Milwaukee Bucks may already be preparing to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason.
The new tea leaves may be indicating that the Milwaukee Bucks may be anticipating that Giannis Antetokounmpo is set to ask for a trade. According to veteran NBA reporter Greg Woelfel, the Bucks are taking steps in anticipation of a Giannis trade demand, with one of those steps being bringing in a few of the top prospects ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft.
This "report" should be taken with a grain of salt, considering that Woelfel may not be as connected with the Bucks as he has been in the past. Nevertheless, if there is any truth to this rumor, Bucks fans should be preparing for the worst. It was reported over the weekend that the Bucks and Giannis were set to have a sit-down meeting to sort out what the future was going to look like for both sides.
There's no indication if that meeting has taken place or when it will, but it would make sense for the Bucks to be open-minded about the offseason. At this point, there's no predicting what may lie ahead for both Giannis and the Bucks. I suppose the only one who knows what's going to happen between the two sides this offseason is Giannis. Until that is publicized or that information is shared with the Bucks, we're all just speculating here.
All eyes are on Giannis and the Bucks
Even though the conference finals are about to begin, all eyes across the league have to be glued to the situation that is taking place between Giannis and the Bucks. This is the type of situation that could go a long way in changing the entire direction of the NBA. For example, if Giannis were to demand a trade away from the Bucks, we would immediately see one of the biggest bidding trade wars in recent history and the emergence of a new championship threat in the league.
Whether that would be Giannis joining San Antonio, Houston, or even Oklahoma City, or perhaps even a dark horse fourth team that we don't even know about yet, the dynamics of the entire league would change on a dime.
Even though we see superstar trades often, we don't consistently see superstars traded in the middle of their contracts and in their prime years. The last time we saw that (before Luka Doncic) was maybe Donovan Mitchell? Even then, there were questions about his greatness at the time. There would be none of those as it regards to Giannis.
If Giannis were to hit the trade block, it'd certainly be the story of the offseason and it would have the chance to completely change the course of NBA history. With the way the reporting is trending recently, the chances that it happens may be rising and the Bucks might already be preparing for that worst-case scenario. We're living in pretty crazy times in the NBA.