Three warning signs that Giannis Antetokounmpo might want out
Heading into the 2020 NBA offseason, even though it won’t look like any offseason previously, there is one big storyline that nearly every team in the league will keep its eye on. Unsurprisingly, it revolves around the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks were a big disappointment in the NBA’s restart bubble and their season came to an end when they lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals (in five games). Giannis didn’t play in the latter portion of Game 4 and missed all of Game 5 due to an ankle injury. Still, the Bucks fell way short of their goal for the season.
With big decisions to make during the offseason, and with Giannis entering the final year of his contract (unless he signs an extension this summer), there’s no question why he and the Bucks will be the subject of the biggest story in the NBA offseason.
What we know so far is that Giannis met with ownership and then did the thing on social media that gets various fan bases excited – he unfollowed every Bucks player (along with roughly 100 other people) on social media.
ESPN Sources: MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo's 3-hour lunch with Bucks co-owner/governor Marc Lasry on Friday covered the season, how Bucks can improve roster, Lasry confirming willingness to spend into luxury tax and agreement they’ll talk again after Giannis returns from a vacation.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 14, 2020
While we should give Giannis, someone who has said all the right things at every turn, even after the Bucks were eliminated from the playoffs, the benefit of the doubt here. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s not new here.
That said, the Bucks or their fans shouldn’t panic yet. Giannis is expected to meet with ownership down the line again and will eventually be offered a super-max extension at some point this offseason.
However, the Bucks should proceed with caution. We explore three potential warning signs that could appear next which would indicate that Giannis Antetokounmpo might want out of Milwaukee.