Winner: Miami, Golden State, Toronto, Dallas, and the Clippers
With every game that Giannis loses, the Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, and Los Angeles Clippers all win a little bit.
I’m of course referring to Giannis’ pending free agency in the offseason of 2021 but before I get into, here’s what Giannis himself told Yahoo! Sport’s Chris Haynes after elimination in Game 5 when talking about requesting a trade:
"“It’s not happening. That’s not happening. Some see a wall and go in [another direction]. I plow through it. We just have to get better as a team, individually and get right back at it next season.”"
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported in June that the consensus was, if the Bucks make it to the Finals this season, Giannis is expected to remain with the team.
That is something he did not achieve.
So, here’s all the Giannis chatter you’ll ever need to hear:
- Bam Adebayo and Giannis share the same agent;
- Pat Riley is one of the few guys who could sign Giannis and say “this was okay, but it’s nothing like the last time I did this.”
- Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus wrote a very interesting article on different ways the Greek Freak could end up on the Warriors roster, citing several trade packages including the recently acquired 2021 Minnesota Timberwolves first-round pick.
- Yahoo! Sports Vincent Goodwill says the Heat and Raptors are frontrunners in signing Giannis in the summer of 2021.
- The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reported that the LA Clippers are expected to “pursue a deal” for Giannis (whatever that means). He also adds that the Dallas Mavericks are looking to sign the superstar in the summer of 2021 as well.
If these next few months aren’t hard enough for Bucks fans already, they might get a lot worse.