Milwaukee Bucks are a lost franchise until Giannis Antetokounmpo trade

The Greek Freak is remaining in trade rumors.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo during the game against the Washington Wizards. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks are figuring out how to navigate the future with or without Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The team is reluctant to trade on Giannis Antetokounmpo at the moment, especially considering the fact he hasn't formally requested a trade, but with the team just fighting to get into the play-in tournament, it shows that there is no path towards a title at this moment in time with the current roster.

Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes believes the Bucks will only be able to move forward once they have traded Antetokounmpo.

"Until it resolves itself in a trade, the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation will remain the Milwaukee Bucks' defining feature. All other angles—a refusal to offensive rebound, an inability to get to the foul line, Ryan Rollins' emergence—just won't get the same shine as long as the two-time MVP's future remains undecided," Hughes wrote.

"For the moment, Antetokounmpo is outwardly committed to the Bucks. Nobody fully buys that because Giannis is playing the "you didn't hear it from me" card when asked about rumors he'd like to chase championships elsewhere—an excuse that rings hollow because Antetokounmpo's representation keeps letting word slip to certain national reporters that his client is open to moving.

"Giannis doesn't want to ask for a trade, and the Bucks don't seem willing to initiate a deal themselves, leaving the franchise in an in-between state that makes contending hard and rebuilding impossible."

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo during the game against the Washington Wizards. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Giannis trade will set Bucks into motion

The Bucks have done a lot to try to build around Giannis after winning the 2021 NBA Finals with him as the main star. Unfortunately, the Bucks have not been able to recreate that magic in a few different forms.

It didn't work with Khris Middleton. It didn't work with Damian Lillard. And now it is really not working with Kyle Kuzma and Myles Turner, as the team has fallen to the lottery portion of the standings.

There is a chance that the Bucks can bounce back and move higher in the standings in the second half of the season, but it's really hard to envision the team crashing the top of the standings where the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks have been dominating.

If they're not going to be at the top of the standings, they're not winning a championship, and Giannis will likely look for a place where he can do that. Once he says the magic word, that will get the Bucks to really consider a future without him and it will allow them to move on and get closer to where they need to go.