SI:AM | Giannis’s Days With the Bucks Seem Numbered

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. What’s the deal with all these Pro Football Hall of Fame voting results leaking early? Now Eli Manning has reportedly missed the cut.

In today’s SI:AM:
🦌 Giannis trade coming?
⛳ Big changes as PGA Tour season begins
🏈 Bills’ risky hire

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NBA trade deadline just got interesting

One of the biggest stars in the NBA could be on the move.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday that Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are both open to a trade that would send the nine-time All-Star out of Milwaukee before next week’s trade deadline. Antetokounmpo “is ready for a new home” and the Bucks “are more open than ever” to move him, Charania reported.

Giannis has been the subject of trade rumors for the better part of a year, and the whispers have only grown louder as this season has progressed. Charania reported in May that Antetokounmpo was “open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere.” That was followed by speculation over the summer that Giannis would like to play for the Knicks. Earlier this month, Antetokounmpo told Sam Amick of The Athletic that he would “never” ask for a trade out of Milwaukee. But when asked by Amick whether he had decided to stay with the Bucks past the trade deadline, Giannis left the door open by responding, “As of today.”

The situation has changed, though. It’s become increasingly clear over the past several weeks that the Bucks are not a playoff contender. Milwaukee is 18–27 this season, four games out of the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. The team’s postseason hopes became even more remote when Antetokounmpo reinjured his right calf last Friday. A previous right calf strain caused him to miss eight games in December, and he has had issues with his left calf earlier in his career. The Bucks did not put a timetable on Giannis’s return, but he told reporters the injury felt like his previous ones and anticipated that it would keep him out for four to six weeks. Considering how lousy the Bucks have been without Antetokounmpo this season (15–15 when he plays, 3–12 when he doesn’t), the chances that they’d keep their season afloat while he recovers are minimal. The lack of talent around Antetokounmpo has reportedly been his biggest gripe with his situation in Milwaukee, so a lost season like this makes it a natural time for him to exit.

There’s also a chance, though, that the Bucks might wait until after the season to move Antetokounmpo. A trade as big as this one is more difficult to orchestrate in the week remaining before the deadline than it would be in the offseason when there’s more time to entice a bidding war. Plus, as Chris Mannix points out, waiting until after the season would allow potential suitors like the Lakers, Knicks and Heat to offer more draft picks than they currently have available.

So where might Antetokounmpo land? Given how long he’s been linked to them, the Knicks are certainly among the favorites. In addition to New York, Charania named the Timberwolves, Heat and Warriors as possible suitors. Mannix reported earlier this week that Golden State was prepared to offer a trade package centered around Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga in exchange for Antetokounmpo.

Whichever team acquires Antetokounmpo will have to pay through the nose. He’s one of the greatest players of his generation and is still at the top of his game at 31, even if the recent calf issues give cause for concern. By the same token, the Bucks need to make sure they don’t just give him away. Milwaukee must maximize the return for Giannis to pull out of this current downward spiral.

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