Giannis Has Played His Last Game for the Bucks

All right, Rachel Nichols, Fox Sports One, all the Smoke, Monumental Sports Network, and of course right here on this podcast.

We are East Coast people this week.

Uh, you are down in Washington DC.

I am up in New York City.

As I look out the window of my apartment.

I've got a little deck here at my apartment in New York City.

I saw you put it on social.

I know there's about 1.5 of snow blocking access to my deck, and I, I don't think that snow's going anywhere for at least a few months.

So, uh.

You know it's here in DC.

More snow.

More snow and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Oh, yes, excellent segue.

The Milwaukee Bucks headed to Washington DC for a showdown with the Wizards, a game where, given the revelations of the last 24 hours, may be a contest of who wants it less.

I was gonna say, I mean, this could be a pretty hotly contested game actually.

Who's trying to throw a game away faster?

Of course, we're We're talking about this and, and the subject of this podcast is going to be one topic and that is the latest with Giannis Tinokopo who seems to be inching ever so closer to an exit in Milwaukee.

The latest report from ESPN that Giannis is ready to move on from the Milwaukee Bucks either before the February 5th trade deadline or uh sometime in the offseason.

And really the real news in this is that the Bucks are Receptive to offers at this point or more receptive to offers than they've ever been before.

I mean, up until this point, uh, Milwaukee has been rejecting every overture for Giannis.

The message they've been sending has been that they're looking to upgrade the roster around Giannis, use the contracts of Bobby Portis, Kyle Kuzma, whatever they've got to try to find a piece that makes sense short and long term.

With Giannis, but Giannis's latest injury, another calf strain, which is going to cost him at least 4 to 6 weeks, that's according to Giannis.

Uh, that changes the calculus in, uh, in Milwaukee.

So what did you think of what ESPN reports today?

And look, you've been front and center about, hey, don't trade Giannis, don't trade Giannis, don't trade Giannis.

Uh, have you changed your tune as well when it comes to this?

Well, what I've said is, don't trade Giannis until he asks for a trade.

And then once he does, you got to work with him.

He is a franchise cornerstone.

He is someone who's gonna mean more to your franchise just every decade that keeps going, and you want to leave on good footing, uh.

With him.

That doesn't mean just send him wherever he wants to go and get crap back in return.

But it means at least if he says he wants out, engage in the process and let him out.

And that's what I said this summer.

That is what I've said when we've argued, and you saw the front first paragraph of that story today.

He's ready to move on.

And they did exactly that as they opened the bidding.

And now it's, you know, I would say before this week, I thought this was going to wait till the summer, and I thought it was going to wait till the summer in part because of Giannis.

I thought the smartest thing for Giannis to do would be to hold back on this.

I'm ready to move on until the summer because you have more control over where you go in the summer.

He will only have 1 year left on his deal.

At that point, he can make it.

Very clear to people, hey, I will resign, I won't resign.

Now with a 1 year and what is it, 3, 11.5 years, whatever we call it with the trade deadline.

It's still in that neighborhood.

Obviously, a team would want to know preferably that he's going to stay.

But if you have Giannis for the next 2 playoffs, you might be willing to take a gamble if you're not one of his preferred cities.

I thought he would wait until the summer where we could really get the preferred city, but he might get that anyway.

Yeah, where you and I disagree is that I, I think Giannis has given a, a tip of the hat, a nod, a point, a wink that he was ready to go for a while now.

I mean, there was the reporting.

In the offseason that the Bucks and Knicks talked about a Giannis trade late in the offseason.

The Bucks do not engage in those talks unless they've had a conversation with Giannis.

There was reporting in December that Giannis was looking for an off-ramp.

So I, I feel like even if he hasn't asked for a trade outright, either he or more likely his representatives have been representing that Giannis is good to go.

That this, they have Clearly something changed.

I, I think the discussions in the summer happened because he wanted to go to New York.

And so I think he was sort of like, yeah, if you can work out a deal with New York, yeah, they didn't talk to anyone else, as you have told me.

And that, you know, I think that it's been a little bit of like, are you actually serious?

Do you actually want to leave?

Because as we know, Giannis flips back and forth on these things.

Clearly this week, something happened, where he is now quote, ready to move on.

And even just that language, he's been so reluctant to have the headlines.

Ask for a trade, right?

He just does not want that out there.

And so ready to move on is a big step to say publicly, and you know that language was negotiated.

I mean, Brian Winhorst went on ESPN today and said as much.

He said Shams is doing, I believe he called it gymnastics to make everyone politically happy.

That includes getting approval for that part of the sentence, ready to move on.

And that is new.

I'm sorry, that's just new.

Giannis has never come out and said anything like that publicly, nor has its representatives negotiated anything like that publicly.

Yeah, um, I, I, I, I get it.

We, we look, I think the calf injury changed things, right?

Like that puts Milwaukee out of the picture for the rest of the season.

Like this is the second calf strain that he's had this year.

If the timeline is what Giannis says the timeline is, you're talking about him returning in early March after coming off two calf strains.

God knows where the Bucks are gonna be in early March.

They're a bad team right now.

They're probably gonna get worse.

Good chance they are a distance out of the play spot and even if they were even closer like.

Coming back to a team that's fighting for play and positioning, that's not what Giannis is looking for.

The, the, the calf injury clearly moved the needle when it came to all this.

Now, Here's where the Bucks have a conundrum.

You've gotta get a mega deal for Giannis.

You've got maximize your talent, um.

You can't do that before the trade deadline.

I, I, I just don't see a scenario where you can get the kind of Paul George type offer for Giannis at the trade deadline.

They're, the team, they're just logistically, mechanically, it's impossible to do.

Now, I reported earlier in the week that The Warriors had made it known to the Bucks that if, if you want to do a deal with Giannis, we've got Jimmy Butler, we've got John M Kainga, and we've got all the draft picks you want, right?

Like that's, that, that, that's what they've, they've said, um.

There are other teams out there that can do offers like that.

Like the Knicks could throw Karl-Anthony Towns at them.

Maybe you bring a third team in, get a draft pick or two.

Same thing with Miami.

Uh, but none of these teams can really offer the kind of combination of young pieces and draft capital that the Bucks are going to be looking for.

That will change when you get to the offseason.

When you get to the offseason, The Knicks will have an extra draft pick to, to deal with.

The Heat will have an extra draft pick to deal with.

Um, the Warriors may be able to do some more things to, to beef up their offer.

Other teams could get into the mix.

Like right now, San Antonio, no interest whatsoever in Giannis.

Detroit, no interest in Giannis Giannis.

Atlanta, no.

Interest in Giannis.

Like these, these are teams that are going to play out this season largely with the groups that they have.

But if the, the postseason goes sideways or if something comes up where their circumstances change, well, maybe they get into the mix, and that's another team that can be competitive.

I, I just think right now.

And I think John Horst, the GM in Milwaukee knows this.

I think right now, unless something materializes that you are absolutely blown away by, you hold on, you just tuck Giannis in a drawer, say you're done for the season.

We're gonna sink in the standings.

We're gonna get a lottery pick in what's expected to be an incredibly deep draft, and then we will revisit this in mid-April when the season is over.

That to me makes so much more sense than rushing a deal through in the what, 78 days that are left before the trade deadline.

Do you get into a dangerous territory though, where, and we've seen this with player after player, where they get to dictate where they go.

You talk about Detroit, Giannis.

I mean, look, I, I don't speak for Giannis, and, and I haven't had a heart to heart with him over his preferred trade destination, so please don't aggregate this.

But Giannis has said, I want to go to a major city.

Like he said that multiple times.

The teams he's thrown out have been New York, LA, the Lakers, by the way.

one of those teams you mentioned who all of a sudden will have 3 draft picks this summer as opposed to the one that they have now, but there's other complications there.

Um, Giannis, once he gets to the summer, unless someone wants to take a Kawhi Toronto Flyer on him, where he will most certainly do what Kawhi did, maybe win you something, but more likely not because a lot has to come into play to win a title, and then he will leave.

And you have given up this, as you say, Godfather deal for him.

So once you get to the summer, I just, I think that Giannis has more leverage, and that might be fine with Golden State.

I mean, that might be fine with the Bucks because if he wants to go to New York and New York has more time to gin up a really good deal, then, then that all might work out for you.

But I do think that's a little different from right now, because getting Giannis for two playoff runs.

No matter what, and getting him in the building and sort of getting him used to two playoff runs' worth of being in your building and being with your guys, we know that he sort of likes being attached to a team, you know, throw Thanassis in there.

And I just think it's a slightly different equation in terms of the Bucks' choices is if we get to the summer.

I don't know if it's enough to move the needle to do a deal now.

I just think it's something you throw in the soup.

Yeah, Thanassis, I think will wind up in any kind of Giannis deal as well.

Or if he doesn't, he winds up a free agent signing with whatever team Giannis lands on.

Um, I get your point.

Um, you get to the look, although I, I think Even though the, the , uh, He's not able to flex that muscle as much right now with a year and a half years left in his contract.

It, given this recent injury.

It's hard to see Giannis make a championship-level impact on any of the teams that could acquire him.

Like he goes to Golden State, he doesn't make them a championship team, not right away.

That's not, not with this injury, not with, with what they have out there.

New York, I would argue the same thing.

Giannis.

Like, you know, look, the, the, the demise of Karl-Anthony Towns, which has happened over the last month or so, that's changed things a little bit, but I, I mean, Karl Anthony Towns to me looked like a much better fit in this Mike Brown offense than Giannis ever would be.

You put Giannis on this team with the way that they play.

You, you'd have to change the way they play.

Yeah, you change everything.

You're asking Jalen Brunson to change the way he plays.

You're asking them to significantly change the way they do a lot, and that to me that doesn't mean that that means that Giannis is not going to make them a championship.

Same thing with Miami.

I don't think they're a championship team.

You add Giannis to that mix.

I, I think Giannis can still like a team is not giving up like.

A a team like Miami is not giving up Khalil Ware, Tyler Hero, multiple draft picks unless they know Giannis is going to re-sign there.

Same thing with New York, uh, same thing with, with Golden State.

Like, so he's gonna have that, that, that flexibility, uh, or that, that ability to, to block deals now or even in, in, in the future.

I, I just think the, even though there's that risk.

The possibility that somebody could get really desperate.

That San Antonio could wake up and be like, wow, we were in the conference finals last year.

We got beat by Oklahoma City.

Maybe we do need to deal Stefan Cassel and multiple draft picks and some salary field or get Giannis.

Maybe Wemby's ready to go right now.

You've talked a lot about Wemby wanting to win, like being in a position to win.

Uh, maybe they changed their tune.

Maybe Detroit gets beaten in the first round and maybe they don't, they aren't in as in love with their team.

As they seem to be right now.

I just think there's so much more upside to keeping your powder dry here, assessing the landscape right now, seeing what's out there.

But unless you can get that combination, the young players, all the draft picks.

I don't see how, um, I, I don't see how you, you, you justify a deal at this stage of, of the season.

I mean, it's interesting when you talk about Golden State, right?

So they've got 4 picks they can give them right now, pretty much control of their draft, right?

Picks or swaps, um, obviously Kuminga, I'm not sure who else would have to go on that deal.

We're talking about Butler's salary as well.

And by the way, Jimmy Butler next year on the Bucks, you know, what is it, half the season that he would come back.

I'm not sure Marquette's Jimmy Butler.

Marquette's Jimmy Butler.

Well, that's what I mean.

I mean, it's not, it, it's, it doesn't not make sense.

And if you have Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kinga, a boatload of draft picks, that's not a bad place to restart.

And Jimmy Butler, when he gets back on the court, will put butts in the seats in Milwaukee, which is something that they're going to have to take into account because you are losing the guy that everybody has shown up for year after year after year, and they're not showing up for Jonathan Kainga.

So I, I think that that is part of Jimmy Butler, like, can you.

On him coming back like before February or March.

Like that's, I don't know, and I'm just, I'm talking about like I'm going through options, right?

I don't think San Antonio is ever going to trade for Giannis no matter what happens this summer.

Could be wrong.

Happy to revisit and be wrong, but I just think they're on Wemby's timeline.

They've really shown how much they value staying, you know, what's Da'aron Fox, 25, like staying under there or, or younger, a little bit older, but yeah, he's right there.

Yeah, yeah, that, you know, I, I just, it is, it is my opinion from the sideline that I don't think they're going to be in play.

Does Oklahoma City, if they bomb out in the 2nd round or something, do they decide that they're in play?

Obviously, they could blow everyone out of the water if they want to.

Um, you know, the thing about trying to match the Clippers Oklahoma City draft for Paul George is it wasn't just a trade for Paul George.

It was a trade for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, because Kawhi Leonard said, I'm going to the Lakers basically, if you don't put me, if you don't put me with PG, if you don't up the quality of the team here.

So that was what the trade was.

And you only have one player in this deal, and he's been injured.

I mean, you're sitting here saying, I don't know how much value he'd bring to a team in this year's playoffs.

Well, then you start to get worried.

OK, you know, the Warriors as a team, again, I'm going back to them because I think they're the most likely.

To be the most desperate right now, right?

They lost Jimmy.

Uh, they have that big salary to fill.

Steph's not getting younger.

He's 38 years old.

Um, you know, even just adding Giannis this year would, you know, it's not going to win them a title, Chris, but it is possibly going to get them in a much different zone than they would be.

Are they making the same offer over the summer because then all of a sudden Steph's 39 , is that right?

I'm trying to do my math on when Steph's birthday is 38 in March.

Yeah, so , it's just, it's, it's, I, you know, I don't know who's going to end up with that Godfather offer you're talking about.

I think it's a little more complicated than it might sound because I just think there's some teams that aren't going to between the Giannis injury history.

That could turn into an Achilles, two calf strains, you know, that kind of thing, and the timeline of whatever teams there are.

I, I'm kind of, I'm just curious to see what the market is, cause sometimes, you know, you get a guy getting, you know, Desmond Bain, getting a , a haul that we didn't expect, and sometimes you find out nobody wants to trade for John Morant or AD.

Like, it's just sort of an interesting world we live in these days.

Yeah, um, I, I agree.

And like the, the value of Giannis is definitely worth a conversation here because look, at this stage of his career, early 30s, and with the number of injuries that he's had over the last couple of seasons, the same specific type of injuries, calf strains to both calves.

These are big red warning signs.

These are big stoplights when it comes to, to Giannis.

So you have to take that into account.

And Kevin Turner and I talked about this earlier in the week.

I had one coach that compared Giannis to a post-Lakers Shaq, where he could still could be dominant, but you had to manage him.

You couldn't play him the kind of minutes that he's used to playing.

You couldn't play him the type of games that he's used to playing.

You got to get into the postseason in a healthy way and that requires a lot of management, uh, during the season.

So you have to take that into account when you do a deal.

Um, Yeah, Oklahoma City, I, I do want to say though if we're talking about his value, he's still a top 5 player.

He just is, and there I saw a great stat.

There is no game he has played this entire season where he has shot less than 50%.

Yeah, so he's still, he's still great.

He's still great.

He is a top 5 MVP guy, arguably the best two-way player in the league.

I'm just saying with these kind of injuries, which, as you know, can lead to worse, no, I agree it's a question mark.

That's why I think it's, it's very hard to judge trade value, and I'm very interested to hear what kind of offers the.

Bucks get right now.

What kind of offers people like you who do a lot more of this kind of business than I do.

So I'm eager for your reporting, Chris.

Um, you know, let me, let me throw this at you because this is, this is where I think it's kind of interesting.

Mention Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City does not want Giannis.

That, that doesn't fit how they want to play, um.

Could they want someone like OG Annanobi?

Well, that's, that's what I was gonna ask you.

Isn't turning OG Annanobi into stuff and then packaging that with Kat, isn't that the answer in a bizarre, I mean, that's a lot of money, but in a bizarre way, OG Annanobi is more valuable in a trade than Giannis is.

I know that's a, a sizzling take to throw out there, but I think it's true.

He's a finishing piece for a title a 67.

Two-way wing, he is a, a difference maker who can plug and play into basically any team.

Like, could Oklahoma City.

Which has a whole bunch of draft picks they could never hope to use, like too many draft picks over the next 56 years.

They're converting two-way players into starters.

I know.

I mean, could look, and they've got some movable contracts that, that could make sense.

I mean, Isaiah Hardenstein, he's making like what, $28 million.

Isaiah Joe is at like 12.

They look, they did this on purpose in Oklahoma City.

They signed a bunch of guys early to mid-level deals.

These are all tradable contracts.

So could the, the Thunder.

Get into this mix as a facilitator.

I, I think, I think it's very possible cause they could, they could provide.

The draft capital that Milwaukee's looking for.

Milwaukee needs, it's over in Milwaukee.

It is now time to shut the door, open a new one and start this thing over from scratch.

You need draft capital in this year's draft, which is supposed to be one of the best.

You want draft capital in, like Oklahoma City did before in draft picks 5 years down the road.

You need that, those kind of draft picks.

Could they get into the mix as one of those facilitators where they take on someone like Annanobi?

Milwaukee.

Gets Karl-Anthony Towns because you have to take on that contract and a whole bunch of draft picks , a bunch of Oklahoma City picks, maybe one Knicks pick, whatever it may be, and the Knicks get Giannis, who is the player that they want.

Uh, that's something I could see happening.

If like, if another guy gets it, like Annanobi gets into the mix and there's another team out there that really wants OG Annanobi and that team has a bunch of draft picks, that's where I think this could get interesting.

No, I think so too.

I mean, that was sort of New York being able to put something together like a three team deal is very possible.

I know the Knicks right now don't have what Milwaukee wants, but I think there's a pretty clear pathway to get there.

And what's interesting is, and again, you talk about doing it now versus Until the summer.

It's an interesting time to hit up Sam Presty.

This team has not looked like the absolute lockdown favorite to win the NBA title for quite a while.

And what San Antonio did, and I know that Oklahoma City won the last game, but San Antonio certainly proved it would be Very much a series if the two of them face each other.

Um, this might be the time that Sam Presty is finally saying, OK, like I need to, I need to do it.

I need to pull, pull the trigger and use some of these picks finally to get a player in here and solidify what we can do this year because he is, he, you know, he knows as well as anyone.

You have to strike while the iron is hot in terms of your title chances.

One year can change everything.

One injury can change everything, you know, Shay knock on all surfaces, you know, he, he's fine playing out the rest of the year, but next year he gets hurt.

It turns into Tyrese Halliburton or something like that.

Again, knock, knock, knock wood, wood, wood.

But my point is, he is a team that is in line to win an NBA title, but right now looks like they could be challenged, and maybe he wants to change that, and that turns into Giannis coming to New York.

Yeah, um, Anannobi, I, I wouldn't call him a 3-point sniper, but he is a career 37.5% three-point shooter, down about 35% this season, but he fits into the mold of the kind of players Oklahoma City wants on their roster.

Two-way guys, plug and play at multiple positions.

I, I could see the Thunder being interested in a player like that.

And I, you know, look, You know, the, the Knicks, it almost feels like at this point, not to make this a deep Knicks conversation, they gotta do something.

It's not working in New York.

Uh, that may be the coaching staff, that may be a bigger problem than even we realize at this point, but the formula is not working.

The mix isn't working.

Kat in New York is no longer working.

It just seems like they got to do something and that would be a perfect team for them to drag in to get a Giannis deal done.

And look, if you can get your hands.

On Oklahoma City's treasure trove of draft picks.

If you can get 3 or 4 picks from Oklahoma City, which frankly belong to other people, like most of the other people's picks that they've got.

But if you can get 3 or 4 picks from Oklahoma City, you can get Kat to plug into that spot, not that you really need him because And that's the other point to all this.

This is, again, like, this is why waiting until the offseason works as well.

They need to be bad this year, Rachel.

Like they need to stick.

Like that, this, it's, it's done.

They, they need to be like hovering around the Wizards, Jazz, whoever, Brooklyn, like whatever other teams are out there at the bottom of the stands.

They need to hover around that area to find a way to get the next Giannis.

You know, this draft we know as deep.

At the top as it's been in some time, there could be multiple franchise players in this draft.

The Bucks have to get into the mix for, for that.

Kat doesn't help you do that.

Kat, as weird a season as he's had, helps you win games.

Like, that's another reason maybe why you wait till the offseason, see what happens, and then see if you, uh, have a deal that makes sense.

I don't, I don't disagree with you on that.

I mean, look, this draft, we've talked about it ad nauseam is gonna be exceptional.

Last year's draft was exceptional.

It sort of, the talk around last year's draft made it sound like, oh, there's gonna be another great few drafts.

No, it's this year.

And then the next couple of drafts after this one are supposed to be very bad.

They're supposed to be.

Uh, maybe we'll get someone we don't expect out of.

So which is wild to like wild.

I know like kids are like 16 years old are gonna be next year in 2 years draft.

Uh, you know, I know I, I don't purport to be a draftnick at all.

I only go by the, the people who do this for a living.

I mean, it's like a week before the draft.

I sit there and sift through some tape because otherwise, I, it's just not what I watch anymore.

Man, I used to watch a lot of college basketball.

That time has passed.

Anyway, um, I, I, I, I just, it's not supposed to be great.

And so here you go.

You want it this year.

I mean, everybody wants it this year.

It's a race to the bottom for sure.

Do you think if we have seen Giannis play his last game in Milwaukee.

Could the Bucks have done anything differently over the years?

I think John Horse pulled off like 17 trades since 2020, including the one that got Drew Holiday, put him, put that team over the top in 2021.

Uh, they have had some whiffs in the draft.

I, I say it all the time, you draft well, you're gonna win.

Simple as that.

Oklahoma City is proof of that .

I, I think when they look back on the last four years, the one thing they could have done differently is draft better.

Some of these guys they drafted.

You, you could have gotten other guys.

It's, it kind of boils down to that.

I, I agree.

I don't know how much front offices are structured these days.

I feel like I hear about some versus others, where the guy in charge does everything, and, or the guy in charge runs the team as it is currently, and someone completely else is the draft expert and runs the draft.

And I think there's some merit to that, kind of what I was just saying, you know, I think that scouting now has changed so much, so much.

so much of it is international.

Obviously, college scouting is its own bugaboo with those guys being able to go in and out of the draft.

Um, I, I just, I, I, you wonder if they had brought in someone who was more of a draft specialist, if that would have changed things.

And, and look, the Damian Lillard deal in hindsight, and I'm not sure they could have done it differently.

It didn't work out for them.

It didn't work out for them because Damian didn't want to go there.

And that is instructive for what's going on right now.

Um, I think he wanted to try to make it work once he was there.

You know, he was a good teammate , but he had a lot of trouble even off the court because he was in a place he didn't want to be .

And that is a very difficult thing for even a player with the best intentions to turn around .

And then he gets this catastrophic injury.

And by the way, by dealing out Drew Holiday the way you did.

Then all of a sudden you don't have any control of where Drew Holiday goes, and where did Drew Holiday go?

The Boston Celtics.

There you go, and you're, you know, right there in your conference, helping, you know, you get swept out.

So I, I just I, I'm not saying that deal was a mistake because we have to put ourselves back in that moment.

You can't judge in hindsight, but that is the thing, unfortunately, that I think is, is sort of the quick step that led to this departure.

Because if they had done that differently, if they'd brought in someone else of that caliber who did want to be there and who was going to be able to work with Giannis and who didn't have an unfortunate catastrophic injury, I, I think we'd be looking at a very different team this year with the Bucks.

I, I think though, if we remember, like, I don't know that that Giannis would have signed an extension without that deal.

He signed the extension shortly after the Damian Lillard trade.

Like he, he wanted Dame.

Like he thought Dame was going to be an upgrade over Drew Holiday, and that got, that got them 2 more years.

That got them 2 more.

Giannis.

I don't know if there's someone else equivalent.

Um, that summer, there probably wasn't.

So it's certainly not that late into the, into the fall or late into the late summer, as it came.

Look, it's, you know, I think Milwaukee and Giannis can look back on this partnership very positively.

You know, he gave them everything for a very long time, signed two extensions there, I think, right?

Um, you know, was sort of in the city, around the city, you know, very dedicated to the city, lots of charity between , you know, him and his family and, and all the things that they did there.

Milwaukee gave Giannis, you know, a home in America and support from, you know, a community.

He says, now I want to go to a big city, but, you know, him starting out in a city like Milwaukee that is so community-focused in that Midwestern term, um, I think helped him become who he is, and they were really great to him.

And I think they will look back on it.

And once they get over whatever happens in the next 6 months, um, very fondly, his numbers will, will obviously go up .

The rafters there, there will be a statue of him outside.

And you know, I would have liked to have seen it gone forever.

It's really nice when guys can stay with the same franchise their whole career, but I appreciate everything that both sides did to get it this far.

Yeah, it, it is the little things though with the draft like 2022, the Bucks draft Marshaw Beauchamp, who didn't last.

So who's running?

You tell me who's running that draft for the Bucks.

I mean, look, the, the GM is ultimately running the draft.

Like that's.

He's the one that makes the final decision.

Like they've got a whole staff full of guys that do it, but the GM ultimately, no, but haven't we seen, haven't we seen, and I feel like Atlanta for a while had that kind of hybrid where the GM kind of focused on the team.

I think, I think John Hort still runs the show out there.

I mean, look, it's easy to say this in hindsight, but Peyton Watson was still on the board when the Bucks drafted.

Andrew Neimhart was still on the board, um.

Other Jalen Williams, not the All-Star Jalen Williams, was still on the board.

He could have been a useful piece there.

I think Jalen Williams is pretty good.

Yeah, he is good.

He's, yeah, I think on a different team he'd get a lot more run.

Uh, he wouldn't be other Jalen.

He wouldn't be other Jalen Williams, which might be good for him.

Yeah, and I'm just, you know, they've had some, some whiffs in this draft.

I think they've got some guys that can play, but they've had some whiffs in this, these last few drafts, and I think that's cost them the kind of talent infusion that would have made them, um.

You know, maybe not be in this position, uh, right now.

But either way, uh, my guess, now, I'll, we can end this right here.

My guess is that Giannis, whether he's traded before February 5th or not , will not play another game in Milwaukee.

Um, even if he comes, even if he is on the team on February 6th, my guess is that the Bucks will say to him, We're gonna do a deal for you in the offseason.

Right now our priority has to be sinking in the standings, getting a high draft pick, and finding the next you.

That's kind of gotta work with me.

Do you feel, do you agree?

Do you think that's, if you had to guess.

I do think that he's not going to play again, which is insane just because of the way he walked off the court, but it is what it is.

And obviously , he'll write a beautiful letter and take out an ad in the newspaper and all of that stuff.

It'll be fine.

Um, you know, look, the other thing that we have talked about besides, you know, gee, it would be nice if there was a way to stay in Milwaukee for Giannis is, you know, I've been on the bandwagon.

You've got to get Steph Curry.

Everything you can, as long as you can until he decides he wants to retire because that's just what a star of that caliber deserves.

And I don't mean, you know, for his sake, I mean for your sake too, because it's going to be rough after Steph Curry.

Do everything now, take your medicine in the next couple of years after he retires, but do everything you can now.

And I think and I don't, I, you know, I think they're going to make as godfather an offer as you can for Giannis, and see what you can do because it is 2 playoffs.

Again, I just want to stress that it's 2 playoffs.

So we'll see what he can do this year.

We'll see what he can do next year.

I think that, you know, Giannis has been flirting with the Warriors for a very long time.

Steph Curry and Giannis have flirted for a very long time.

And, um, you know, not in a heated rivalry way, but you know what I mean.

And, um, I, I just, I, I, I, I, I think there could be some magic there.

And as an NBA fan, I wanna see some magic, baby.

So I think that's just my, uh, sentimental pick.

We'll see what actually my, my, my feeling for days has been that the Warriors are going to be the most aggressive team.

I know that Mike Dunleavy Junior said that we're gonna keep Jimmy Butler.

I never bought that.

My, my sense is they've, they've always been.

Willing, if not eager to include his contract in some kind of deal.

If you do a Giannis deal, you not only probably get Giannis, but you get Bobby Portis with it and that could help you, uh, with another big in that front court, which they, they definitely need.

Uh, they, I, I look at the Warriors as being, The front runner before the deadline.

Once the deadline passed, I think everything else changes, but the Bucks, unless a third team gets involved, the Bucks cannot get one or two draft picks back for Gianniston Numpo.

They can't do it.

Now.

Maybe if they can bring on a player like, you know, like, uh, uh , No Giannobi who they could flip in the offseason for 3 or 4 draft picks, maybe there's a lot of scenarios there, but the Bucks have to maximize draft capital.

They've got to get picks.

Uh, in order to rebuild this thing in a post- Giannis era.

All right, well, we'll see how it plays out.

I'm sure you're gonna ask, uh, Doc Rivers his thought.

I'll, I'll ask around tomorrow when I see the Milwaukee Bucks here in Doc will be like, no, we're, we're, he's never said anything.

We're, we're, we're good to go.

We're moving forward.

He'll be back in March.

Enjoy, Rachel.