Appearing on 48 minutes, Giannis Antetokounmpo talked about leaving the Bucks for a team more suited to win a title. In his interview, he said "if there is a better situation for me to win the Larry O'Brien I have to take that better situation."
To be fair, he claimed loyalty to the Bucks.
Still, this continues the whispers about him leaving for a young and better situation. The Greek Freak has two more years left on his deal before he has to choose whether to accept his player option for the following year. In an NBA with constant star movement, having a star who is floating the smallest talk on leaving is cause for huge concern.
Milwaukee is an aging team who had to overpay their injury-riddled veterans to stay on new deals. Khris Middleton hasn't proven to be the same since his knee injury that he suffered in the 2022 playoffs. Jrue Holiday has aged rapidly and is causing the Bucks to face the same situation that they faced with Middleton.
What teams could end up stealing Antetokoumpo from the Bucks?
The first team that would make sense here would be the Knicks. The Knicks have already been mentioned as a team that could end up making a trade for the star in the next year. They have all of their first-round picks, the 2025 Bucks first-round pick and the 2023 Mavericks first-round pick among others.
Another team that might be interested in making a move for the Greek Freak could be the Thunder. The Thunder have tons of draft picks that could stock up the Bucks for a lifetime if they have to choose to trade the best player in their franchise history. To be clear, all of this is a long way away but it is still notable that the MVP said this right now with the NBA season coming up. This should be a storyline to follow for the entire season.
