The Milwaukee Bucks are determined to contend for a championship with Giannis Antetokounmpo this season. Despite the lack of star power, the team still believes that having Antetokounmpo will potentially lead them to being contenders. Over the summer, the Bucks added veteran players to help the Greek Freak become contenders in the Eastern Conference.
The team added Myles Turner, Gary Harris, Amir Coffey and Cole Anthony. Additionally, there were a handful of players who re-signed with the franchise. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Chris Livingston, Kevin Porter Jr., Bobby Portis, Taurean Prince, Ryan Rollins, Jericho Sims and Gary Trent Jr. are all returning to play for Milwaukee for the 2025-26 NBA season.
Even with the moves that the franchise made, some fans think it’s not enough for them to contend for the Larry O’Brien. However, Bucks management is a big believer in what the team can do, despite only having one star on the roster.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo reportedly “aired his concerns” regarding the Bucks’ championship capabilities.
“After Horst expressed his confidence in the Bucks’ roster and his moves, Antetokounmpo aired his concerns about whether this team could truly achieve championship contention, and he wanted to explore whether there would be an alternative path forward for both the team and the player, league sources said,” Charania wrote.
With that, there are more rumors regarding a potential trade involving Antetokounmpo. Although he expressed his loyalty to the franchise, the two-time MVP said that his idea about staying loyal to the Bucks could change.
NBA insider predicts when Giannis Antetokounmpo will request a trade from the Bucks
No one knows how long Giannis Antetokounmpo will try to remain with the Bucks. Given the lack of success and co-stars, many believe it could be soon. NBA insider Tim Bontemps predicts that the nine-time All-Star could force his way out of Milwaukee next summer.
“Full credit to the Bucks for doing whatever they can to keep the second-best player in the history of the franchise and the best player, in terms of Bucks career ever, as long as they can, because there’s a very real chance there’ll never be another player like Giannis on the Bucks.
“We’re all going to sit here and wait for this to happen, but I think even all of these comments, even Doc Rivers, when he says, ‘Well, when Jon Horst makes a phone call, that’s when you know this is different.’ Well, Jon Horst is going to start making phone calls next summer, if Giannis doesn’t extend.”
The Bucks could be having trouble without a co-star, and Antetokounmpo’s decision to stay in Milwaukee for the rest of his career may be impacted.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
