{"id":1564113,"date":"2023-05-09T12:54:04","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T16:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1564113"},"modified":"2023-05-09T12:54:04","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T16:54:04","slug":"giannis-antetokounmpo-trade-rumors-offseason-move-bucks-superstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/giannis-antetokounmpo-trade-rumors-offseason-move-bucks-superstar\/","title":{"rendered":"Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade Rumors: This Is the Offseason to Move Bucks Superstar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The\u00a0Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>\u00a0are at a crossroads. As the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference, the team\u00a0lost in the first round<\/a>\u00a0of the 2023 NBA playoffs to the 8-seed Miami Heat. The franchise fired head coach Mike Budenholzer, and the organization has several tough decisions to make on aging free agents. This is why Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors are cropping up this offseason, and while trading the\u00a0two-time MVP<\/a>\u00a0would be a tough pill to swallow, this would be the offseason to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors do have some validity this offseason<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Giannis
Giannis Antetokounmpo | Stacy Revere\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The NBA rules are set up to penalize high-salary teams with the luxury tax to try and prevent teams like the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosch Heat or Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green Golden State Warriors from forming again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heading into the 2023-24 NBA season, the Bucks are just over $4 million shy of the luxury tax threshold with just eight players on the roster, assuming Khris Middleton opts into his $40.3 million player option next season, which he absolutely will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s coming off a year when the Bucks had the fourth-highest payroll in the league at $180.7 million, and they\u2019ve been over the luxury tax since 2020-21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These salary cap figures are going to make it harder and harder for the Bucks to put a talented team around Giannis in the future. The superstar has two years left on his current deal, with a $51.9 player option in 2025-26 that he won\u2019t reach before signing an extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giannis has to look at the writing on the wall soon and decide whether he wants to do another max extension with the Bucks (which he can sign as soon as September 2023) or start fresh with a team that can better afford to put a talented team around him in the next few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a recent\u00a0Get Up!<\/em>\u00a0appearance, NBA soothsayer Brian Windhorst did\u00a0his annual<\/a>\u00a0\u201cjust saying, but I\u2019m not saying\u201d act about Antetokounmpo\u2019s future in Milwaukee. Windhorst suggested that Bucks former co-owner Marc Lasry, who recently sold his stake in the team, got out \u201cbecause of the thundercloud that is now on the horizon that we are now hearing the first rumbling of\u201d regarding Giannis\u2019 future with the franchise.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.@WindhorstESPN<\/a> says there are problems looming over the Bucks \ud83d\ude33

"[Marc Lasry sold] because of the thundercloud that's on the horizon. We are now hearing the first rumblings. ... The Bucks are in a quagmire and we have the first move with the firing of [Mike] Budenholzer." pic.twitter.com\/6eWjZtBw6A<\/a><\/p>— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 5, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>