After a third consecutive first-round playoff loss, the Milwaukee Bucks are faced with one huge question — to keep or trade Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The future of the two-time MVP, arguably the most dominant player in the league, is the hottest topic on the nonstop NBA rumor mill, although Antetokounmpo has not said he wants to be traded.
Antetokounmpo, now 30, is signed for two more years, with a player option for 2027-28. But the situation is compounded by an aging roster and the status of star guard Damian Lillard, who suffered a torn Achilles in the playoffs and is expected to miss all or most of next season.
Although revered by the fan base and the local community, there is both historic and recent precedent for the possibility of trading Antetokounmpo, who averaged 30.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, shooting 60.1%.
In February, Dallas traded five-time All-Star Luka Doncic, the cornerstone of the franchise, to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for veteran center Anthony Davis. The move paired the 25-year-old Doncic with LeBron James, but the Lakers were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by Minnesota.
On the local level, the Bucks in 1975 traded all-time great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Bellamy to the Lakers for Junior Bridgeman, Elmore Smith, Brian Winters and David Myers.
In 1971, Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks to the NBA championship. Despite decades of success, numerous All-Star players and deep playoff runs, it was the Bucks’ only championship until Antetokounmpo led them to the title in 2021.
In 2013, the Bucks used the 15th overall pick on a skinny, 6-foot-9 club player from Athens, Greece. Although the 18-year-old Antetokounmpo had been on the radar of NBA scouts, those covering the draft that night scrambled to find any information beyond a one-page photocopied handout.
Antetokounmpo learned on the job with 24.6 minutes per game his rookie season, averaging 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds, shooting 41.4%. Now a muscular 6-11, 243 pounds, he has averaged more than 30 points per game each of the last three seasons. In the recent first-round loss to Indiana, Antetokounmpo averaged 33.0 points and 15.4 rebounds over five games.
The Bucks won the 2021 title under coach Mike Budenholzer behind Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and guard Jrue Holiday, acquired prior to that season. The Bucks lost in the conference semifinals the following year, then the first round each of the last three seasons.
Budenholzer was fired after 2023 when the top-seeded Bucks lost to No. 8 seed Miami in the first round. He was replaced by Adrian Griffin, who was surprisingly fired halfway through his first season and replaced by veteran coach Doc Rivers.
The Bucks acquired future Hall of Famer Lillard from Portland prior to the 2023-24 season in a three-way deal that eventually sent Holiday, a multiple All-NBA Defensive Team selection, on to Boston, which won the NBA title.
The pairing of Antetokounmpo and Lillard obviously did not produce championship results, and Lillard’s injury makes the future even more uncertain. The Bucks traded the oft-injured Middleton in February in a multi-team deal that brought them Kyle Kuzma, who averaged 14.8 points during the regular season, but just 5.8 in 20 minutes per game in the playoff loss to the Pacers.
Antetokounmpo and Lillard are each slated to make $54 million next season, and Kuzma $22 million.
The rest of the roster is riddled with question marks. Veteran center Brook Lopez is 37 and an unrestricted free agent. Sixth man Bobby Portis, a fan favorite, was suspended in February for 25 games because of a violation of the NBA’s drug policy involving a pain medication. He is in the player option year of his contract.
Veterans Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince also are unrestricted free agents.
Due to the Lillard trade and others, the Bucks have limited draft options as well, and don’t control their own first-round pick until 2031.
The Bucks don’t have a first-round pick in the upcoming draft as part of acquiring Holiday, which also gives New Orleans the right to swap first-round position in 2026. The same trade cost the Bucks their first-round pick in 2027.
Both Portland and Washington have first-round swap options in 2028, and the Bucks have no first-round pick in 2029 because of the Lillard deal. Portland has another swap option in 2030.
Bucks general manager Jon Horst received a multiyear contract extension in April. He has one huge decision to make.