{"id":386936,"date":"2026-01-04T04:24:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T04:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/386936\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T04:24:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T04:24:55","slug":"nba-writer-spells-out-why-giannis-antetokounmpo-is-about-to-get-traded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/386936\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Writer Spells Out Why Giannis Antetokounmpo Is About To Get Traded"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 players and coaches have done a lot of reactive PR<\/a> to push back against Giannis Antetokounmpo trade buzz, a move still feels inevitable at some point.<\/p>\n

And according to Bleacher Report\u2019s Andy Bailey, Giannis will be packing his bags and heading elsewhere, at the latest, this offseason. Reading Bailey\u2019s reasoning, it makes a lot of sense for everyone involved, Milwaukee included.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Bucks have almost no significant trade assets beyond Giannis and a team that looks primed to finish the season below .500,\u201d Bailey wrote on January 1<\/a>. \u201cThey have a $22.5 million cap hit on their books in each of the four seasons after this one for stretching Damian Lillard\u2019s contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a Giannis trade, there isn\u2019t a clear path back to contention in the next few years,\u201d Bailey continued. \u201cSo, Milwaukee can either \u2026 let Antetokounmpo dominate for a mediocre team until he hits his mid-30s, when the asset base starts to replenish but he\u2019ll be nearing the end of his career; or \u2026 they can trade for him a rebuild-boosting and era-shifting package that could have them competitive again in a few years. Consider this a bet that they\u2019ll take the latter path at some point before the 2026-27 season starts.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Antetokounmpo, drafted 15th overall by the Bucks in 2013, emerged from humble beginnings in Greece to become one of the NBA\u2019s all-time dominant forces. His early seasons showed promise, earning All-Rookie honors in 2014 and the Most Improved Player award in 2017. By 2019 and 2020, he claimed back-to-back MVP titles, adding Defensive Player of the Year in 2020. In 2021, he led the Bucks to their first championship in 50 years, securing Finals MVP with a historic 50-point closeout game.<\/p>\n

In 2024-25, Giannis averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists over 67 games.<\/p>\n

So far in 2025-26 amid roster shifts (including additions like Kyle Kuzma and Myles Turner after Damian Lillard\u2019s departure), Giannis has battled a calf strain, missing eight games. Through 21 appearances, he\u2019s posted 29.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game on 63.7 percent shooting.<\/p>\n

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On January 2, his 30-point, 10-rebound, five-assist effort against the Charlotte Hornets included a game-winning dunk. This was Giannis\u2019 158th game of 30\/10\/5, passing Oscar Robertson for the all-time lead in that category.<\/p>\n

More NBA:<\/p>\n

Celtics\u2019 Win Streak Snapped In Worst Shooting Performance Of Season <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 players and coaches have done a lot of reactive PR to push back against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386937,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[164335,19829,49,48,11002,3557,8228,32852,8216,8220,459,82,9925],"class_list":["post-386936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-andy-bailey","tag-bleacher-report","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-charlotte-hornets","tag-damian-lillard","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-kyle-kuzma","tag-milwaukee-bucks","tag-myles-turner","tag-nba","tag-sports","tag-the-bucks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}