The first domino of the NBA offseason is supposed to be Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Milwaukee wants it knocked over fast. The early returns suggest the market is not cooperating.
Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam wants Antetokounmpo’s future decided by the June 23 NBA Draft, and Milwaukee is now “open for business” on offers for the two-time MVP after gauging the market without much urgency at February’s deadline. The buzz in league circles is that the market has come back “much more tepid” than expected.
The contract gives both sides leverage and pressure
Antetokounmpo can sign for four years and roughly $275 million to stay in Milwaukee, the largest check available to him by rule.
That hangs over everything. He wants to remain in the East and contend, which narrows the list of teams that can both satisfy Milwaukee’s asking price and field a roster good enough to win immediately. If no such offer materializes, taking the bigger payday and staying becomes the path of least resistance.
The Cleveland wrinkle shows the problem
Cleveland surfaced as a suitor after being swept by the Knicks, with Evan Mobley as the centerpiece headed to Milwaukee. There are people in the Cavaliers’ front office “vehemently” against trading Mobley, a 24-year-old former Defensive Player of the Year.
That tension captures the league-wide hesitation. The teams with assets good enough to interest Milwaukee are the ones most reluctant to gut their core for a 31-year-old with significant money left, and the teams desperate enough to overpay do not have the pieces to win now.
What a quiet market sets up
A robust bidding war would force a fast resolution. A tepid one drags the standoff toward the draft deadline Haslam set, and possibly past it. Milwaukee already faces criticism for waiting through the season rather than dealing at the deadline, when more teams had cap and roster flexibility.
The longer the market stays cool, the more plausible it becomes that the offseason’s biggest name simply stays put, collects the larger check, and runs it back with a Bucks roster that has not gotten out of the first round since 2021.
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