The playoffs are around the corner, and for the first time since 2016, the Milwaukee Bucks won't be part of it. This might be the straw that finally breaks the camel's back in the strained relationship between Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. However it ends, it won't be pretty.
Milwaukee drafted Antetokounmpo 15th overall in 2013. Once he found his footing, he became one of the top players in the league. That includes being the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2019 and 2020 as well as winning an NBA Championship in 2021. It was a good run for him.
Since then, trouble has been brewing between Antetokounmpo and the Bucks as the team has performed progessively worse in the postseason. Despite Antetokounmpo saying he will never request a trade, those rumors have persisted and may finally come to fruition.
Giannis Antetokounmpo deserves a new beginning
With only one year left on his contract, talks about an extension have likely started. There are a lot of issues to sort through. The Bucks have not been legitimate contenders since winning their last championship. Milwaukee has been wasting Antetokounmpo's prime years, which needs to be fixed.
That likely means dumping Doc Rivers. He hasn't been making a lot of friends in his own locker room with his recent comments. Beyond that, Rivers is a great coach in pretty much only his own mind. His career has been filled with a lot of failures and a lot of reasons why none of it was his fault.
On top of that, Antetokounmpo's frustrations with the Bucks have been shining through. He was booed by his own fans during the season, which upset him. He's also annoyed that the Bucks are saying he's too injured to play when he feels he's good to go. The league is may be looking into this.
A great upheaval is coming to the Bucks
All of this combined has led to a massive amount of friction between the front office and their superstar, some of which has been filtering out to the public. Either the Bucks need to commit to a complete rebuild with a new coach around Antetokounmpo, or both sides need to move on.
There's no chance this goes smoothly, either. Milwaukee fans love their NBA team and they generally love Antetokounmpo. Losing him in any capacity will hit the moral of the fans hard. It won't be as devastating as the Luka Doncic trade was to Mavericks fans, but close.
In reality, the likelihood of the Bucks and Antetokounmpo winning another title together is incredibly low. As tough as this will be, a split is the only logical move from both sides. And everyone involved has to work together to keep it from becoming an acrimonious public mess.