Despite the Milwaukee Bucks quickly falling out of playoff contention, they are still making headlines. Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo may end up missing the rest of the regular season with a knee injury.
However, he apparently wants to return before the end of the season. That obviously wouldn't be a good thing for the Bucks.
Remember, they are hoping to get a high draft pick in this year's draft in hopes of convincing their superstar to stay. That means they have little left to play for, with them quickly falling in the Eastern Conference standings.
But as for, as the Ringer's Zach Lowe points out, Giannis could be using the situation to his benefit.
"If I were a player, and I wanted to get traded but I didn’t want to look like the bad guy, this feels like a really good, manufactured way for that to happen."Zach Lowe
The Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo are headed for a divorce
Lowe has a point. Giannis clearly doesn't want to be the bad guy in a potential divorce from the Bucks. Therefore, portraying himself as someone who is desperate to get back on the court while his team doesn't want him to is genius.
It also plays directly into that narrative of him being a good guy. It seems almost certain that Giannis will be playing elsewhere next season.
Barring something truly unexpected, such as Milwaukee ending up with a top three pick in this year's draft, they have little hope of keeping their best player. Simple as that.
Fortunately, from Milwaukee, they wisely decided to keep him through the rest of the regular season. That gives them a better chance of receiving a haul for him in a trade this summer.
The Bucks could receive a huge haul for Giannis this summer
The most obvious landing spot is the Golden State Warriors. They could offer four first-round picks and three pick swaps as well as young talent.
Not only that, but Giannis would likely prefer to play there too. That makes it a potential win-win for both him and the Bucks.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers could trade three first-round picks this offseason and absorb Giannis into their cap space. That might be appealing to the Bucks. After all, they wouldn't have to take back bad salary in a potential Giannis trade.
Ultimately, regardless of what happens this season, it appears that a rift between Giannis and the Bucks may be impossible to fix. As a result, Giannis could use this latest dispute to position himself as the good guy ahead of a potential trade request this summer.