Sources: Bucks seeking trade offers for Giannis
Key takeaways
- The Bucks engaged in Antetokounmpo trade talks before the February deadline as the franchise cornerstone believed for a period of months that the time had come to part ways.
- "And [general manager] Jon [Horst] and Taylor, along with [co-owner] Wes [Edens] and myself, will make that call and we understand the gravity of that call."
- Haslam has said publicly and privately that the Bucks will work with Antetokounmpo in the coming weeks on an outcome that is best for both sides.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
There is expected to be a robust market for Antetokounmpo, and ownership and front-office officials expect to maintain their trade deadline asking price of a young blue-chip talent and/or a surplus of draft picks, sources said.
The Bucks engaged in Antetokounmpo trade talks before the February deadline as the franchise cornerstone believed for a period of months that the time had come to part ways. They now will again after co-owner Jimmy Haslam stated a resolution is coming before the draft on June 23 and 24. Nothing has changed in Antetokounmpo's stance that the time has come for both sides to move on, sources said.
"Sometime over the next six or seven weeks we'll decide whether Giannis is going to sign a max contract and stay with us or he's going to play somewhere else," Haslam told reporters Wednesday during a news conference introducing Taylor Jenkins as the Bucks' new coach. "And [general manager] Jon [Horst] and Taylor, along with [co-owner] Wes [Edens] and myself, will make that call and we understand the gravity of that call."