Giannis Antetokounmpo: A guide for Bucks fans to survive offseason rumors

A guide to surviving through Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors this offseason – Parsing through social media

There is clearly a very obvious solution to this and that’s staying off social media altogether.

But if Bucks fans are like me and are addicted to the endless scroll on Twitter especially, we’re all well-conditioned to the pitfalls of what social media brings when the dialogue centers around the Bucks and Antetokounmpo, in particular. Even more so in light of their losses and now, their playoff failures.

Whether it was the years of losing and mediocrity before and after Giannis arrived more than seven years ago, Bucks fans are certainly a calloused bunch. Even in the recent instances where the Bucks have enjoyed their recent taste of success, there’s decades of heartbreak that have primed a Bucks fanbase that can handle playoff collapses such as the one that put an end to their season midway through last week.

What’s rather new for Bucks fans to deal with is not only having a superstar, but having one in the social media age.

There’s the endless photoshops of seeing Giannis wearing any and every opposing team’s uniform, despite the fact that the Cleveland Cavaliers retired Austin Carr’s no. 34 jersey years ago. In what feels like very timely writing, dissecting who Giannis does and doesn’t follow on his various social media accounts and what that means for his and the Bucks’ future doesn’t seem like the best use of everyone’s time.

Not that it wasn’t the case already, but Giannis’ every move will be viewed as something of substance, regardless of it is or not.

Just Saturday night, Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes reported Saturday night that Antetokounmpo had met with Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry to talk about the future of the franchise. It seems fitting as Giannis’ future is the franchise’s for all intents and purposes.

On one hand, a Bucks fan could easily take that as Antetokounmpo seeking clarity on ownership’s desire to put together a winner at all costs. But for fans of all 29 teams, it’s just the latest sign that Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee tenure will be coming to a swift end, despite the fact that Antetokounmpo quickly dismissed rumors of him asking for a trade, which was first broken by Haynes.

Whatever happened in that meeting, and Antetokounmpo’s future moves, will continue to be fodder for speculation of all kinds throughout the offseason. All while the trade machine continues to buzz with hypothetical trade scenarios that the Bucks will never reportedly entertain, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps:

"“If Antetokounmpo passes on signing the supermax, multiple sources are adamant that the Bucks won’t trade him. Milwaukee will have to persuade him to stay — and quickly.”"

Maybe Giannis had something right with his own social media purge.