On ESPN on Tuesday morning, Mike Greenberg compared Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to LeBron James in a way that fans won't like.
"I'm remembering the last year that LeBron played in Cleveland, the second time. He played all 82 regular-season games, made a push in the playoffs, and they went deep. I remember afterwards he said, 'I gave them everything I had.' I feel like there's something similar with Giannis here... He's going to go out on the floor with the idea that this offseason is probably going to be a time for him to move on, but he's going to show his loyalty to this organization and this fan base. This feels to me like a player who will be moving on this offseason."
Fans got an escape from the trade chatter following the deadline when the Bucks opted to keep Antetokounmpo, and he made it sound like leaving was never even an option he thought about. It got everyone in Milwaukee's hopes up about Giannis possibly signing an extension over the offseason when he becomes eligible on Oct. 1.
Greenberg thinks Giannis is entering his final stretch with Bucks
The best shot that Milwaukee has at retaining Antetokounmpo will be to do something in the playoffs. Giannis returned to the lineup on Monday after missing a month due to his calf injury to try to steer the Bucks in that direction. Instead, the opposite happened in a 108-81 blowout loss to a Celtics team without Jaylen Brown, Neemias Queta, and, of course, Jayson Tatum.
Giannis finished with 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting to go with 11 rebounds, two assists, and one block in 25 minutes. It was a solid effort after a lengthy absence, but it still wasn't enough to get past a shorthanded squad. With 22 games left to play in the season, Milwaukee sits No. 11 in the East, 2.5 games behind Charlotte.
What we know about Antetokounmpo is that, as long as he's able to play, he will give these next few weeks everything he's got to try to push the Bucks into play-in range. And if that happens, he'll fight for Milwaukee to reach the first round. He won't willingly wave the white flag.
Unfortunately, though, the Bucks won't reach the NBA Finals like LeBron and the Cavaliers did in 2018 (spoiler alert!), where they were swept by the Warriors. Giannis might hope that what happened next for LeBron after that will happen for him, as he signed with the Lakers and won a title the following season.
That seems to be the direction Antetokounmpo wants to go in, although he's sent mixed signals over the past few months. What Greenberg said could very well come true, but we know that Giannis isn't the kind of person who will be okay with leaving things on bad terms.
No matter what happens, Milwaukee will mean a lot to him, which is why his effort these next few weeks may not indicate that he wants to hang around.