In Monday's episode of "Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective" podcast, ESPN's Tim Bontemps said that unless Giannis Antetokounmpo specifically requests a trade, he believes the superstar will still be with the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 6. Bontemps also predicted that the team will trade their remaining draft assets to improve the roster.
Eric Nehm of The Athletic previously reported that the Bucks want to upgrade their roster, rather than be the sellers that the rest of the league expects them to be. There aren't many avenues for Milwaukee to do so, but Jon Horst will do anything to try to convince Giannis to stay.
Bucks fans would breathe a sigh of relief if the 31-year-old is suiting up for Milwaukee in its Feb. 6 game against Indiana, but if he does, that won't mean the trade saga is over. Depending on what the team does at the deadline, and how it does (or doesn't) translate to playoff success, the trade rumors could reignite over the summer.
Will Giannis stay with the Milwaukee Bucks past the deadline?
At the beginning of the month, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Giannis and his agent, Alex Saratsis, were having discussions with the Bucks about the superstar's future. Right after that, Giannis suffered a calf injury. He hadn't spoken to the media since the report until Dec. 18, when he did little to calm fans' fears.
In Saturday's win over the Bulls, though, Giannis did and said exactly what fans wanted. His windmill dunk at the buzzer gave off the energy he wanted it to. After the game, he said that he wants "to be available, be healthy and help my team win," and that if it took that kind of dunk to wake everybody up, "so be it."
Milwaukee is 13-19, 11th in the East, a game and a half back from No. 10 Atlanta. The Bucks are four games back from the No. 6 Sixers. Squeaking into the playoffs won't be enough for them, not after they've had first-round exits for the past three years.
Giannis has made it clear that he wants to win a second championship. Fans hope that will happen with Milwaukee. The next few weeks leading up to the deadline will be telling for the Bucks, now that Giannis is healthy and back in the lineup.
How the team fares in the last couple of months of the regular season, and potentially the postseason, could turn out to be Giannis' final straw, assuming he stays past the deadline. If the Bucks have it their way, that won't be the case.