ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reiterated on Monday that Giannis Antetokounmpo thinks that it's time for him to leave the Milwaukee Bucks.
"Giannis has believed for a period of months now that it's time for both sides to move on."
Chances are, there are still some of you out there holding onto the hope that Antetokounmpo will change his mind, deciding that Milwaukee is where he wants to stay. Until a trade happens, that's a possibility, though it's a slight one.
Trading Giannis will sting, and there's no way around that, but it's what is best for both sides. He wants to be somewhere he can win another championship, and that won't happen with the Bucks, who need to prioritize their future, rather than further mortgage it by trying to convince Antetokounmpo to stay.
The past few years have been painful, watching Milwaukee come up far short of reaching its title aspirations. Let's not do that again for another season, please.
Giannis believes that it's time for him to leave Bucks
Antetokounmpo is against publicly requesting a trade, but if he thinks it makes the most sense for the two sides to end their relationship, that says it all. Maybe this isn't the outcome he wanted, which is why he hasn't outright said he wants to leave. It's not easy to leave the only NBA home you've ever known, especially after spending 13 seasons there and winning a championship.
None of that means that a trade will be simple, as we all saw with Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers a few years ago. Hopefully, though, it won't turn into the drawn-out mess that it was. The good news is that Milwaukee hopes to figure Antetokounmpo's situation out in time for the draft, which is a little over a month away.
We know that the Bucks are prioritizing receiving draft capital and/or young talent in a trade, and they could add another first-round pick to their arsenal in June for a talented class. Setting a Giannis deadline in time for the draft helps their chances of that happening.
It will also give Antetokounmpo more time to acclimate to his new surroundings and get some work in with his teammates before next season starts. Whichever team trades for him will do so to win it all, so the sooner they can start to build that structure with Giannis, the better. There is no reason for things to drag into the latter half of the summer.
Giannis knows that it's time to close his Bucks chapter, and so should they.
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