Giannis Antetokounmpo is now in a desperate situation with the Bucks where he has to cling to any small victories, but this could have all been avoided if he asked for a trade at the right time. Realistically, the Bucks had very little chance of competing for a title this season after Damian Lillard tore his Achilles in last year's playoffs. Giannis would have been very justified in asking for a trade last offseason, and it could have benefitted both himself and the Bucks.
The Bucks and Giannis have stuck together too long at this point
Instead, Milwaukee has had to endure trade rumors and public feuds with its superstar all season long. Anyone who's followed the Bucks knows that the Giannnis saga has dragged on to an uncomfortable degree. And it's largely been driven by the fact that the Bucks have no real options for surrounding Giannis with a contending team.
Dame's injury unsurprisingly ruined the team's cap sheet for years on end. At the time of his Achilles tear, Lillard was a small guard at age 34 suffering the biggest injury of his career. The Bucks were rightfully nervous about his ability to bounce back from such a devastating setback. And they should get credit for creatively maneuvering the situation by waiving-and-stretching Lillard's contract.
Unfortunately, Milwaukee was still limited in its financial flexibility and chose to use the little they had on the wrong targets. Myles Turner has stood out this season as a disappointment because of the additional weight from Lillard's waived contract. But all of the negative ramifications were easily predictable the second Lillard went down. And Giannis chose to ignore them out of loyalty.
Giannis has missed his chance and hurt the Bucks more
Now that Giannis has been in trade rumors for a whole season (and suffered multiple injuries during that time too), his value around the league has diminished. Rather than allowing the Bucks to capitalize on his status as a superstar last year, he's forced them into a tough position. The Bucks are simultaneously waiting on a massive trade package to blow them away and seeing teams have less interest in Giannis every day.
Sure, they can make some structural changes to the organization first with potential for impact. Swapping out the head coach or general manager could be good places to start. But, at the end of the day, the current roster is too devoid of talent outside Giannis to compete any time soon.
Ironically, Giannis' efforts not to become a Bucks villain by demanding a trade abruptly has led to a worse outcome for the franchise. Hopefully, both sides will be able to find a happy solution this offseason.