There was one scenario that many folks forgot to consider when pontificating on the future between Giannis and the Bucks... What if this version of the Bucks is good enough to keep the Greek Freak happy in Milwaukee? I am, admittedly, part of the aforementioned "many folks," as I didn't expect the Bucks to look, well, this good.
Ryan Rollins is playing like a star, Myles Turner had the breakout we were waiting for on Friday against the Bulls, and Giannis is still Giannis. The bench has pitched in when called on, and in a weak East, the Bucks suddenly don't seem so far from contention. At 6-3 with wins against the Warriors, Knicks, and a huge test coming Sunday against the Rockets, every win feels less flukey than the last.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN recently published a piece about the latest intel around the NBA — or lack of intel surrounding Giannis:
"For weeks, ESPN's Shams Charania has pointed to the 20- to 25-game mark for when Antetokounmpo might form a decision about how to proceed for the rest of this season. Regardless of anything Antetokounmpo, coach Doc Rivers, GM Jon Horst or anyone from the Knicks has said or pretended not to remember, no one denied that trade talks went down in August. They happened, and it wasn't the Bucks' idea.
With that out of the way: Bucks fans must be very pleased with the start and hopeful Antetokounmpo is as well. Rivers and Horst, meanwhile, have to be cautiously optimistic because they sold ownership and Antetokounmpo that this team could compete to win the East despite all of its challenges."
If you're wondering when that 20 game mark is, it's on November 28th, an NBA Cup game against the Knicks.
Bucks hot start complicates Giannis trade talks — but not for the Bucks
The big question remains; is this on-court success enough to keep Giannis happy? If what we're seeing is not a mirage, it just might be — and it throws a pretty big wrench into any Giannis trade talks the rest of the league insists on having. Of course, the best trade talks for the Bucks would be no trade talks at all.
In fact, if no one ever mentioned the words "Giannis" and "trade" in the same sentence ever again, the state of Wisconsin would cheer in unison. And the best way for them to get that wish is to just keep on winning.
Unfortunately, the toothpaste may be out of the bottle for the rest of the league regarding Giannis. Plus, trade rumors have never stopped with Giannis, no matter how good the team around him has been. So don't expect a surprising Bucks team to quell those rumors, even if they get a little more strained now that the Bucks look steadier than they did a few weeks ago.
Maybe Rollins comes back to Earth, maybe the Bucks' lack of a clear No. 2 scorer eventually wears on them, maybe Giannis is eventually asked to do too much, maybe they get buried in the second tier of Eastern Conference teams. Maybe all that happens! But in a season that felt ripe for disaster, this start is a huge win, and might go further to appease Giannis than fans even realize.
Thus, at the very worst, the talks now have to shift to, "Well if the Bucks fall apart, then maybe Giannis gets impatient and asks out..." In other words, the trade rumors feel like longshots once more. And that, if nothing else, is a nice feeling for Bucks fans right now.