Bucks fans are still grappling for answers in the wake of the Damian Lillard chaos and the bad press it generated -- from being waived out of nowhere without a farewell, to swirling reports about Giannis Antetokounmpo being either blindsided or quietly on board.
But former Milwaukee Buck John Henson offers a different side to the story, and it's one that changes everything about how we understand Giannis Antetokounmpo's role behind the scenes.
According to Henson, who played with the Bucks from 2012 to 2018, the last time Giannis truly stepped into front office business changed the franchise's trajectory completely.
“Specifically, there was a trade, I’m talking about a long time ago, a Khris Middleton for Jimmy Butler swap,” Henson told SiriusXM NBA Radio. “Giannis was like, ‘Nah we’re not doing that.’ That was the only time I’ve ever seen him stand up and say something.”
It was just one veto. But it might have completely changed the course of the franchise.
The one time Giannis played GM, the destiny of the franchise shifted
Bucks fans don't have to think too hard to remember just how intertwined the fate of Jimmy Butler has been with that of the Milwaukee Bucks.
After all, he was responsible for two of the franchise's most humbling playoff defeats: first in 2020, and then again in 2023. And in both times, he ended up leading the scrappy Miami Heat to the Finals, where they fell just short of winning it all.
So it's a compelling thought experiment, to say the least, to attempt to imagine just what that addition might have done for the Bucks.
Jimmy is, as we know, an All-World two-way talent whose ability as a playoff riser has been one of the most reliable trends of the last five years. In Milwaukee, paired with a younger Giannis and a healthy core, it's not far-fetched to think a Butler-Giannis pairing might have led to multiple Finals appearances.
Had Giannis not vetoed that Middleton-for-Butler deal years ago, the Bucks might have inherited his trademark no-nonsense approach of all-out heart and hustle. The grind-it-out defense and the will to go out there and just dominate the opposition by any means necessary could have been a part of this team's DNA.
And in that world, perhaps Milwaukee wins another ring. Perhaps the 2023 collapse never happened because Butler was on their side instead of torching them for 56 points in Game 4.
On the other hand, if that trade had gone through, maybe the Bucks don't have their 2021 ring.
Maybe they don't get the Khris Middleton fourth-quarter playoff takeovers that rivaled those of LeBron James. And maybe instead, they reach the Finals like Jimmy did, only to then fall short like Jimmy did.
Instead of getting Butler, the Bucks got the best version of Khris Middleton: an All-Star, an Olympic teammate, and the closer in the 2021 Finals run. He’ll go down as one of the most important players in Bucks history, but that legacy only happened because Giannis spoke up once, at the exact right time.
Henson says Antetokounmpo is usually hands-off when it comes to moves
The other side of the story is that, according to Henson, Giannis has almost always let the front office do its job in the name of winning. Which means that Jimmy Butler's veto wasn’t the norm; it was the exception.
"I know for a fact that Giannis, when he was younger, they'd call him about trades like, 'Do you want this guy, or that guy.' He'd be like, listen, do your job, you do what you do, and we'll go from there," said Henson. "So if something's wrong, he will say something, but for the most part, he lets the front office do its thing."
That should give fans at least some perspective on this whole Lillard debacle. Was Giannis blindsided? Was he on board? The answer changes depending on which news source you ask. No one really knows, and that silence says a lot.
Because the one time Antetokounmpo disagreed, the deal never happened. That’s not how a passive superstar operates.
So if Giannis didn’t block this move? Maybe he sees something fans don’t. And if Giannis still trusts the process with this Bucks team, maybe fans should too.
After all, the last time he stepped in, the Milwaukee Bucks ended up with a ring just a few short years later.