Is Giannis Leaving the Bucks? An Uncertain Future Ahead

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00:00But there is a thought, and rightfully so, that last night's game for Giannis might be his final

00:06in a Bucs uniform. This team, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, won the NBA championship in 2021.

00:14Since some early exits from the postseason, including each of the last three years,

00:20bounced in round number one. The last two, Damian Lillard has been there. And obviously,

00:26he did not finish this series and dealt with injuries down the stretch of the regular season.

00:30And of course, his status even for next season, very much up in the air. But even Damian Giannis

00:36at their best and fully healthy, never truly looked like a championship contender that we

00:42expected them to be entering a season ago. So what do you make of where the Bucs go from here?

00:48And do we actually think that was Giannis' last game in Milwaukee?

00:52I don't know if it's Giannis' last game in Milwaukee, but let's be straight about things.

00:57Like, there are salary cap restraints that you will have in the NBA. You take a look at Damian

01:01Lillard, who anticipated not playing next year. That's $54 million against the cap. And like,

01:06okay, got one more year to get out from under it. No, no, no. The year after that, Ben, $58 million

01:10against the cap as a 36-year-old trying to rehab coming off of an Achilles injury. This is not a great

01:16look for the Bucs right now, who have a superstar in the middle of his prime and way too many restraints

01:21around him right now. In the NBA, though, typically superstars get their way. If Giannis goes,

01:25I want to leave, they're going to trade him and get a massive package back. The question is,

01:29does he want to do that? Because you have to understand this. You don't have longevity,

01:33typically like a LeBron James that gets to play 25, 26, 30 years, whoever knows how long he's going

01:38to play in the NBA with the multiple chances. When you are in your prime as a player, you're feeling

01:43like, boy, I hope every year I have a chance to win a championship. Even coming into this year,

01:47we didn't expect a ton from the Bucs, and it turned out to be a pretty poor year and another

01:51round one exit. So now when Giannis goes, okay, let's gear up for next season, he goes,

01:55well, I don't even have Dane. We can't afford to get anybody else. What is going to change on my

01:59basketball team? Nothing except me changing it itself by leaving the organization. I don't think

02:05he will, but an athlete like that understanding next year, he has no shot to win anything.

02:09That's going to be a tough pill to swallow over the next couple of weeks.