- - The Bucks will revisit Giannis Antetokounmpo's future in the offseason. So, what happens in the meantime?

Kelly IkoFebruary 6, 2026 at 10:12 AM

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During the last 48 hours leading up to the trade deadline, the Milwaukee Bucks increasingly signaled to rival teams their intentions to keep superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and revisit discussions in the offseason, sources told Yahoo Sports. The franchise, despite fielding aggressive offers and canvassing the league for weeks, never truly felt any pressure to pull the trigger and part ways with Antetokounmpo now.

All things being considered, deciding to kick the can down the road by a few months would buy both parties some much-needed time — in what has very evidently been an emotional rollercoaster.

Antetokounmpo recently gave interviews to The Athletic's Eric Nehm and the Milwaukee Journey Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski, detailing the deep roots he has to the city and the only NBA franchise he’s ever known in his 13-year career. Public comments made this week by Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam also painted the picture of a relationship that isn’t ready to file divorce proceedings just yet.

“I just don’t think they ever really wanted to trade him,” one executive said. “They were just forced to look into it.”

For what it’s worth, whenever the topic of Antetokounmpo’s future has come up in conversations with league officials, there are typically two schools of thought.

There’s one that suggests that the Bucks’ brass still believes their contention window isn’t fully closed yet and plans to offer Giannis a lucrative four-year, $275 million extension at the earliest window (in October). This line of thinking assumes that Milwaukee will try at least one more time to present a pathway to productivity, cobbling together its draft capital and whatever else it can to attempt to lure in legitimate help. (Good luck with that!)

Then, there’s the other line of thinking that realizes names like Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis don’t move the needle for Antetokounmpo, and neither does an incoming lottery pick; that sees the 20-29 Bucks, who sit two games outside of the play-in and project to have a few more barren weeks with Antetokounmpo still out with a right calf injury; and that wonders if the offers that may come in during the summer are less stellar than the ones that were previously on the table, given Antetokounmpo's impending 2027 free agency — making him a Hall of Fame-worthy expiring contract at that time.

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Regardless of where you stand, it’s hard to find fault with how Milwaukee is operating. The relationship between a front office and a generational talent can be a tricky one, especially as the years go by and an organization finds itself further and further away from the glory days of old. Give credit to the Bucks for at least making Giannis available, giving teams the opportunity to put real offers on the table and do their due diligence. If they felt there wasn’t a deal that was suitable for arguably the greatest Buck of all time, there’s no reason to jump the gun.

How Milwaukee operates within the confines of the market in the interim, especially prior to the All-Star break, could be pivotal. I’m no general manager, but if a player like Cam Thomas is available on the cheap — which he is, having been waived by Brooklyn as of Thursday afternoon — why not make the call? Nehm reported that Antetokounmpo plans to return to the floor once he’s cleared, not wanting to be shut down in hopes of improving the Bucks’ lottery potential. And that makes a ton of sense; Milwaukee’s offense has produced at an elite rate when Giannis has been present, scoring 121.7 points per 100 possessions, which would give them the No. 1 offense in the NBA, according to Cleaning the Glass. Thomas isn’t leading the efficiency march — he’s a few notches down below average in points per shot attempt — but at his best he’s a microwave scorer capable of carrying an offense in bunches.

The Bucks also have the continued development of Ryan Rollins, a serious candidate for Most Improved Player. Rollins is averaging nearly 17 points and six assists per game, all while shooting over 40% from deep on high volume. He’s become a trusted source of creation, control and poise.

Milwaukee could trot out some funky in-game lineups featuring Rollins, Thomas and Kevin Porter Jr. in the backcourt, giving the Bucks a plethora of scoring options while maintaining defensive integrity with Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner. I’m not saying Thomas is the end-all, be-all to getting Giannis to commit to his long-term future, but it’s indicative of a proactive move to get the Bucks back in the thick of things, even if it’s via the play-in. This is essentially a gap year after all.

And hey, what happens if maybe, just maybe, Milwaukee lands the No. 1 pick in June’s draft? Or the second overall? AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Petersen are NBA-ready right now and, according to Tankathon, the Bucks have a 23% chance of landing a top-four pick and a 5% chance of winning it all. If history tells us anything, there’s always a surprise on lottery night. Let’s imagine a world where Milwaukee lands one of these slots — does that make it easier to stomach a Giannis departure or could that be used as a facilitator for an aggressive upgrade?

There are a plethora of possibilities that exist for both Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee today, after both parties decided it was best to stand pat at the deadline. We’ll see what that means for teams that have been circling the organization like vultures. But one of the league’s most heartwarming partnerships gets to keep the lights on a little while longer.

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Source: “AOL Sports”