Stein: Bucks may be nearing make-or-break mark with Giannis Antetokounmpo

If Giannis Antetokounmpo is ever traded, it probably won’t be midseason. It’d be next summer.

That’s the sense from longtime insider The Stein Line’s Marc Stein, who wrote that talk around Milwaukee suggests any potential Giannis deal would happen — if at all — once the 2025-26 season ends.

Stein pointed to Antetokounmpo’s own recent comments, where the two-time MVP said he’s happy in Milwaukee “right now,” but admitted he could “reconsider” things in six or seven months. He even called the idea of forcing a trade a “temptation” that “starts when the season ends.”

That’s what makes this year feel like a franchise crossroads. Milwaukee’s front office doubled down over the summer — buying out Damian Lillard’s contract and using the space to sign Myles Turner from Indiana — but otherwise kept most of last year’s 48-win roster intact. The Bucks were bounced in the first round, and Antetokounmpo has made it clear he wants to chase another title.

Antetokounmpo is entering the first season of a three-year, $175 million extension he signed after the Lillard trade in 2023. His deal runs through 2026-27 with a $62.8 million player option for the year after.

In short, Milwaukee has a window — but it may be closing fast.