Tim Bontemps says Doc Rivers’ comments on Giannis Antetokounmpo prove when he will leave Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo predicted to leave Milwaukee Bucks next summer

Tim Bontemps suggested on The Hoop Collective podcast that “all of the arrows” point to Giannis Antetokounmpo departing the Milwaukee Bucks next summer.

Bontemps’ key reasoning is that Antetokounmpo has not signed a contract extension, which would leave him with one year remaining after the 2025-26 season.

The Bucks also seem incapable of building a title-contending roster around the 30-year-old, no matter how many moves they make.

Bontemps explained: “It’s a very natural inflection point when the Bucks will go to Giannis with every single possible contract permutation they can offer him and say, ‘Hey, Giannis, would you like to sign one of these?’ And if the answer is, ‘I don’t really think so. I have to think about it. I don’t know,’ then he’s going to get traded because they’re not going to have him leave for nothing. That feels like where this is headed because actions speak louder than words.”

He continued: “Full credit to the Bucks for doing whatever they can to keep the second-best player in the history of the franchise and the best player, in terms of Bucks career ever, as long as they can, because there’s a very real chance there’ll never be another player like Giannis on the Bucks.

“But anybody who isn’t employed by the Bucks or a Bucks fan, looking at this team, where the third-best player is Bobby Portis, AJ Green, or Kyle Kuzma… This is not a team that’s good enough to be a top two team in the East, let alone a team that is realistically a title contender. No one can look at this and say it’s even within the realm of realistic possibility.

“For the Bucks to go into the season and say, ‘Hey, this is the best we could do. We think we’re good enough to compete.’ I understand why they’re saying that. But I don’t think any rational basketball person can look at this and say that, which is why in the GM survey, the Bucks were picked to finish sixth. In every projection model, they’re projected to be somewhere between 42 and 45 games. They’re maybe going to be in the top six in the East. Maybe they’ll be in the Play-In, especially depending on whether Giannis is healthy.”

Bontemps even believes that Doc Rivers’ comments suggest this will be Antetokounmpo’s last season with the Bucks.

Rivers effectively said in his press conference before the 2025-26 season that he will worry about Antetokounmpo’s future when general manager Jon Horst “makes a phone call.”

Horst will have no choice but to call Giannis about his future next summer when he approaches the final year of his contract.

“We’re all going to sit here and wait for this to happen, but I think even all of these comments, even Doc Rivers, when he says, ‘Well, when Jon Horst makes a phone call, that’s when you know this is different.’ Well, Jon Horst is going to start making phone calls next summer, if Giannis doesn’t extend,” Bontemps added.

What the Milwaukee Bucks can expect from Giannis Antetokounmpo trade

Giannis Antetokounmpo will obviously not hold the same trade value with one year left on his contract as he would with two or more.

However, the Houston Rockets’ offer to the Phoenix Suns for Kevin Durant this offseason suggests that the Bucks can still return a significant package.

The Rockets traded away future All-Star Jalen Green , quality role player Dillon Brooks, and the 10th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft (Khaman Maluach) for a 36-year-old Durant.

Antetokounmpo will only be 31 next summer, meaning the Bucks can demand plenty more than the Suns did for their superstar player.

The Bucks should demand trade packages consisting of at least two potential All-Stars and two first-round picks.