“Giannis don’t really know he wants to be there” – Stephen Jackson urges Milwaukee Bucks to “blow it up” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The Milwaukee Bucks made a bold move at the start of the 2025 free agency when they waived Damian Lillard to create cap space and sign Myles Turner, who last played for the 2025 Eastern Conference champs, the Indiana Pacers.
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Yet despite doing all they can to get Giannis Antetokounmpo the help he needs to compete for another championship, many say it’s not enough.
As a result, Stephen Jackson believes that the Bucks need to blow it up because the Giannis championship window has closed.
“Once they traded Middleton away, that’s when things started going downhill,” said Jackson on the “All The Smoke” podcast. “He was a big part of what they did. He had got hurt and missed a little time out. They played better a little bit without him, then they got rid of him. They’ve been going downhill since.”
“Blow it up”
It was in 2021 when Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their first NBA championship since 1971. But after failing to repeat in 2022, the Bucks traded Jrue Holiday — a key part of their title run — to the Portland Trail Blazers for Damian Lillard, hoping that the superstar point guard would spark another run.
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However, after the Bucks failed to advance past the first round during the 2024 NBA Playoffs, they traded away Khris Middleton, a second key member of the 2021 title team, after he played only 33 games in the 2022-23 season and 55 during the 2023-24 campaign.
Milwaukee got Kyle Kuzma in the deal, but the new roster wasn’t enough to beat the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the playoffs — they lost in five games.
Lillard, who is still a free agent after being waived by the Bucks, suffered an ACL tear early in Game 4 that could sideline him for the entire 2025-26 season.
“Now Giannis don’t really know he wants to be there,” Jackson continued. “Then now you got to think, bro. How many people want to play for Doc in Milwaukee? Like, come on, bro, in Milwaukee, with that? I think they had their run. I think that they have to blow it all up, man.”
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Time to rebuild for the Bucks?
With Brook Lopez also leaving in the 2025 free agency — he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers — Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis are the only key players left from the 2021 title team.
Despite rumors that The Greek Freak wants to leave the Bucks, he has yet to request a trade. Meanwhile, Milwaukee has not announced any plan to put him on the open market, which makes all the Giannis talk purely speculative.
Still, many in the NBA circle have mentioned the possibility of him leaving the organization that drafted him. Goran Dragic did it in an exclusive interview with Basketball Network, saying the Miami Heat’s inactivity in the 2025 free agency could mean they are waiting for Giannis.
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That said, until Giannis — or the Bucks — make their intentions public, it may be too premature to blow up the team. Although they are not loaded as many of the top contenders are, the Bucks still have a talented group that can compete in an injury-weakened Eastern Conference next season.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 9, 2025, where it first appeared.