Bucks’ last chance to avoid Giannis Antetokounmpo trade is worth $275 million originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has one more season remaining on his Milwaukee Bucks contract.
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That means that, after a lot of wondering about what might happen, a decision point is coming sooner rather than later.
The Bucks won’t let Giannis leave for nothing in free agency after the 2026-27 NBA season, so that leaves two choices: an extension or a trade.
Given that things trended toward a trade before this season’s deadline, that certainly seems like a realistic outcome.
An extension would be costly — and totally worth it for the Bucks.
“Starting Oct. 1, Antetokounmpo is eligible to sign a four-year, $275 million contract,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks wrote in a new article on Monday. “If he exercises his $62.8 million option for 2026-27, it would become a three-year, $213.6 million deal.”
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The Bucks would give Giannis that deal in a heartbeat, if he would sign it.
“But to sign a fourth extension with Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo has to be sold on the franchise’s plans to bolster a roster that will miss its first playoffs since 2016,” Marks wrote.
The Bucks’ roster could look quite different next season. They’ve got five guys who have player options to decide on for next season, so some of them could leave in free agency, including playmaker Kevin Porter Jr.
Milwaukee will also have a probable lottery pick.
“The Bucks will likely add a top-10 pick in this year’s draft — because of the Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard trades, the Bucks do not control their own first-round pick until 2031,” Marks explains.
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If an extension doesn’t come easily, then a trade has to be what comes next. And that would be a franchise-altering move in Milwaukee.
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