{"id":669540,"date":"2026-03-20T22:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T22:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/669540\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T22:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T22:00:22","slug":"bucks-owner-outlines-giannis-antetokounmpos-fate-after-dramatic-season-of-trade-buzz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/669540\/","title":{"rendered":"Bucks owner outlines Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s fate after dramatic season of trade buzz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s future in Milwaukee is going one of two ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/48225217\/how-unique-milwaukee-bucks-ownership-structure-impacts-giannis-antetokounmpo-trade-wes-edens-jimmy-haslam-marc-lasry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">interview with ESPN<\/a>, Bucks co-owner Wes Edens made it clear that he doesn\u2019t want the superstar playing out the 2026-27 NBA season with the team without a new deal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiannis is going into the last year [of his contract],\u201d Edens said. \u201cSo one of two things will happen: Either he will be extended, or he\u2019ll be traded.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38846235\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/milwaukee-bucks-forward-giannis-antetokounmpo-124016885.jpg\" alt=\"Giannis Antetokounmpo watching the warmup session from the bench.\" class=\"wp-image-38846235\"  \/>Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo watches the warmup session before an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Salt Lake City. AP<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe likelihood you\u2019ll let him just kind of play out the last year, we can\u2019t afford that. It\u2019s not consistent with what\u2019s good for the organization,\u201d he added. \u201cThat\u2019s not a Giannis issue. That\u2019s any player that\u2019s in their last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Antetokounmpo has one year plus a player option for the 2027-28 season left on the three-year, $186 million extension he signed in 2023. <\/p>\n<p>Edens\u2019 comments mark the latest drama in the seemingly never-ending standoff between Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, whom he has played for since being drafted No. 15 overall in the 2013 Draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.50146628;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38846275\" width=\"886\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/crop-38846270-e1774039083586.jpg\" alt=\"Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Milwaukee.\" class=\"wp-image-38846275\"\/>Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 Giannis Antetokounmpo looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Milwaukee.  AP<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, it was revealed that Antetokounmpo, who has dealt with a number of injuries this season, including a calf, groin, knee, and ankle, and the team were\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/18\/sports\/giannis-antetokounmpo-bucks-at-odds-again-over-his-latest-injury-after-trade-saga\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">at odds about potentially shutting down<\/a>\u00a0the two-time NBA MVP as he recovers from a left knee injury.<\/p>\n<p>Antetokounmpo had been steadfast about getting back on the court this season as long as there was no other potential risk of injury, according to a report from ESPN.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Bucks are currently 7 1\/2 games back of the Hornets for the final play-in tournament spot in the Eastern Conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Before the trade deadline, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/05\/sports\/giannis-antetokounmpo-staying-with-bucks-at-nba-trade-deadline\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Milwaukee opted to hold on to Antetokounmpo<\/a> despite endless rumors that his time with the franchise was coming to an end.<\/p>\n<p>When healthy, Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.6 points with 9.8 rebounds in just 28.9 minutes per game on 62.4 percent shooting this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s future in Milwaukee is going one of two ways.\u00a0 In an interview with ESPN, Bucks co-owner&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669541,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3775],"tags":[7,103,123,102,121,3871,6,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-669540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-milwaukee-bucks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bucks","10":"tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","11":"tag-milwaukee","12":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","13":"tag-milwaukeebucks","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116263757596908257","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}