Giannis jokes he could be traded if Bucks struggle this season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Giannis Antetokounmpo-to-the-Warriors dream might not be dead just yet.
On the heels of back-to-back disappointing campaigns, the Bucks superstar jokingly acknowledged he could be traded if Milwaukee delivers another underwhelming effort during the 2024-25 NBA season.
Antetokounmpo, while talking to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, grabbed a Bucks staffer before asking that team employee a blunt question.
“If we don’t win this year, would you get fired?” Antetokounmpo asked the staffer. “Do you have it in the back of your mind, like, ‘[What] if this year doesn’t go well?’ Yeah, if we don’t win a championship, I might get traded. Yeah, this is the job we live. This is the world we’re living in. It’s everybody.”
Antetokounmpo long has been linked to Golden State, with the speculation further increased by the two-time NBA MVP’s open admiration for Warriors superstar Steph Curry.
Milwaukee hasn’t fared well in the playoffs after winning the 2021 NBA Finals, being eliminated in the first round in each of the last two seasons.
The Bucks have experienced plenty of change in that time, pulling off a blockbuster trade for All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard and adding respected coach Doc Rivers. However, those moves did little to change their playoff fortunes, creating added pressure for Antetokounmpo and the only NBA team he’s ever known.
While it would take a monumental turn of events for Milwaukee to trade Antetokounmpo, perhaps there is a layer of truth — and underlying concern — behind his statement that appeared to be made in jest.
Could Golden State ultimately wind up with Antetokounmpo should a trade materialize? It wouldn’t be the first time the Warriors stunned the NBA world with a blockbuster addition of a former MVP.
