"The Finals Are Different, I Hope To Be Back Soon With The Bucks" - Giannis Has Effectively Ended All Speculation That He Plans To Demand A Trade Out Of Milwaukee

John Fisher. Getty Images.

If there's one thing you could bank on the second the Milwaukee Bucks season ended it was that every media outlet in existence was going to fuel the "Giannis trade" speculation, where more often than not the rumors would be around his leaving the Bucks to join a big market. I'm almost positive it's happened every offseason of Giannis' career outside of 2021 when he won the title, but you can for the most part set your watch to it as we enter the offseason each year.

Even though time and time again Giannis has done the exact opposite and continued to sign extensions to remain a Buck, don't let that small detail get in the way of aggregation and going viral while spreading what "sources" are suggesting might happen.

The Summer Of 2025 is no different as we've heard the same exact shit we always do with Giannis. He should go to NYK, GS, or HOU etc. I won't lie, the Bucks roster situation at the moment is a bit of a disaster. Dame is out for the year, Brook Lopez might be out the door in free agency, they still employ Kyle Kuzma, Gary Trent Jr is someone who showed flashes but is also an UFA this summer, their young players are still huge questions, you could make a case that Giannis might be best served to spend his 30s with a roster closer to contention.

But that loyalty is also what makes Giannis....Giannis. That's why it shouldn't really come as a surprise that he appears to have effectively buried any and all speculation of what he might do/want later this summer once free agency starts

Connecting the dots, it's also noteworthy that this was Windy earlier today

If we're going to make such a big deal about what Giannis might do, then I personally think it's only fair we make just as big of a deal about what he's saying now. Just because it's the exact opposite of what the big networks and talking heads might want doesn't mean we should bury it or not put any stock into it. That would be bullshit and not fair to a fanbase that has had to deal with this type of speculation and drama every year of Giannis' career. 

Now, as we know things in the NBA can change in an instant. This may be how Giannis feels on June 10th, but how about July 1st when free agency is open? How about after the Draft later this month if he doesn't love what the Bucks do? While it feels extremely unlikely his thoughts would change considering he's not an idiot and is well aware of what their roster looks like and what options the Bucks have, but shit can get crazy this time of year. 

Advertisement

The bigger story in my opinion is what removing a potential Giannis trade now means for the market. We knew heading into the summer that nothing was going to happen until the Giannis decision was made. If he's now staying, then that means Kevin Durant now becomes the biggest domino that the rest of the league will wait for. Based on all the recent chatter, that trade is coming any day now, as there's more and more smoke that the Draft is going to be complete chaos. 

Why does this matter? Well, if you were a team that was planning on loading up for a potential Giannis trade, and then you also end up not being the team to bring in Durant, what does this mean for the next tier of stars? Does someone get a God-level offer for a player with a package that was initially intended for Giannis/Durant? An offer that a team simply can't refuse? remember, the free agent market is mostly dogshit when it comes to blue chip talent. The chaos we can expect this summer is going to come via trade and not free agent signings partly because of the available talent, but also due to teams not having a ton of cap space to work with. Outside of teams like the Nets and Pistons, nobody is really all that flush with space, and as a result I don't think we see players with a player option turn that down to hit the market (think Julius Randle).

So while the stage is still set for chaos later this summer, it does feel like we can officially cross Giannis off the list. See everyone again in the Summer of 2026 so we can do this dance all over again!