Giannis Thread - "The Finals are different, I hope to be back soon with the Bucks"

[th87]

I don't care how much trading him could restart a rebuild. I want him in Milwaukee until he retires. His presence is more than having the best player in the league on a team. It is a sign that great players can stay loyal to small markets, and that players don't need to change markets to have global impact. You can move anyone on the team, except Giannis. He is the best player in the history of our franchise and he took our franchise to the promised land.

Exactly.

And to me, he is culturally important and has a chance to affect the zeitgeist in a completely different way than we've seen.

We absolutely cannot treat him simply as a basketball asset. Stepping back to appreciate this: we've suffered for so long and were bestowed a gift - it's basically a miracle that a 15th pick flyer in a bad draft somehow entered the GOAT conversation *and* delivered us a title, while proclaiming that "My city's a champion."

To throw that back would be a total affront to whatever led him here.

A lot of people here are seeing him as just a basketball player, but he's almost a symbol (and the world could use some good ones), a cultural touchstone for Milwaukee, and for a kind of cosmic fortune/justice (if you will) that the Bucks have never experienced, and may never again. Greek mythology almost.

Even if it made sense strategically to trade him (and I don't think it does), it'd be like rejecting the miracle that made us relevant in a league that doesn't want us to be. So in a way, it's an act of defiance also. Trading him makes Silver win. So f that ****.

I just wish I could convey this effectively without sounding like a crazy person.

[VooDoo7]

I just wish I could convey this effectively without sounding like a crazy person.

I think you did quite well.

[Packbuckman]

I don't care how much trading him could restart a rebuild. I want him in Milwaukee until he retires. His presence is more than having the best player in the league on a team. It is a sign that great players can stay loyal to small markets, and that players don't need to change markets to have global impact. You can move anyone on the team, except Giannis. He is the best player in the history of our franchise and he took our franchise to the promised land.

Exactly.

And to me, he is culturally important and has a chance to affect the zeitgeist in a completely different way than we've seen.

We absolutely cannot treat him simply as a basketball asset. Stepping back to appreciate this: we've suffered for so long and were bestowed a gift - it's basically a miracle that a 15th pick flyer in a bad draft somehow entered the GOAT conversation *and* delivered us a title, while proclaiming that "My city's a champion."

To throw that back would be a total affront to whatever led him here.

A lot of people here are seeing him as just a basketball player, but he's almost a symbol (and the world could use some good ones), a cultural touchstone for Milwaukee, and for a kind of cosmic fortune/justice (if you will) that the Bucks have never experienced, and may never again. Greek mythology almost.

Even if it made sense strategically to trade him (and I don't think it does), it'd be like rejecting the miracle that made us relevant in a league that doesn't want us to be. So in a way, it's an act of defiance also. Trading him makes Silver win. So f that ****.

I just wish I could convey this effectively without sounding like a crazy person.

This is exactly how I feel Giannis should retire as a Buck retool with younger players that can shoot the dam ball and Horst stop making dumbass trades that include our 1st rd picks aka AJ Johnson for kuzma.

[paulpressey25]

In 2015 Steph and Klay changed the league with the three point shot.

Ten years later we’re entering a new era of speed and athleticism.

Jon Horst has shown no ability to find and identify such players. This is our biggest problem right now. Much bigger than Doc.

[Bernman]

In 2015 Steph and Klay changed the league with the three point shot.

Ten years later we’re entering a new era of speed and athleticism.

Jon Horst has shown no ability to find and identify such players. This is our biggest problem right now. Much bigger than Doc.

Horst just drafted the fastest player who had positional size & a shooting foundation. Was seemingly compelled to trade him by Doc. So I'd say Doc's the bigger problem for that & not deploying his better acquisitions. But definitely Horst still needs to get better in trade value & drafting.

[raferfenix]

Jim did say this on Reddit yesterday:

Not sure why anyone would think he would request a trade/not be back.
There has never been reporting of a conversation and/or desire about him requesting a trade, ever, and despite the misreading of the half baked ESPN thing the day of the lottery, there was never an inclination he would ask for a trade.

All caveats aside it’s way better to have Jim O reporting this than not.

[soxperry]

I don't care how much trading him could restart a rebuild. I want him in Milwaukee until he retires. His presence is more than having the best player in the league on a team. It is a sign that great players can stay loyal to small markets, and that players don't need to change markets to have global impact. You can move anyone on the team, except Giannis. He is the best player in the history of our franchise and he took our franchise to the promised land.

Exactly.

And to me, he is culturally important and has a chance to affect the zeitgeist in a completely different way than we've seen.

We absolutely cannot treat him simply as a basketball asset. Stepping back to appreciate this: we've suffered for so long and were bestowed a gift - it's basically a miracle that a 15th pick flyer in a bad draft somehow entered the GOAT conversation *and* delivered us a title, while proclaiming that "My city's a champion."

To throw that back would be a total affront to whatever led him here.

A lot of people here are seeing him as just a basketball player, but he's almost a symbol (and the world could use some good ones), a cultural touchstone for Milwaukee, and for a kind of cosmic fortune/justice (if you will) that the Bucks have never experienced, and may never again. Greek mythology almost.

Even if it made sense strategically to trade him (and I don't think it does), it'd be like rejecting the miracle that made us relevant in a league that doesn't want us to be. So in a way, it's an act of defiance also. Trading him makes Silver win. So f that ****.

I just wish I could convey this effectively without sounding like a crazy person.

This is exactly how I feel Giannis should retire as a Buck retool with younger players that can shoot the dam ball and Horst stop making dumbass trades that include our 1st rd picks aka AJ Johnson for kuzma.

To be fair... Horst traded away the rookie who ended up shooting 25% from 3 against late season NBA defense. Everyone knew about his speed and athleticism going into the draft and yet we were seen as massively reaching for him with a late 1st round pick (in a bad draft). He then had a summer league game where he went like 0-16 or something abysmal and did very little in the g league to prove he was special.

I could go on about this for a while because the handwringing over losing a longshot project that doesn't fit our timeline has become insufferable to me.. but i will instead just say this:

If you polled all 30 NBA GMs and asked them if they would rather have AJ Johnson or the 1st pick in the 2nd round in the upcoming draft, I am guessing that the majority of them would take that 2nd round pick.

[Frank Nova]

The run Giannis has been on these past 7 years is absolutely remarkable - RSMVP, RSMVP, FMVP, ASGMVP, DPOY, 30/10/5/60%, 30/10/5/60%, 7x NBA1stT

Just an appreciation post to break up all the trade ****. Thank God for granting me this moment of clarity.

[raferfenix]

Doc Rivers says he's in constant communication with Giannis Antetokounmpo ... telling TMZ Sports the two sides talk "all the time" amid speculation the Milwaukee Bucks superstar could be interested in taking his talents elsewhere.

The current Bucks coach was asked a handful of questions about his best player after dining at Avra in Beverly Hills on Thursday ... and while he wouldn't get into specifics on Giannis' current status with the organization, he made it clear he's not getting ghosted.

"Guys, I'm not doing all that," he told the cameras. "I talk to him all the time. You can move on now, thank you."

https://amp.tmz.com/2025/05/22/doc-rivers-giannis-antetokounmpo-bucks-future/

[BigO]

In 2015 Steph and Klay changed the league with the three point shot.

Ten years later we’re entering a new era of speed and athleticism.

Jon Horst has shown no ability to find and identify such players. This is our biggest problem right now. Much bigger than Doc.

Disagree. I think it' still a three point league (or defending the three pointer). Pacers allowed the second fewest three pointers, despite not being a great defense.

The move for Kuzma was a move for speed and athleticism. The number one quality I always look for is basketnall skills .

If your rationale is OKC and Pacers, I don't think there's enough evidence to show that over a period of time. Those two teams did play at a fast pace, but not faster than a lot of mediocre teams.

Last season the Celtics won the title and I wouldnt consider them a fast or athletic team. I would consider them to have good three point shooters and highly skilled players.



https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=nba+teams+with+the+fastest+pace+in+2024-2025

[humanrefutation]

On the whether Giannis requested a trade front:

Truth is, if Giannis did request a trade, the Bucks would likely keep it totally quiet so that all parties wouldn't have to deal with the public noise. Bucks target their preferred packages and negotiate quietly, telling the teams that they'll blow it up if anything is leaked.

Gery reported that the Bucks invited the top 8 players in the draft to Milwaukee to scout them. We don't even have a first round pick as of now. Perhaps that was due diligence, but it could also be a sign that they are indeed shopping him.

[Finn]

I don't care how much trading him could restart a rebuild. I want him in Milwaukee until he retires. His presence is more than having the best player in the league on a team. It is a sign that great players can stay loyal to small markets, and that players don't need to change markets to have global impact. You can move anyone on the team, except Giannis. He is the best player in the history of our franchise and he took our franchise to the promised land.

Exactly.

And to me, he is culturally important and has a chance to affect the zeitgeist in a completely different way than we've seen.

We absolutely cannot treat him simply as a basketball asset. Stepping back to appreciate this: we've suffered for so long and were bestowed a gift - it's basically a miracle that a 15th pick flyer in a bad draft somehow entered the GOAT conversation *and* delivered us a title, while proclaiming that "My city's a champion."

To throw that back would be a total affront to whatever led him here.

A lot of people here are seeing him as just a basketball player, but he's almost a symbol (and the world could use some good ones), a cultural touchstone for Milwaukee, and for a kind of cosmic fortune/justice (if you will) that the Bucks have never experienced, and may never again. Greek mythology almost.

Even if it made sense strategically to trade him (and I don't think it does), it'd be like rejecting the miracle that made us relevant in a league that doesn't want us to be. So in a way, it's an act of defiance also. Trading him makes Silver win. So f that ****.

I just wish I could convey this effectively without sounding like a crazy person.

All I'm trying to say is that what Giannis accomplished on & off the court in Milwaukee isn't negated if he moves on to some other team & wins multiple championships.

I'm a fan of the Bucks over any player. I want what's best for the team. I'm not smart enough to know what that is. But in my layman's opinion, if the team truly received a haul which would kickstart another decade of good to excellent basketball by trading Giannis, that's what I would do. Do I believe the current braintrust can do that, no, I don't.

And everyone needs to take RS's advice - ignore the crap that the media is spreading.

[JonHeist]

On the whether Giannis requested a trade front:

Truth is, if Giannis did request a trade, the Bucks would likely keep it totally quiet so that all parties wouldn't have to deal with the public noise. Bucks target their preferred packages and negotiate quietly, telling the teams that they'll blow it up if anything is leaked.

Gery reported that the Bucks invited the top 8 players in the draft to Milwaukee to scout them. We don't even have a first round pick as of now. Perhaps that was due diligence, but it could also be a sign that they are indeed shopping him.

Gery said it so there's at least a 51% chance it's completely made up

[JonHeist]

In 2015 Steph and Klay changed the league with the three point shot.

Ten years later we’re entering a new era of speed and athleticism.

Jon Horst has shown no ability to find and identify such players. This is our biggest problem right now. Much bigger than Doc.

Horst just drafted the fastest player who had positional size & a shooting foundation. Was seemingly compelled to trade him by Doc. So I'd say Doc's the bigger problem for that & not deploying his better acquisitions. But definitely Horst still needs to get better in trade value & drafting.

yeah I'm sorry, but the bolded part isn't even kind of true

if anything he noticed this new trend a little early

his last four draft picks are all fast/athletic for their position (MJB/Ajax/AJJ/TSmith)

he traded for one of the fastest PGs (kevin) in the league and fastest Cs (sims) in the league at the deadline

and khris for kuzma was also obviously a speed upgrade

....then we played the pacers just as close as the juggernaut cavs did, and maybe closeer than the knicks will, and that's despite dame being a net-negative (.278 eFG% ffs) in the 75 minutes he was on the floor

[blazza18]

Woelfel gets stuff very few people get in this market but I’d be pretty shocked if no one else has heard of us bringing in early first round guys.

[BigO]

Woelfel gets stuff very few people get in this market but I’d be pretty shocked if no one else has heard of us bringing in early first round guys.

Woelful has nothing left in the tank. The story has isn't believabe and coming from him it's even less so.

[emunney]

I'd say that getting a closer look at the top guys in the draft is a hidden benefit of ESPN's breathless speculation. It's an opportunity but doesn't mean anything about our intentions. You never know when the information we get from those workouts will come in handy. They could inform what we would and wouldn't do with a Giannis trade, or what we might do 3 years from now when some of those guys fall out of favor with the teams who draft them.

[BigO]

In 2015 Steph and Klay changed the league with the three point shot.

Ten years later we’re entering a new era of speed and athleticism.

Jon Horst has shown no ability to find and identify such players. This is our biggest problem right now. Much bigger than Doc.

Horst just drafted the fastest player who had positional size & a shooting foundation. Was seemingly compelled to trade him by Doc. So I'd say Doc's the bigger problem for that & not deploying his better acquisitions. But definitely Horst still needs to get better in trade value & drafting.

yeah I'm sorry, but the bolded part isn't even kind of true

if anything he noticed this new trend a little early

his last four draft picks are all fast/athletic for their position (MJB/Ajax/AJJ/TSmith)

he traded for one of the fastest PGs (kevin) in the league and fastest Cs (sims) in the league at the deadline

and khris for kuzma was also obviously a speed upgrade

....then we played the pacers just as close as the juggernaut cavs did, and maybe closeer than the knicks will, and that's despite dame being a net-negative (.278 eEG% ffs) in the 75 minutes he was on the floor

Give me one Khris Middleton over the fast and athletic players any day. It's basketball on a defined and limited court. Not a track meet.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

Horst just drafted the fastest player who had positional size & a shooting foundation. Was seemingly compelled to trade him by Doc. So I'd say Doc's the bigger problem for that & not deploying his better acquisitions. But definitely Horst still needs to get better in trade value & drafting.

yeah I'm sorry, but the bolded part isn't even kind of true

if anything he noticed this new trend a little early

his last four draft picks are all fast/athletic for their position (MJB/Ajax/AJJ/TSmith)

he traded for one of the fastest PGs (kevin) in the league and fastest Cs (sims) in the league at the deadline

and khris for kuzma was also obviously a speed upgrade

....then we played the pacers just as close as the juggernaut cavs did, and maybe closeer than the knicks will, and that's despite dame being a net-negative (.278 eEG% ffs) in the 75 minutes he was on the floor

Give me one Khris Middleton over the fast and athletic players any day. It's basketball on a defined and limited court. Not a track meet.

yeah..no. and i love khris.

his time is past tho man good lord.. the last thing this team needs is a gimpy, slow, occasionally effective dribble post to face up scorer who feels good every third week when hes "healthy"

does he know how to play...high iq... sweet stroke? goddam right. me too at age 53. the young bouncy athletic types with little upside i used to destroy? yeah once i realized i had no advantage i quit playing....permanently.

anybody who enjoys this game once theyre athleticism is gone wasnt any good to begin with. thats a fact.

playing this game when you cant explode ...yeah have fun....youre a bum....play at the Y

khirs needs to focus on his golf game and not getting fat and drinking to much. wont change a bit what he did when he was young.

[BigO]

yeah I'm sorry, but the bolded part isn't even kind of true

if anything he noticed this new trend a little early

his last four draft picks are all fast/athletic for their position (MJB/Ajax/AJJ/TSmith)

he traded for one of the fastest PGs (kevin) in the league and fastest Cs (sims) in the league at the deadline

and khris for kuzma was also obviously a speed upgrade

....then we played the pacers just as close as the juggernaut cavs did, and maybe closeer than the knicks will, and that's despite dame being a net-negative (.278 eEG% ffs) in the 75 minutes he was on the floor

Give me one Khris Middleton over the fast and athletic players any day. It's basketball on a defined and limited court. Not a track meet.

yeah..no. and i love khris.

his time is past tho man good lord.. the last thing this team needs is a gimpy, slow, occasionally effective dribble post to face up scorer who feels good every third week when hes "healthy"

does he know how to play...high iq... sweet stroke? goddam right. me too at age 53. the young bouncy athletic types with little upside i used to destroy? yeah once i realized i had no advantage i quit playing....permanently.

anybody who enjoys this game once theyre athleticism is gone wasnt any good to begin with. thats a fact. playing this game when you cant explode ...if you enjoy it....youre a bum....play at the Y

but again...good players get fat when theyre old. they know

I played 4 times a week full court thru my mid fifties, when finally my hips were destroyed and when I had broken every finger on my hand multiple times. I have two artificial hips and plates and screws in my hands.

My friends and I played against guys less than half my age, many of whom had recently played high school ball and were obviously more athletic than any of us. We beat them regularly.

The point is that my friends and I loved every minute of playing ball,despite not having any athleticism. In fact, it could be argued we never did have any athleticism. But we could pass and shoot and enjoyed the game until we literally couldn't survive on the court.

I love the game.