First things first: Shout out to Jim Owczarki of the Journal Sentinel who secured a one-on-one interview with Giannis a few days before the trade deadline. Pretty cool that Giannis would sit down with a local beat writer and do this instead of going on First Take, or NBA Countdown, or any other national show. Journalism still (kind of) exists (behind a pay wall)!
Anyway, if you’re a Bucks fan, you may have heard that the franchise *COULD BE* *MAYBE* *THINKING ABOUT* trading the greatest player in franchise history before tomorrow’s 2pm CT trade deadline. It’s a very little discussed NBA storyline, so I wanted to make sure we got it on the blog today.
Where do I stand as a diehard Bucks fan for the last 35 years? I’m glad you asked:
I know that it probably makes a lot of sense for BOTH sides to swing a deal. Giannis is loyal to Milwaukee, clearly. But the only thing he’s on record as valuing more than franchise loyalty is winning, and competing for championships. At present, the Bucks do not fit that criteria. That’s not to say that that couldn’t change this summer. The Bucks are likely to get a top 10 pick in a loaded draft, and they’re going to actually have some money to spend in the offseason. Kuzma’s contract becomes an expiring deal, you probably move on from Doc and bring in a coach who doesn’t insist on using schemes that last worked in 2014, there is some flexibility on the horizon.
But yeah, right now, it’s not good. And with Giannis turning 31, and injuries mounting, he’s probably better off landing on a team that is better equipped to win a title in the next 2-3 years. And the Bucks are probably better off tearing this whole thing down and rebuilding with a bunch of draft capital.
But the thing is, I don’t want any of that. I want Giannis to stay, and I want him to spend the rest of his career in Milwaukee. He’s a once in a lifetime player, a once in a lifetime person, and a once in a lifetime story. Watching him grow from a gangly 18 year old from the Greek B league to an MVP and champion has been one of the great joys of my sports fandom. If you’re my age (39-ish), and you’ve been watching this franchise since the early 90’s, the thought of the Bucks drafting and cultivating a unicorn, an already all-time great, is still inconceivable. I spent my youth watching Jordan with the Bulls, Shaq and Kobe with the Lakers, Duncan with the Spurs, etc., and never once thought my destitute, small market franchise would EVER have a player of the caliber.
But they got him. They took a shot on a lottery ticket in the 2013 draft and they hit the jackpot! Without Giannis this franchise probably isn’t even in Milwaukee anymore. He’s the reason they became nationally relevant, he’s the reason Fiserv Forum got built, he’s the reason for all of it. And for all of those reasons, I want them to try and figure this thing out. Get to the offseason, make a few moves, get a good young player in the draft, have Giannis sign the Super Max in October and try again with a different core around him.
Because let me be very clear about one thing: This franchise is headed back into the wilderness when/if Giannis gets traded. Again, I know there are fans out there that think the only path forward is a rebuild without Giannis, but I’m not sure those fans remember clearly the non-Giannis years. It’s losing. It’s irrelevance. It’s one national TV broadcast a season. It’s knowing you have no chance at a title from opening tip on opening night. It’s hoping and praying they are able to do what they did in 2013 and find a once-in-a-lifetime player in the draft, but knowing the likelihood of that is near 0%.
That’s why I want to ride this thing until the wheels fall off. And maybe they already have! But then I want to grind the rims into dust. It feels like the momentum heading into tomorrow is that Giannis will still be a Buck by Friday morning. I want it to stay that way.
PS: Giannis coaching Shams in the Celebrity Game is going to be PEAK entertainment.
Giannis at practice:
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