“It’s like any star in the league that stays with one team, you just expect them to be in one jersey, and anywhere else just doesn’t seem right at all,” said Brandin Podziemski on a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade back in June. Despite Podziemski’s confidence, the rumor that Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t been fully satisfied with the Bucks squad lately has been running rampant, thereby raising discussion of a trade. The Milwaukee Bucks, from their side, were reportedly set to make efforts to convince the ‘Greek Freak’ to stay. Results of the same have now started coming up over the last couple of hours.

ESPN’s Shams Charania recently broke the news that Gary Trent Jr. has agreed to a 2-year, $7.5 million deal to return to the Milwaukee Bucks. Negotiating this deal wasn’t easy since, as Charania highlighted, the Bucks made strong efforts to retain Trent and negotiated an acceptable deal with Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul and agent Lucas Newton.

This move is now the 4th major one made by the Milwaukee Bucks during this ongoing off-season. It comes after Brook Lopez was not chosen to be retained, while Bobby Portis and Taurean Prince signed again with the team.

The rumors about Giannis’s potential exit highlighted that the front office needed to make some changes. After all, if there was one clear reason behind a trade deal being explored, it was the fact that the Bucks had lost in the first round of the playoffs 3 years in a row. As ‘The Ringer’ reporter Rob Mahoney described, the Bucks are “an organization at a crossroads, caught between eras”. The only way to retain Giannis is to scrap together the most immediately competitive team possible. Or, begin building a roster around Giannis that would last. While we don’t know what approach the team will take, the recent changes highlight that the front office has begun the process of changing the roster for the better.

Gary Trent Jr. proved to be a solid signing. After all, the team was able to get him for the veteran minimum before the season started. He made the amount spent on him worth it by averaging 11.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists throughout 74 games. The 37 and 33 points he recorded in 2 games against the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs proved his prowess. Therefore, retaining him within the team is one move that would make Giannis Antetokounmpo happy.

Back in April, Sports Illustrated reporter Ryan Stano had stated that one way to help the Bucks keep Antetokounmpo could be to part ways with Bobby Portis. After all, removing him from the team would give the Bucks some space on the Salary front, allowing the front office to add a younger player who could assist the ‘Greek Freak’ in the long term. Instead, the Milwaukee Bucks signed Bobby Portis to a 3-year, $44 million contract. What impact this move will have on Giannis’s mindset remains to be seen.

More moves are expected to be made in the coming days. All in the effort to gain some valuable assets that could be built around the 9x NBA All-Star. As of now, it is hard to figure out what must be going through the ‘Greek Freak’s mind as one of the players he has been teammates with for over 7 years now is on the chopping block.

Will Giannis Antetokounmpo’s ‘favourite shooter’, Pat Connaughton, be traded away?

A few hours ago, NBA insider Jake Fischer revealed that the Milwaukee Bucks are actively working to trade Pat Connaughton after he exercised his $9.4 million player option. Fischer further highlighted that, with the veteran being on an expiring contract, the Bucks just wanted to see what kind of value the wing would have on the trade market. If there is one thing that is immensely valuable in the modern NBA, it is 3-and-D wings. If traded, Connaughton could fetch a decent amount of assets that could improve the team for the better.

Connaughton’s role within the team has indeed diminished over the past few years. His time with the Bucks won’t be forgotten in Milwaukee anytime soon. The 5.3 points that he averaged in the recent season were his lowest since the 2016-17 season. On top of that, he only averaged 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

Despite that, it is not easy to forget the role the player had in the Bucks’ 2021 championship run. On top of that, he has earned the respect of Giannis over the years. During an interview back in April 2023, when asked which shooter is the best he’s ever played with, Giannis said, “I gotta go with my guy, Pat. Gotta go with my guy, Pat. He’s bailed me out so many times. He’s made so many big shots for the team, for me, for himself. And he’s the guy that when I pass him the ball, I always feel good about it. If I can give him some time and space and he can get it off, I always feel like it’s going in.” Despite his low scoring, the 46.9% field goal percentage and 32.1% 3-point percentage that Connaughton averaged in the recent season are no joke.

A Pat Connaughton trade would be a mixed bag for Giannis Antetokounmpo. He would be losing a valuable teammate, but also allow the Bucks to use his absence to get better players to the roster. What happens next will be interesting to see.