Bill Reiter: Giannis would force his way out of Milwaukee if things continue to go bad

The Milwaukee Bucks have arguably gotten off to as disappointing a start to the 2024-25 regular season as any team in the league. The Bucks employ two superstar talents in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, yet the team has a 1-3 record at the moment, with its lone win coming against a depleted Philadelphia 76ers team on Oct. 23.

In light of Milwaukee’s slow start to the campaign CBS Sports’ Bill Reiter reported “there’s a rising sense of confidence” that Antetokounmpo could force his way to another team in the near future if things continue to go bad.

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks had a measuring stick game in their most recent contest against the Boston Celtics on Monday, and the team lost by 11 points. Milwaukee will try to avoid its fourth consecutive loss when it takes on the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on Thursday night.

Ever since the Bucks won the NBA title in 2021, the team has consistently underperformed in the playoffs. Milwaukee hasn’t made it past the second round of the playoffs since the team won its second title in franchise history earlier on in the decade.

In addition, the Bucks have been bounced in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two years. First, Milwaukee lost to the Miami Heat in the opening round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs despite the fact that the Bucks entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. More recently, Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers eliminated the Bucks in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

If Antetokoumpo does indeed ask out of Milwaukee soon, expect a laundry list of teams to express interest in trading for him. After all, he is widely considered to be one of the best players in the NBA today thanks to his ability to impact both sides of the ball. Through four games played so far this season, he is averaging 28.8 points on 62.0 percent shooting from the field while also contributing 11.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.