Just 4 Games Into The Bucks Season We're Already Getting Rumors That Giannis Could Demand A Trade Out Of Milwaukee

When you're billed as a contender entering a new NBA season, one of the worst things you can do is underachieve early. In the long run, for the good teams, it mostly means nothing. A slow start isn't some sort of death sentence where your entire season is cooked because things don't look great in October.

In the short term, it leads to drama, narratives, and rumors, all things that as a fan you absolutely do not want to deal with.

A perfect example is what is currently happening with the Milwaukee Bucks. They're off to a 1-3 start, have a -5.0 point differential, and are 0-2 against teams over .500. Things by all accounts look pretty gross at the moment. So what's the natural progression with something like this? 

I mean, I'm not exactly a Bucks fan, but even I can't sit here and not laugh at this. Giannis is going to demand a trade out of MIL so he can go to....the Nets? The Heat? Two teams that are nowhere close to contending for a title? All because what, the Bucks have mostly stunk for their first 4 games?

Sorry, I'm going to have to call bullshit on this one. It's also very funny to me that just like every trade demand/rumor the Heat are mentioned despite the entire NBA making it very clear they are not interested in giving up their franchise player for Tyler Herro and Nikola Jovic. Not to mention, Giannis makes $48M this season and $54M next season. Considering their investment in Dame, I can't imagine they are interested in a point guard, which takes Herro's $29M and Rozier's $24M off the table. Outside of Bam and an expiring Jimmy Butler, how the hell do they make the money work? It's the same shit with the Nets. This is their cap sheet for next year, how exactly are they making that deal work?

So when you think about this rationally, I'm afraid I just don't see it. It's an easy way to go viral and create drama, but this is a bit too far fetched even for me to believe.

But again, this is what happens in the NBA when you're a contender who is underachieving. We see it happen all the time. The Celts went through it during their struggles in 2021 and 2022 (before the turnaround), you hear the rumblings of shit like this with the Nuggets given their own struggles. It's par for the course when you don't play to your potential.

For Bucks fans, I imagine they're used to this since they've been told Giannis is leaving no fewer than 1000 times despite his continuing to sign extension after extension. Call me crazy, but he doesn't exactly seem like the type of superstar who is going to demand a trade just because things look shitty, given that we can all assume he played a role in this current roster looking the way it does to begin with. 

Not to mention, Giannis' own play is a factor as to why the Bucks are currently in this position. He still hasn't figured out how to adjust his game playing next to Dame, and honestly, he doesn't even seem that willing to change things up. Things always start at the top with the best player, so for that best player to bolt after not even doing what needs to be done in order to make things work seems a little suspect, at least to me.

Unfortunately, the only way to kill rumors and fake narratives like this is to win and win on a consistent basis. If you don't, this type of shit only gets louder and louder, even if there's no truth to it. I can tell you from experience, it makes for a long ass year.