u/zorbianprince

The Bucks have an important decision to make this off-season. It's not whether to keep Giannis. It's: does it even matter? The Spurs and Thunder are going to be unstoppable for the next decade. It's Wemby's world now. The Bucks are merely another one of the 28 teams just along for the ride. Maybe it's a good time to move into irrelevance.

Giannis might be our (humanity's) only hope to stop that giant Frenchman. It would certainly be tempting to send him to the west and try to create a seam in the fabric of the basketball universe. An unstoppable force versus a very tall and surprisingly agile behemoth. We need unicorns going hoof to hoof. We need a freak-off in the playoffs. I'll bring the baby oil.

Giannis in 6

(Note: I previously posted this same thought using the theme of the Iranian government. It did not go well. I deleted the post before it got banned.)

​While Shams was working on his next bit of clickbait recycling the same non-story for the 37th time (Sources: Bucks Talking), Giannis was at the Milwaukee Zoo with his kids. The National Basketball Association et al so badly wants him gone, but I will believe it only when I see it. Giannis is counter-culture. He's an enigma. He's a troll at heart. He's loyal. He can be convinced to stay. He seems to kinda want to stay. It would make sense that he's using his looming contract extension as leverage to make sure the team doesn't suck again. Seems pretty smart to me! We've seen this show before, and it has always ended the same way: Pen meeting paper.

But this time is different, you say. The Bucks just had a losing season. They lost 50 games. FIFTY FUCKIN GAMES. Giannis is 31 and can’t stay healthy. The infamous “steps to success” were akin to moonwalking in mud.

A quick autopsy of 2025-26: The Bucks were a mess. Gary Trent Jr looked like Gary Trent Sr. The defense was a disaster. Bobby stopped trying. Doc lost the locker room. AJ Green and Kevin Porter Jr showed their limitations are best suited for bench roles. Myles Turner was Myles Turner. Kuzma was Kuzma. Just none of it clicked for anything more than a few game stretches. They could shoot, but they could do little else.

Point Giannis and a bunch of shooters did not work as I hoped (still thought it was a neat experiment). He was never able to control and manipulate the game as the offensive focal point to the likes of Jokic. He's a player of brute force and needs guys to help carry the shot creation. He became extremely frustrated by the losses, and the futility led to a lot of petty nonsense.

But... As bad as it was, it all also doesn't feel super far off. And I say that not taking any of the 50 losses last season lightly (remember when we couldn’t beat the Wizards?). It's worth noting that only 19 of those losses occurred when Giannis played (still under .500 though during his starts). They need a second scorer, a hustle guy, and a glue guy (3 and D). It is possible to obtain those things! Rollins, Giannis, and Turner are not a bad trio to build around! The East is still not that great!

The Giannis injury concerns make even the most bullish investor shake a little. On the plus side, he has had a lot of time off (lol) and won’t be playing in Euro Basket. I don’t think he’s too risky. I don’t think inquiring teams think he is too risky.

It’s time to blow it up. Nah. Drake meme. Nah. How about instead we take the lottery pick and move on.

​You probably know it but there's a chasm between what the NBA wants the Bucks to do with Giannis and what the Bucks are signaling that they want to do with Giannis. The basketball world wants the Bucks to fold. 

​It's an asymmetric struggle this debate on whether the Bucks should trade him. The media says it would be insane not to trade him while his value is still immense and the team is so horseshit. They talk as if the trade is a foregone conclusion. The issue: NBA media always talks as if it is championship or bust. A world of black and white. While, sure, winning a title is obviously the goal, there is nuance here. Most Bucks fans I know would happily settle for the second round (it is fun winning a playoff series!). It sure beats irrelevance. Our unwavering love for Giannis is as irrational as it is real. It’s like Michael Scott’s love for Ryan.

If the Bucks trade Giannis for a blue chip, some cap filler, and four first round draft picks, I am confident saying they will suck for the next decade. The acquisitions will carry just as much likelihood of disappointment as anything else. We could become the Bulls, or worse, the pre-Giannis Bucks. No matter when Giannis leaves, the sucking will be flowing over for a long time. 

"If tomorrow my company goes under, I will just start another paper company, and then another and another and another. I have no shortage of company names.”

​I do not want to see the Bucks surrender Giannis to the highest bidder. The Bucks still have the leverage the same way the Michael Scott Paper Company did. We control the asset. We’re a family. We still have Michael Scott (Giannis) and we have the twinkle of a chance of rising above Dunder Mifflin (other teams in the East). There's no need to surrender. There is no shortage of company names. It's gonna take a MASSIVE, history-in-the-making deal otherwise we'll just keep searching for new clients (players) to maybe luck our way into a bigger office. Keep putting us out of business all you want (first round exits, losing seasons, injury drama, Shams going on ESPN and starting shit), we don't care. (We sort of care.)(Many are saying that we do in fact care.) We can always just try again the next year, and the next year. The future draft picks keep replenishing in perpetuity!

“Our balls are in your court.” 

​Make no mistake, the situation with the Giannis has never been more volatile. But he is on the Bucks until proven otherwise. The NBA and its news machine can keep laughing at our little paper company (a bad small market team). It only fuels us! You'll have to give everything for us to want to relinquish control of the Giannis. Let all the podcasters call the organization dumb. They don’t understand happiness!

“That’s the difference between you and I. Business isn’t about money to me, David.”

​So how does Horst convince Giannis to stay? Keep getting creative, keep spending, keep trading, and keep those Antetokounmpo brothers close. And that is what Horst will try to do before the draft. The 10th pick, Kuz's expiring, the 2031 1st, the 2032 swap, the 2033 1st, the mid-level exception. What can it get us? What could trading Giannis get us? It's all on the table once again. Just as it was when they traded for Jrue and just as it was when they traded for Dame and just as it was when they signed Turner. It's an asymmetric struggle. We don't care if you put us out of business. Wesley Edens is a scorned man -- he ain't afraid! We will keep swinging until Giannis says on main that he's had enough or you give us everything.

​So far, all we know for next season is there will be a new coach. Beyond that, it's dialogue. Dialogue does not mean surrender. There can still be sunset on the horizon. We can still get the last laugh.

“Well maybe you estimate me next time.”

"Dialogue does not mean 'surrender.'" — President Masoud Pezeshkian, May 2026

While Shams was working on his next bit of clickbait recycling the same non-story for the 37th time (Sources: Bucks Talking), Giannis was at the Milwaukee Zoo with his kids. The National Basketball Association et al so badly wants him gone, but I will believe it only when I see it. Giannis is counter culture. He's an enigma. He's loyal. He can be convinced to stay. He seems to kinda want to stay. It would make sense that he's using his looming contract extension as leverage to make sure the team doesn't suck again. Seems pretty smart to me! We've seen this show before...

You probably know it but there's a chasm between what the NBA wants the Bucks to do with Giannis and what the Bucks are signaling that they want to do with Giannis. A war, if you will.

Dialogue of a trade does not mean surrender.

It's an asymmetric war this debate on whether the Bucks should trade him. The media says it would be insane not to trade him while his value is still immense and the team is so horseshit. They talk as if the trade is a forgone conclusion. The issue: NBA media always talks as if it is championship or bust. A world of black and white. While, sure, winning is obviously the goal, there is nuance here. Most Bucks fans I know would happily settle for the second round. It sure beats irrelevance. Our unwavering love for Giannis is as irrational as it is real.

On that note, I do not want to see the Bucks surrender Giannis to the highest bidder. The Bucks still have the leverage the same way Iran does. We control the Straight (Giannis). There's no need to surrender. It's gonna take a MASSIVE, history-in-the-making deal otherwise we'll just keep enriching enough uranium (talent) to maybe luck our way into a nuke (another championship). Keep bombing us all you want (first round exits, losing seasons, injury drama, Shams going on ESPN and starting shit), we don't care. (We sort of care.)

Make no mistake, the situation with the Straight (Giannis) has never been more volatile. But it's Iran's (the Buck's) until proven otherwise. Trump (the NBA and it's news machine) can keep calling it a shit hole country (a bad small market team). It only fuels us! You'll have to give everything for us to want to relinquish control of the Straight. Eat dick, losers.

So how do we keep control of the Straight? You gotta build an arsenal. And that is what Horst will try to do before the draft. The 10th pick, Kuz's expiring, the 2031 1st, the 2032 swap, the 2033 1st, the mid-level. What can it get us? What could trading Giannis get us? It's all on the table once again. Just as it was when they traded for Jrue and just as it was when they traded for Dame and just as it was when they signed Turner. It's an asymmetric war. We don't care if you bomb us. We will keep swinging until Giannis says on main that he's had enough or you give us everything.

So far, all we know is there will be a new coach. Beyond that, it's dialogue. Dialogue does not mean surrender.