While speculation about a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade flew around the league all offseason — regardless of him professing his love for Milwaukee publicly — the reality was that the Bucks would never trade him unless he demanded it. He never did. Of course, that never stopped the chatter.
Maybe this will: Giannis’ brother and five-year NBA veteran Thanasis Antetokounmpo has agreed to a one-year contract to return to the Milwaukee Bucks, something confirmed by the team and Thanasis himself.
The Bucks wouldn’t sign Thanasis if Giannis weren’t coming to camp, something ESPN’s Charania noted when he first reported the Thanasis signing.
Thanasis sat out last NBA season recovering from a torn Achilles, but he is healthy and currently playing for the Greek national team at EuroBasket (averaging almost 15 minutes a game). Before sitting out last season, Thasasis played five seasons in Milwaukee, getting into 196 games in a deep bench reserve role.
Giannis Antetokounmpo will likely play the entire coming season for the Bucks. While it’s possible he could ask and the Bucks could try to trade him at the deadline, Antetokounmpo’s $54.1 million salary makes that exceedingly difficult in the NBA’s apron era. If Antetokounmpo asks for a trade, it would likely be next offseason, and a lot of what happens likely depends on how this season goes in Milwaukee.
For now, brothers Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo will fly from EuroBasket to Milwaukee together to get ready for Bucks training camp at the end of September.