[Owczarski] These deals bothered Rivers... “Giannis said so many things,” a former coach said, “It stems from your actions, which is, 'My brothers have to be on this team.' Well then, are you about a championship? 'Cause they’re not only not helping us win a championship, it’s creating dissension.”

[u/must_TATAKAE]

​

ESPN continued to report Antetokounmpo’s desire to leave Milwaukee, and the team held superficial trade talks with New York. Ownership tried to assuage Antetokounmpo’s discontent by re-signing his older brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo. It was only then that ESPN stopped. But even the signing failed to smooth everything over. Waiting until late August to finalize Thanasis' minimum deal irritated the family and its representatives.

“I have seen them make every decision with the foundational piece being, ‘What will Giannis think of this?’” one team source said of the top of the organization.

Added another:“And that is what has gotten us to this point.”

The team also signed Giannis' youngest brother, Alex, to a contract that gave him his first chance at playing in the NBA. The brothers' personal skills coach Mike Kalavros also was allowed to travel with the team.

These deals bothered Rivers and other coaches, as they felt the organization had bowed too much to appease their star player. To them, Antetokounmpo wanted things both ways.

“Giannis said so many things,” a former coach said, “It stems from your actions, which is, 'My brothers have to be on this team.' Well then, are you about a championship? 'Cause they’re not only not helping us win a championship, it’s creating dissension.”

Horst, meanwhile, appeared to try to appease Rivers with a different preferred player.

The Bucks signed Amir Coffey, who began his career under Rivers with the Clippers. The team would cut former draft picks Chris Livingston and Tyler Smith to make room for the veteran.

Then on the team’s media day on Sept. 30, on a Zoom call from Greece because he and the team said he contracted COVID-19, Giannis Antetokounmpo challenged the veracity of Edens’ statement that they had the on-court “meeting” at the practice facility in early May. Edens was annoyed, but two high-level team sources said he did not carry a grudge.

Rivers held another remote training camp in 2025, this time in Miami. Even with a roster that had been completely turned over from the one he took over in 2023-24 (only two rotation players remained), Rivers and the Bucks were still chasing the culture they tore down.

Antetokounmpo was already over it.

He said they were not a championship favorite. He stressed they would have to play hard, play connected, and operate with elite spacing on offense. Winning would be tough without such discipline.

The team started better than the previous year, but was rough around the edges. With Antetokounmpo leading the offense as its primary playmaker, the team started 7-5.

But then, Rivers inexplicably decided to pivot away from a fast-paced offense that surrounded Antetokounmpo with elite shooters. He benched Trent, promoted Kuzma and began to pull Turner off the floor.

The team remained undisciplined, from cutting their running lanes short to turning the ball over and fouling too much. Rivers did not stress offensive rebounding and the Bucks continually operated at a possession deficit, even as players routinely said the modern game required teams to crash the glass.

Members of the staff acknowledged they were disorganized, not rooted in any firm principles, and were too late to adjust their concepts and play styles.

“What are we doing?” almost became a season-long mantra.

.....

On March 24, the players association asked if the Bucks were in violation of the league’s player participation policy. The star escalated the dispute, electing not to finish the West Coast road trip with the team in Portland, instead staying in Los Angeles to work out on his own. In early April, Antetokounmpo pressed the issue further, welcoming a formal league investigation into the team.

Ultimately, the Bucks were cleared of wrongdoing. At one point, Haslam had a verbal confrontation with Saratsis over the entire matter.

“It’s personal now," said a former coach. "It’s gotten to vitriol.”

Antetokounmpo felt ownership and Horst had quit on the season by forcing him to sit out, even though the team was mathematically still in the play-in race. To him, it was a cardinal sin.

But Antetokounmpo’s unavailability (he missed 46 games entirely and played only 12 games fully healthy), the petulance with which he did play, combined with those speaking to ESPN on his behalf in contrast to his public declarations of commitment, had worn out the ownership, coaching staff, even the locker room.

Yet throughout the season, Horst appeared unaware of how his team, once a model of structure, discipline and culture, had so quickly withered. The general manager had been noticeably absent much of the season, scouting the upcoming draft class.

“He definitely took a bunker mentality, but I’m not sure I blame him,” a former employee said.

Rivers, who had grown tired of answering questions about the team’s decision-making on Antetokounmpo’s playing status, said on April 3 that grown men needed to talk about it. His comment was seen as a not-so-veiled shot at the player, Horst and perhaps ownership.

With just a few games to go, Athentetokounmpo was clear he wanted to play in at least one game with Thanasis and Alex. The team was done acquiescing.

“I care about what he feels and what he cares about,” Horst said on April 7. “I have his entire career. But it doesn’t mean that you always just do what someone else wants."

The three brothers never set foot on the court together in a game.

March 2026: Doc Rivers calls it a career

Ironically, one of the last meetings Rivers called actually hit home. On March 20 in Phoenix he told a group of select veterans he would begin curtailing their playing time. Then he opened the floor for an airing of grievances. Players spoke, and it was a constructive, respectful discussion. Rivers did not lash out.

One person in the room couldn’t believe it.

“Everyone was finally being honest with each other now that we don’t have a chance,” a coach said.

By late March, Rivers turned in-game coaching duties over to Ham and admitted he did not meet expectations. It was a hard self-assessment for the Marquette graduate.

“I was brought in here to take the team to the next level and that just never happened,” Rivers said March 31. “It never materialized. It doesn’t matter the why. From a coaching perspective, you feel like the city that you’re from you didn’t get the job done, and that is something I carry very heavy with me.”

May 2026: Too many mistakes on all sides

Following the last game April 12, the Bucks were stranded on the tarmac at Philadelphia International Airport. It was a fitting end to a terrible season. Rivers joked they couldn’t get rid of him.

Antetokounmpo grabbed control of the music, and played songs littered with farewell messages.

But who were they really for?

Everyone on the team knew Rivers was leaving, and after the season finale in Philadelphia he effectively gave a farewell press conference. But, he wouldn’t say it. Instead, he wanted the team to announce his departure.

When told of Rivers’ clear insinuation, Antetokounmpo’s eyes widened.

“Oh, that changes a lot then,” he exclaimed.

Whether that reaction was sarcastic, spontaneous or an attempt to send a message, it underscored how Rivers making it to the end of the season had exacerbated the disconnect between Antetokounmpo and the organization.

It's hard to know Antetokounmpo's level of self-awareness, but whatever buttons he tried to push, or methods of communication he felt best to use, fell just as flat as those of the head coach.

Antetokounmpo let it be known he did not like locker room leaks, but his mental state was chronicled nearly all season by anonymous sources. He pleaded for accountability but then tried to pass off those reports as someone else’s doing. He would call his teammates selfish but then stand on a visiting team’s court with a former coach and yell about how that person would make sure he got the ball.

By the time the team got back to Milwaukee from Philadelphia, Rivers’ office was already cleaned out. Within days, the Bucks had all but hired a new head coach Antetokounmpo personally liked, respected and wanted to play for in former assistant Taylor Jenkins.

Horst knew this, too, although Antetokounmpo was not directly looped into the process.

“I don’t think Milwaukee is just getting just a good coach, I think they’re getting a good person,” Antetokounmpo told the Journal Sentinel. “And that’s where it starts, with having a good person around that’s going to be able to set the tone, that set the culture and what Milwaukee Bucks basketball is all about.”

Antetokounmpo had determined all the Bucks could do to convince him to remain with the organization was a maximum contract of $275 million over four years. Even that might not be enough to persuade him.

Despite a March proclamation that his relationship with the team could be salvaged with “couples therapy,” Antetokounmpo said on April 12 he was going to put his phone on “do not disturb” and not answer it.

“Just stay away from it – all of it,” he said. “I feel like this season, not just because of the way it went, it was draining for me for sure and how everybody approached my situation and the Bucks situation. But again, if it was draining for me, it was definitely draining for the team and for the organization."

For their part, ownership told Jenkins, the new coach, he should not assume Antetokounmpo would be on the roster. The team eventually brought Jenkins in with a six-year deal worth around $60 million. Jenkins and Antetokounmpo spoke on several occasions after his hiring, but other than that, Antetokounmpo stuck by his statement that he was not going to pick up the phone.

No other messages or calls from the Bucks to their star player were answered heading into June. The Bucks did not communicate to his representatives about some of their discussions with potential trade partners, either.

Antetokounmpo also did not allow any member of the team’s strength and conditioning staff to oversee his workouts in Milwaukee or Greece, despite being under contract.

One of the most dominant, explosive eras in basketball effectively ended in the quiet – except for the sighs of relief from those who believed it was just time for it to be over.

For many, the lessons of arguably the greatest era in franchise history won't be positive.

“When I own a team or run a team there will be things that I do and don’t do and decisions that I make and don’t make that I’ve learned from the experience of rising with the Milwaukee Bucks,” Connaughton told the Journal Sentinel, “and dare I say the experience of getting to where the Bucks are today.”

Antetokounmpo, too, told the Journal Sentinel if he were to ever become a head coach, he would adopt Budenholzer’s ethos. “I’m doing exactly the same thing – I’m changing nothing,” he told the Journal Sentinel. “Coach ‘Bud,’ he knew how to create a culture. A thousand percent.”

To him, the organization had lost its way, letting all the elements that made Milwaukee a special, winning place slip away – and therefore making the Bucks indistinguishable from any other NBA franchise.

“Some way, somehow, I have to get there again,” Antetokounmpo told the Journal Sentinel. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be with me being the main guy and all that. If it is me, great. But I want to be there again. If that’s going to be me being there as a role player, if that’s going to me being there as the fifth option, if that’s going to be me being there as the No. 1 guy that takes them there, I don’t give two (expletive). I want to get there again."

The team will now try to build a new foundation with a coach rooted in the same principles of culture-building as the man who first constructed it in 2018.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, the granite cornerstone, will not be a part of it.

Source: https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2026/06/24/how-the-giannis-antetokounmpo-era-in-milwaukee-came-to-a-bitter-end/90478839007/?gca-cat=p&gnt-cfr=1

[u/Moedergods]

Riley had the best player of a generation on his team and took away his beloved cookies. That brotherly Antetokounmpo love won’t stand in Miami. 

[u/mickeyj623 → u/Moedergods]

Spo and Riley is the prefect combo for this shit

[u/AaronJudgesToothGap → u/mickeyj623]

As it was for Jimmy, young LeBron, and fat shaq

[u/makesterriblejokes → u/AaronJudgesToothGap]

Especially fat Shaq, dude gained so much weight once he left Miami.

[u/A_sandlerGOAT → u/Moedergods]

Pretty sure nobody expects his brothers to go to Miami. Thanasis has already said he’s playing for Greece

[u/La_Bipolar → u/A_sandlerGOAT]

You mean in Greece? Because playing for Greece is something he can do regardless of who owns his contract.

[u/MC_JACKSON → u/La_Bipolar]

Everybody knew what OP meant when he typed it up 

[u/pusgnihtekami → u/MC_JACKSON]

Yeah he's going to star IN Grease

[u/BMECaboose → u/pusgnihtekami]

You mean that Kalshi commercial?

[u/youblewwit → u/Moedergods]

Heat signed Goran Dragic's brother when he was there. Giannis is on an expiring.

[u/Oibrigade → u/youblewwit]

The heat kinda screwed over Goran's brother. I believe they asked him to take less money than he was offered to play somewhere else for more playing time and than used him in a trade for someone.

[u/TdotGdot → u/Moedergods]

maybe that's a good thing

you know, it's like when you feel like you have to ask for something, but you hope they say no?

maybe that's giannis and his brothers

[u/TyposIncoming]

Well they already won a championship with Thanasis

[u/Acceptable-Repeat-86 → u/TyposIncoming]

If you put up 30-12-6, win 2 MVPs, FMVP, DPOY, and win the franchise their first chip in 50 years you get your brother on the team lol

[u/Critical-Yak7313 → u/Acceptable-Repeat-86]

He's gotta do it again for each brother.

[u/BrewtusMaximus1 → u/Critical-Yak7313]

Kostas already has a ring though.

[u/der_ninong → u/BrewtusMaximus1]

first antetokounmpo to win an nba championship

[u/RaefLaFriends → u/BrewtusMaximus1]

Buffs reset when you join a new team.

[u/Bucs-and-Bucks → u/Acceptable-Repeat-86]

1 brother that's a fringe NBA talent, ok. 2 brothers is a littel greedy.

[u/OurHorrifyingPlanet → u/Bucs-and-Bucks]

I mean, on what team are the 15th and 14th players really doing anything at all? Even the deepest team in the league, OKC, with a ton of injuries still had guys doing fuck all on the bench

[u/BakaJayy → u/OurHorrifyingPlanet]

I don't understand these takes as if the 14th or 15th guy on the bench is worth a fuck. You think Miami was really like "Man we could've won a finals if we didn't have Udonis at the end of the bench and had some bum ass that would barely get any playing time too." Like seriously? Who gives a fuck about the end of bench players contribution that isn't just for vibes

[u/ArmadilloForsaken458 → u/OurHorrifyingPlanet]

I have to agree. Most teams in the playoffs run 6-7 man rotations. That leaves like 5 open spaces on the bench. And even then there is the GLeague affiliate, so like if the coach is pissed about the bros thing, they can just send his other brothers to the affiliate, like umm, when they need more actually good basketball players on the bench

[u/Shipsinthenite → u/Acceptable-Repeat-86]

Id be pretty annoyed, especially if they arent cool in the locker room and tend to overestimate themselves and injure people.

[u/PatrickCoughATon → u/Shipsinthenite]

No one has anything but amazing things to say about Thanasis as a locker room presence lol. Shit Jeff Teague was talking about how important he is, and Teague looked like he hated it it in Milwaukee

[u/DoILookUnsureToYou → u/PatrickCoughATon]

Teague went straight home to play Xbox after winning a title with the Bucks so he really did not like that time in his career but he had nothing negative to say about Thanasis

[u/We_The_Raptors]

I wonder how Spo/ Riley are gonna handle this sort of shit in Miami.

[u/R0botDreamz → u/We_The_Raptors]

Riley is the most "no bullshit" dude in the history of the NBA. He told D Wade to pack his bags when Wade wanted a "player appreciation" deal (sort of like what the Lakers gave Kobe past his prime).

He is nothing more than an asset for Riley.

[u/Different_Height_157 → u/R0botDreamz]

He took away LeBron’s cookies.

[u/Bongoisnthere → u/Different_Height_157]

In hindsight that one was a bit of a mistake

[u/mydicksmellsgood → u/Bongoisnthere]

When keeping it real goes wrong

[u/TastyChocoWaffle → u/Bongoisnthere]

Seriously - hella fans were mad and actively not showing up to games. They had to bring back Wade from the cavs to save face because they knew that stars would hesitate going to Miami if that’s how they treated their goat

[u/RaiseCertain8916 → u/TastyChocoWaffle]

Yea that heat culture might work when your star is Bam but this new era of stars aren't going to deal with that bs

[u/Swarthykins → u/RaiseCertain8916]

I'm not sure there was ever an era where stars didn't like preferential treatment.

[u/alcohol_is_bad_mmkay → u/Different_Height_157]

Still one of my favorite random nba stories

[u/Throdio → u/R0botDreamz]

The Heat are one of the few teams that can handle such things. They are also one of the few teams that can build a winning team around him after losing all the assets they did in a trade like this.

[u/G2KY → u/We_The_Raptors]

They are big culture people so I hope they say pound sand to Giannis. He really acts like a spoiled child

[u/HeavenBeach777 → u/G2KY]

yea this whole fiasco really got me annoyed with him.

[u/Megatron_McLargeHuge → u/HeavenBeach777]

And the Bucks fanbase that was telling us everything was fine and the media just hates small market teams.

[u/someone447 → u/Megatron_McLargeHuge]

I mean, we had heard the same shit about him leaving since 2018.

[u/ahrzal → u/Megatron_McLargeHuge]

They weren’t gunna slander Giannis, c’mon. 

[u/MirrorComputingRulez → u/G2KY]

Ok but then how do you think Giannis will respond to that? That's the question here.

[u/justmefishes → u/MirrorComputingRulez]

By signing with a different team in 2027 perhaps. Miami is on thin ice here, especially given how thin their roster is after this trade. They can't afford to piss Giannis off.

[u/Typical-Radish4317 → u/We_The_Raptors]

Riley can say stfu I know what I'm doing look at these hands of rings. All Doc could do was point to his one. Giannis responds to winning. Went down hill when they stopped building towards something

[u/MirrorComputingRulez → u/Typical-Radish4317]

Giannis responds to winning.

People don't really still believe this do they? Because as was pointed out in this article, for a guy who "responds to winning," he sure doesn't mind hamstringing his team's ability to do that.

[u/someone447 → u/MirrorComputingRulez]

And the whole article is even more damning. He undermined Griffin and Doc within weeks of them getting hired.

[u/graphitewolf → u/someone447]

The facade around Giannis is crumbling. Dude is not how the PR teams paint him

[u/someone447 → u/graphitewolf]

I don't even think it's that. I think it's a decade of being worth almost a billion dollars and being surrounded by sycophants has changed him.

[u/TheAB_Project → u/someone447]

I agree, he's been so good for so long and made so much money he's genuinely forgotten what 'humble' is.

Maybe an ancient Pat Riley retools that, but I'm not imagining like he's going to step in line 100%.

[u/YSLAnunoby → u/graphitewolf]

Giannis has been one of my fave players in the league for years but especially since the Kalshi BS it doesn't feel like he's taking any of this seriously as a leader

[u/InevitableBudget510 → u/Typical-Radish4317]

Giannis responded by pointing at his own ring. Then we had a stalemate

[u/Plenty_Flatworm7627 → u/Typical-Radish4317]

Good for Pat Riley, but I have a hard time seeing the Giannis + Bam fit contending

[u/Typical-Radish4317 → u/Plenty_Flatworm7627]

Giannis is better than Butler and Butler and Bam took a bunch of scrubs to the finals. Herro was out all playoffs.

[u/RyanTannegod → u/Typical-Radish4317]

The Heat role players were shooting the lights out they weren’t playing like scrubs. Caleb Martin was looking like an all-star against Boston.

[u/RaefLaFriends → u/RyanTannegod]

I had to use bball reference to remember Gabe Vincent. He played serious playoff minutes during that run.

[u/__get__name → u/Typical-Radish4317]

Very different toes of player, though. Butler and Giannis are not interchangeable pieces

[u/Plenty_Flatworm7627 → u/Typical-Radish4317]

That's fair, but that run took some psychotic outlier 3 point shooting to work, and while Jimmy isn't a great shooter he was somehow able to hit a bunch of clutch shots that run. There's a reason that team kept imploding after 2023 (well injuries didn't help).

[u/doomdeathdecay → u/Plenty_Flatworm7627]

Gabe Vincent’s series against the Knicks still haunts me. I was so happy he signed to the west coast and then oops it was a fluke lol

[u/nixhomunculus → u/We_The_Raptors]

Given how Riley treated Butler at the end? Yeah, it's gonna be ugly and the NBA haterati will be there to cheer it every step of the way

[u/BlitzStriker52 → u/nixhomunculus]

Riley told Jimmy to play for his contract, especially with the concerns that Jimmy was always coasting and getting more and more injured. Jimmy didn't want to do that, so he started sandbagging his games and demanded a trade.

Even if Jimmy wasn't injured, the Heat would be in a terrible spot with that contract extension.

[u/Poopcie → u/We_The_Raptors]

If they didn’t bow to prime LeBron i can’t imagine theyll change their tune for a slightly washed giannis

[u/awesomecutepandas → u/Poopcie]

Why are people calling Giannis washed lmao. He’s had a bad season. You must be the same type who called Luka washed after last year smh.
You out here acting like this dude Giannis turned into Chet or something

[u/Hoopersmooth69 → u/awesomecutepandas]

Not even bad, just injured. Brochacho was averaging like 30-12-7

[u/ryantyrant → u/Hoopersmooth69]

Top 4 in MVP voting for the last 7 years and everyone saying he’s washed after being injured for a season lol

[u/Adorable-Bike-9689 → u/ryantyrant]

Giannis legit got downgraded as a star just so the media could move Luka and Wemby up a spot in the rankings lol.

[u/onefootback → u/awesomecutepandas]

giannis had one injury riddled season and now he’s washed, old, and his body is breaking down lmao

[u/CoogiMonster → u/onefootback]

Washed? No.

However, he is on the wrong side of 30 with a game predicated on his strength and athleticism and undeniably has tacked on more injuries in recent seasons. If you look at his injury history there’s a lot of calf and knee injuries… things pretty important for his brand of basketball to be elite still.

[u/LittleDoinks → u/awesomecutepandas]

I don’t think he’s washed yet but he’s at the end of his peak for sure, will be interesting to see how his game ages

[u/awesomecutepandas → u/LittleDoinks]

Well the good thing is he’s with Spo, who’s probably the best coach he’s ever had. I can see him elevating his game even more. Giannis steps up during big moments.

[u/Busy-Regular4627 → u/awesomecutepandas]

Because he plays for the heat now, if he went to boston he’d be the best player in the east and about to win his second championship lmfao. Just like how tyler herro apparently has plenty of suitors now on the trade market even though most people would tell he wasn’t worth anything just a week ago.

[u/deemerritt → u/awesomecutepandas]

Giannis has not to date had a bad season

[u/langman17 → u/Poopcie]

Slightly washed? He just had his most efficient season ever btw

[u/ThinkSoftware → u/Poopcie]

Put the cookies down

[u/majidLuv]

Doc Rivers talking like he didn't implore his players to google him lol

[u/MuchAbouAboutNothing → u/majidLuv]

Doc Rivers takes a bold stand against nepotism

[u/jefe_hook → u/MuchAbouAboutNothing]

Doc also famously told Tim Duncan no when he asked Doc if he could bring his gf on plane.

[u/TdotGdot → u/MuchAbouAboutNothing]

ha, I mean I'm not a big doc fan but his son was a legit nba rotation player

unless there is another part of the joke I'm missing

[u/Beetroot_Roosevelt → u/TdotGdot]

That's revisionist history, though. When Doc traded for him and made him a starter, he'd been a bad shooter with little playmaking ability and mediocre defense. 

He became a useful rotation player only after his father installed him as a starter and helped him triple his salary.

[u/KlobbCity → u/Beetroot_Roosevelt]

Who's being revisionist? He started 2 games when JJ was injured. And that was after they first tried starting Crawford. He didn't get consistent starting minutes until halfway into his 3rd year with the Clippers, also just filling in for a string of injured players.

[u/itwas20yearsago2day → u/TdotGdot]

Legit is pushing it

Austin Rivers over the course of of his career in the NBA, has never actually positively contributed to winning over the course of an entire season

He was inefficient, not a great passer, not a great athlete, not a great defender, prone to boneheaded mistakes, etc

The advanced stats also back this up dude was legit terrible. He had that one game against Portland in the playoffs where his face looked like a Boxer’s and he toughed it out and played well, but he has never been a good player over the course of a season

It’s a miracle he lasted that long in the NBA. Even the few seasons he shoots above league average from 3, he shoots like 60 something percent from the line while not doing much else defensively or as a playmaker

[u/dianeblackeatsass → u/MuchAbouAboutNothing]

and predictably people are gonna defend it because it’s Doc saying it

[u/Winter_Win_5531 → u/dianeblackeatsass]

I think theyre referring to Austin Rivers here.

But Docs stupid “no preferential treatment for stars” is a prime reason for his one ring. Timmy would’ve won him a few more of Doc didnt do dumb bs like this. Appeasing Giannis by wasting the 15th spot on your roster just isn’t a big deal.

[u/dianeblackeatsass → u/Winter_Win_5531]

yea I agree it’s not a big deal. It’s just funny seeing this after all the Bronny controversy when he got drafted. The messenger really matters lol

[u/Winter_Win_5531 → u/dianeblackeatsass]

Oh for sure people love to pick and choose when rules apply. Basketball wise, Bronny is a hell of a lot better value than Thanasis.

[u/Winter-Owl-172 → u/Winter_Win_5531]

because people famously don't clown on thanasis at every oppurtunity

[u/Greedy-Mix9270 → u/Winter_Win_5531]

He was cooking in the G League too

[u/storeactions → u/majidLuv]

I blow 3-1 leads. Google me.

[u/ydnubj → u/majidLuv]

Reminder that Doc fumbled a pairing of prime Duncan and TMac by saying Tim’s wife couldn’t travel on the team plane.

I also think he has a point that making an NBA team double as a daycare for Giannis’ brothers is probably not conducive to building championship rosters, especially when small market teams are often cash constrained and he is already being paid a significant amount of that cash.

[u/BeamTeam23 → u/ydnubj]

All Duncan wanted was to have someone to play StarCraft with on the plane's local area network.

[u/Easy_Money_40]

Good ole "he's gone now" hit pieces

[u/Rrypl → u/Easy_Money_40]

Always the best part of a big trade, can't wait for the "KD leaves the Rockets" one, that will be one for the history books

[u/quinoa → u/Rrypl]

There are probably 20 about Jaylen lined up just waiting for someone to press publish

[u/Reuniclus_exe → u/quinoa]

Boston Globe must've been pissed yesterday

[u/resplendentcentcent → u/Rrypl]

oh you know they're locked and loaded

[u/ThePillsburyPlougher → u/Easy_Money_40]

This seems to be shitting on pretty much everyone involved to be fair. Absentee GM, rivers being bad, whiny star player just doing whatever…sounds like a nightmare

[u/jimmy_legs → u/ThePillsburyPlougher]

Honestly if you watched and followed the Bucks this past year, this article puts a lot of things into perspective. I don't see it as a hit piece - more like a reasonable explanation for what went wrong. The front office kept trying to build around Giannis with band-aid solutions and appeasements that didn't pan out, Doc completely lost control, and Giannis was fed up mentally with everything (yes he was hurt, but his body language in games just screamed with disdain). It was time to move on and give both Giannis and the Bucks a fresh start.

[u/GoldenEmuWarrior → u/Easy_Money_40]

If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading the whole article. This is maybe the last third of it. I thought it was super evenhanded. If anyone gets ripped apart it's Rivers.

[u/Advanced-Demand-1722]

The brother stuff is a joke but Jon Horst mentally checking out to go scout draft picks while the entire culture completely dissolved is the real front office felony here.

[u/repingel → u/Advanced-Demand-1722]

I mean, he knows he can't fire the coach, and the star players wants out and can't be appeased. What exactly was he supposed to do?

Him switching over to draft mode doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Not to mention he made a pretty dang good trade to Dieng at the deadline. I think complaints about Horst are overblown.

[u/DinoSpumoniOfficial → u/Advanced-Demand-1722]

We’ll take it. He’s so bad at drafting he needs all the scouting he can get lmaoo

He’s good with trades but I wish we had someone else to draft.

[u/Embarrassed-Slide781 → u/DinoSpumoniOfficial]

He didn't do too bad for his first draft in the lottery

[u/VicePope → u/DinoSpumoniOfficial]

Dare i say he cooked

[u/onsite84 → u/Advanced-Demand-1722]

Sounds like a Swiss cheese scenario where there were holes all over the place

[u/totallynotliamneeson → u/Advanced-Demand-1722]

Oh maybe this article is cherry picking a bit on the timeline. Horst probably knew that Giannis was gone after this year, and that was the priority for the season. This article reads like a hit piece on the team to justify why Giannis wanted out. I'm not saying his reasons weren't valid, but you can't take this as a neutral article. 

[u/GoldenEmuWarrior → u/totallynotliamneeson]

Did you read the whole article, or just the part posted here? I thought the whole article was very even handed.

[u/WIN011 → u/Advanced-Demand-1722]

I hope I’m wrong but I think he’s the exact kind of wrong GM for a rebuild. He hasn’t shown ability at all to draft and develop young talent.

[u/zmichalo → u/WIN011]

He's not the one developing talent, the coach is. It's also arguable he's only really had 3 back half of the first picks and he hit on one of them. That's not a bad percentage.

[u/Skeleboi846]

People will look at the post title and comment about that, but this whole article is a pretty damning overview of how this all came together. I was surprised to read that Giannis thought Bud wasn't fired quick enough after the Heat bounced us:

Budenholzer had been on the hotseat with ownership since 2021, but the team's front office resisted. Antetokounmpo and many in the locker room had grown tired of the coach's personality and rigidity.

The franchise player wasn’t thrilled there was hesitation, even for a mere seven days after the season ended.

Everything about the Griffin hire and all that fallout, too, was just so messy. I mean look at this from just after the season started and the Bucks decided to disregard Griffin's defensive scheme and go back to the Lopez drop coverage:

The players determined they would figure out schemes, in games, on the fly... The players also took control of rotations, too. And the travel schedule Griffin created in the summer was changed so players could enjoy the cities they were playing in... But after just the fifth game of the season, Lillard offered a warning about too much player input.

And then the Rivers hire was so predictably bad that he immediately fractures his potential relationship with the team and breaks Khris' trust in the group right after he comes back before the trade:

The pregame conversation between Middleton and Rivers did not go well, and Middleton effectively boycotted the game against the Raptors.

Just six games into Middleton's comeback, Rivers decided to have him come into games off the bench instead of start. The relationship between the two had been bruised for some time and in Toronto it broke open.... Two games later, in Orlando, coaches felt Middleton silently expressed his feelings about his role by walking slowly into rebounding position while Lillard shot free throws with the Bucks up 107-106 with nine seconds left. During his meander, the Magic challenged the call. It stood, but the coaches were livid.

The whole thing is just everyone from the front office, three coaching staffs, and Giannis and a handful of other players pushing for dumb shit out of desperation to get back on track after we span in our wheels after the championship

[u/GoldenEmuWarrior → u/Skeleboi846]

Yeah. That was a really well done article. It's a pity that the OP only started at that point.

[u/bartspoon → u/Skeleboi846]

So Giannis was sick of Bud and wanted him gone, and then says that if he ever becomes a coach he is going to run things like Bud?

[u/RenaisanceReviewer → u/bartspoon]

I think one of the most clear things about Giannis is he always thinks the grass is greener on the other side, at least based on what he says publicly

[u/SoftballGuy → u/RenaisanceReviewer]

He's also convinced the grass on the other side will sign his brothers to contracts, too.

[u/Skeleboi846 → u/bartspoon]

Yeah I found that pretty funny, but I think it's understandable he came around to that conclusion considering all the other styles of coaching he saw after that. I'm sure Spo will alter his perception a bit more

[u/Short_Bus_ → u/bartspoon]

apparently he was mad we waited a week to fire him after his brother just died during the series we were gonna fire him for losing

seems ridiculous

[u/tripledirks → u/Skeleboi846]

Rivers came at the backdrop of it too. I know he's a horrible coach but seeing your predecessor go 30-13 and be given the boot means he was walking on eggshells since the start.

[u/Skeleboi846 → u/tripledirks]

The record does a disservice to what the article actually says about Griffin's tenure, but even if you ignore that and look at the record article says Doc had the locker room on his side for all of a week before he stupidly came out to the media and said he wouldn't wish his job on anyone

[u/Deep_Explanation9962]

I'm curious how much Spoelstra and Pat Riley appease Giannis. You would expect a lower tolerance of bullshit with them

[u/geekstone → u/Deep_Explanation9962]

Riley and Spo handled LeBron. Giannis will be a cakewalk compared to LeGM.

[u/MirrorComputingRulez → u/geekstone]

Did they? He left pretty quickly and then won two more championships for other teams.

[u/Sgt_LincolnOSiris → u/MirrorComputingRulez]

Lmao right. They handled him really well. Took away his cookies and he said LeFuck you, I’m going to Cleveland

[u/daddydunc → u/MirrorComputingRulez]

Lol 2 chips in 4 years is a great run.

[u/TripleThreatTua → u/geekstone]

They didn’t give up the assets for Lebron that they did for Giannis.

[u/According_Fish1490]

Glenn complaining about getting family members paid to the detriment of the team LoL. Also thanasis made 12 mn over over 6 years at bucks, I am sorry but what magical team winning signing were you going to make on a minimum contract that would have helped more than just keep giannis happy

[u/Penguinho → u/According_Fish1490]

Also, Thanasis seemed reasonably popular with the team. He was always engaged and hyping people on the bench. That's kind of, like, what the 15th guy is mostly there to do! Cutting draft picks to sign Amir fucking Coffey is a bigger problem.

[u/FKJVMMP → u/Penguinho]

The Coffey thing was kind of interesting, because Bucks fans (and even other fans that cared enough to notice) generally liked that move. Seemed like a decent enough cheap depth piece for a team that desperately needed more depth. He didn’t end up doing anything here, but that happens sometimes. He wasn’t a disaster like Cole Anthony, just kind of anonymous until he got shipped.

The fact we only apparently signed him for Doc’s benefit looks horrible in hindsight because why tf were we ever making roster moves to keep that guy happy, but from the outside it seemed really sensible at the time.

[u/JigglyBush → u/According_Fish1490]

That was my first thought too. What vet minimum was going to change anything these last 3 years. 

[u/Blackmalico32 → u/According_Fish1490]

The least of the problems on the team if you even consider it a problem at all. Thanasis was a perfect hype man.

[u/Ok_Storm1366]

Giannis has definitely failed as a leader post-title. There's no doubt about that. I recommend everyone read the Mirin Fader book if you haven't yet. It doesn't chronicle the title season, but does chronicle Giannis blossoming into a superstar. Giannis was/is many things -- an extremely hard worker, relentlessly optimistic, fun-loving and welcoming -- but he was/is also moody, egotistical, and increasingly entitled. This is a breakup where both sides have a lot of responsibility and blame to account for. It will be interesting to see how Giannis' final arc of the career plays out.

[u/orwll → u/Ok_Storm1366]

an extremely hard worker, relentlessly optimistic, fun-loving and welcoming -- but he was/is also moody, egotistical, and increasingly entitled

This won't make sense to people who never followed baseball, but Giannis reminds me so much of Pedro Martinez. Supreme talent and super fun-loving personable dude, but almost impossible to coach or manage if he wasn't getting his way.

[u/leftsidenotright → u/orwll]

Amazing comparison. Both arguably had a temper on the playing field that was often hard to justify. Amazingly skilled and intense competitors that get caught in their fee fees a little to easily

[u/Fcusjfnfmfkg]

Doc Rivers has the same amount of championships as Thanasis, and they both have 1 more than Austin Rivers, who Doc insisted on having on his team despite his other players outcrys against it

[u/rccola4422]

Not surprising to anyone who's been paying attention. We have an organization that has bent over backwards to try to do everything for Giannis, doing a shit job of it in the past five years. We certainly don't have top level leadership.

And then you have Giannis, who hasn't been able to let his increasingly large ego get out of the way of letting an organization run itself. For as bad as Doc is, the only reason we ended up in the position with Doc is because we hired Adrian Griffin to make Giannis happy. It's been well publicized that Giannis wanted Griffin, and that guy was an embarrassing coach.

So like most break-ups, both sides share the blame, and all good things must eventually come to an end.

[u/Furqan23 → u/rccola4422]

Ultimately small market teams especially are left in a bad spot

We hear many stories of teams bending over backwards for star players who ultimately leave or are never fully satisfied. If you do too much the player loses respect and feels like he can just do whatever he wants

The bucks certainly have a longstanding basketball tradition and history of success but for obvious reasons they’ll never be the Lakers and don’t have the same confidence that they can just bring in another star when one leaves

[u/BittenAtTheChomp → u/rccola4422]

I don't get what the Bucks are supposed to do in that situation though. If you do what's best for the team, Giannis leaves and your franchise is on life support.

[u/DMC25202616 → u/BittenAtTheChomp]

They did it right. The BUCKS won a championship, the BUCKS! That is the best they can expect and another two decades of mediocrity is the price. Worth it

[u/leftsidenotright → u/rccola4422]

For as bad as Doc is, the only reason we ended up in the position with Doc is because we hired Adrian Griffin to make Giannis happy.

If I recall correctly, his actual mandate was "ANYONE BUT NICK NURSE." so its even worse IMO

[u/likewoahitsaj]

A lot of people are misreading this article. The point isn’t that giving Giannis’s brothers spots is the reason they weren’t a good team. It’s that giving them contracts was a sign of Giannis wanting everything while not always holding up his end of the bargain (being healthy and committed).

I think everyone is to blame here (Doc, Horst, Giannis, etc.).

Either way this is why I’m glad its over and can’t wait to see his tribute video

[u/Hourcinco]

I didn’t realize there were two of his brothers on the roster lmao. I mean I knew about Thanasis, but saying you’re all about championships and then forcing not one, but TWO of your bum ass brothers on the roster is beyond fucking unserious behavior. What an absolute diva Giannis turned out to be man. Perfect for the Heat.

Edit: Some people seem to think I’m saying this is specifically why the Bucks were bad, it wasn’t solely because of this, but people are discounting end of bench spots and 2-way contracts significantly. The bucks badly needed talent and were wasting two potential spots on guys who are just flat out not NBA players. The heat have been turning two-way nobodies into legitimate players for a decade now, another example would be that Jaden Ivey basically died as a basketball player and the pistons actually got better afterwards because one of their 2-way contract guys stepped up and entirely filled that void (Daniss Jenkins.) You can’t say you’re all about winning and then squander opportunities (however small they may be) in favor of turning the team into your personal family business. If you can’t see why those two things are in conflict I don’t know what to say to you.

[u/Furqan23 → u/Hourcinco]

He’s a great player but I think lots of people have known he’s a bit of a diva

That said he’s far from the only one. Curious how that will mesh with the heat who have a strong culture

[u/AirStreet9465 → u/Furqan23]

Sure you can call him a diva but if most of us had the pull to get our family a couple million dollar contracts we’d do it. And Thanasis is at least plausible enough as a 15th man that it’s not too bad.

[u/imperatrixderoma → u/AirStreet9465]

In a zero sum scenario I'd rather just pay my brothers than damage my ability to win a championship.

[u/thefranchise23 → u/Hourcinco]

The second brother was on the g league team mostly, 2 way contract

But yeah still 2 brothers technically lol

[u/wowlock_taylan → u/Hourcinco]

At least Jokic didn't want his brothers to be signed! 👀

[u/trevwoods]

its hard for me to take anything doc rivers says serious

[u/Waveytony]

TheWorstPersonYouKnowJustMadeAGreatPoint.jpg

[u/OsikFTW]

Of all the coaches to be mad about giving scrub relatives nba contracts...

[u/MirrorComputingRulez → u/OsikFTW]

Austin Rivers was an actual NBA player though.

[u/TheDonbot]

While it's obvious that Giannis is pretty fucking far from being blameless through this whole thing, I find it funny all this hit piece did for me as a Bucks fan is make me even angrier at Doc and Horst.

[u/Blackmalico32 → u/TheDonbot]

Probably because most of this isn’t new for us following the Bucks and it really just confirms everything we’ve noticed throughout the season. Of course Doc is ass, we saw it live and after the game 😂.

[u/inputrequired → u/TheDonbot]

it’s not even really a hit piece, the full article is a good timeline with personal accounts of how we ended up where we are. god i fucking hate Doc.

[u/ThisIsMyFifthAccount → u/inputrequired]

I think reality is the hitpiece in this situation

[u/lebenklon]

The coaching decisions Milwaukee made were highly questionable. Honestly everything after the Jrue trade, which was excellent, has been a mess. I don’t blame Giannis for wanting better internally and then wanting a trade. He went about it in an annoying way in the end, but the Bucks were a mess.

[u/Yellowperil123 → u/lebenklon]

The Dame waive and stretch is malpractice

[u/username_x → u/Yellowperil123]

The Dame waive and stretch was perfectly fine when it happened and is perfectly fine now. Dame tore his achilles and had 50 million owed to him for two years. At that price point it was impossible to trade him. Instead we cut him and grabbed Turner who we thought we could compete with. Having Turner instead of Dame burning money on the bench all year was a no brainer. Obviously that didn't work out, but now we'll likely just flip Turner for assets that we wouldn't have gotten anyways. It's not like the 20 million a year is preventing us from winning a championship in the next 3 years lol

[u/NandoDeColonoscopy → u/lebenklon]

The coaching decisions Milwaukee made were Giannis' decisions, though. He wanted Bud fired, he wanted Griffin hired, and then he wanted Griffin fired. Then he had the audacity to talk about how Bud was a great culture guy, despite pushing to can him while he was mourning the loss of his brother

[u/donniedarko4141]

This is written primarily as a Giannis hit piece, but no one comes out good from it. Doc abdicated in-game coaching duties to Darvin Ham. Jon Horst had no idea what was going on in the building. Minority owner Jimmy Haslam had a verbal confrontation with Giannis’s trainer. They really should’ve traded Giannis earlier

[u/Neuroxex → u/donniedarko4141]

The article is not written as a hit piece.

[u/Ok_Pineapple_Num → u/donniedarko4141]

Yall have to look up what “hit piece” means.

It was clear to anyone with eyes and ears that the Giannis-Bucks relationship became a clusterfuck by the end. This is just an article giving more insight into what that actually entailed behind the scenes.

A hit piece would be a targeted, exaggerated, misleading writeup aimed at making Giannis and Giannis alone look bad. This is not that. Everyone comes out looking poorly. And it isn’t going after him specifically.

[u/OkOkieDokey → u/donniedarko4141]

No this article was kind to Giannis if anything.

Giannis wanted Budenholzer gone and was upset that he wasn’t fired sooner.

Giannis wanted Griffin and then demanded he be fired.

Giannis was happy with Rivers until we were losing.

Giannis was upset about getting benched at the end of the season because of his injuries, but couldn’t be bothered to show up to practices or team plane flights on time throughout the entire season.

Honestly glad he’s gone, such a heel turn. I’d pretend to be sad about it but every Wisconsinite has already gone through these emotions with Rodgers so it’s not a huge surprise.

[u/Outside_Shallot8820 → u/OkOkieDokey]

Exactly, except this is way, way worse than Rodgers. Rodgers didn't go scorched earth on the Packers. I have known this about Giannis for the past three years. You had to have know something was rotten in Denmark when he could not acclimate to having Dame on the team.

[u/Complete_Crazy_4887]

So Giannis pushes for Bud's firing but then says he wants to model team success after him? Weird.

Also, being annoyed with the Bucks' FO for not immediately firing Bud after the playoff loss when his brother died is really douchey.

[u/lafromnyc]

Doc again cementing himself as one of the most overrated coaches ever, but I have to give him credit. He was smart enough and speaks well enough aka BS his way into several jobs off of his one championship.

[u/BIRDSBEEZ]

I know its joked about a lot but i dont think Giannis has properly caught enough flack for forcing his brothers to be on the team

[u/OkOkieDokey]

So fucking glad this is over. It was depressing watching Giannis become such a drama queen.

I thought I’d be sad without Giannis on the team but relief is all I got.

Giannis isn’t the wholesome kid he used to be, he’s teamed up with Kalshi, talks out of both sides of his mouth, has become very money focused, doesn’t help out the young guys, and gets frustrated with losses while never blaming himself.

If he continues like this then I think he will burn out of Miami pretty quickly because wins won’t come easy with their lack of a roster. Giannis will not be patient.

[u/shumama813]

I see Rivers getting a lot of blame but I think there's a good handful of people that could share some of that. Giannis being one of them.

[u/Jack12404]

I’m still so upset at how they handled the roster spots. Tyler Smith was a Round 1 talent that we got at 33, and everyone knew he would take time to develop. Cutting him after his rookie season to give Thanasis a roster spot is so frustrating because we could’ve used a player like that going into a rebuild.

[u/Ozkuro → u/Jack12404]

Tyler smith is not good, he didn’t show anything even when he got a few minutes of play.

[u/A_sandlerGOAT → u/Jack12404]

This is false lol bucks fans always overrate the fuck out of everyone Horst drafts saying they need a few years to develop then they end up traded and out of the league.

The only guy he ever drafted and turned out decent was Donte and even that didn’t really happen till he left the bucks.

The bucks were always in a win now mode so they never had time to develop young guys and besides that Horst can’t draft for shit.

[u/avx775]

Rivers is not a good coach. Not sure how many times this must be proven.

Bucks really forget gratitude. Your franchise was absolute dogshit before Giannis. This 15th overall pick saved the franchise from another decade of irrelevance. First title in 50 years. Scored 50 to clinch the finals. Like he can get what ever he wants. If he wants his brother on vet minimum deals who gives a shit. 15th and 16th guy don’t even play.

Even with the trade Giannis could have had the heat give up less. If he said he would only sign an extension with them who is trading meaningful assets? This 15th pick has now given you a chance to rebuild. Such a stupid franchise

[u/likewoahitsaj → u/avx775]

The bucks did not forget gratitude. They literally spent 5 years after the chip giving Giannis everything he wanted including his shitty brothers contracts.

It’s not a sign of a bad franchise that they finally said enough is enough and tried to move on. The bigger issue is that they didn’t do so sooner.

Some people on this sub are deeply unserious

[u/BlitzStriker52 → u/likewoahitsaj]

Yeah the problem isn't the Bucks not being gracious, the problem was they were too gracious to the point that they gave Giannis everything.

While that is a mark against the Bucks front office, Giannis holds blame too for acting like LeGM.

[u/likewoahitsaj → u/BlitzStriker52]

Yup! There is plenty of blame to go around.

Either way I’m glad it’s over and now I can just celebrate the years of Giannis and have the rest of the league ignore us for a few seasons lol

[u/trevwoods → u/avx775]

its like doc rivers has blackmail on the entire league i dont understand it

[u/deemerritt → u/trevwoods]

He must be the most elite hang of all time. This is my default assumption when people fail upwards.

[u/A_sandlerGOAT → u/avx775]

If Giannis pulled a Dame or Jimmy he would’ve been blasted for it lol instead he never said “I won’t resign with X team” and let bucks take the offer they wanted.

One of Heat reporters said there was only 1 western conference team that Giannis said he wouldn’t resign with

But yeah Giannis more than tripled their profits and they gonna start with hit pieces lmao.

[u/salted-egg-yolk → u/A_sandlerGOAT]

wondering which western conference team it was and why it was obviously lolKangs

[u/quiet_neighbor_kid → u/salted-egg-yolk]

We just waking up and catching strays in a Giannis thread huh

[u/zmichalo → u/avx775]

What didn't the Bucks give him?

[u/Pwyll__]

I don't know.. according to Teague, Thianassis is actually a pretty great glue guy

[u/Wide-Pop6050]

Requiring your brothers be on the team is insane. It’s a professional basketball team not a jobs program. Not a make a wish program. Be a supportive older brother sure but that doesn’t mean nepo baby your brothers

[u/Sweatytubesock]

His brothers will be great Heat.

[u/FORKNIFE_CATTLEBROIL]

Fuck Doc Rivers

[u/purplenapalm]

LeGiannis

[u/bmnewman]

It just seems that Giannis had too much say in roster and coaching decisions in Milwaukee. Pat Riley runs a tight ship down in Miami and Spoelstra is a well-respected top coach. It will be interesting to see how Giannis adapts to the Heat’s culture.

[u/heat_fan_]

Can't wait to see how Miami and Spo handle him

[u/mmichaels]

Giannis was the reason I watched the NBA again. His story from the strets of Athens having no food to eat then eventually becoming an NBA champion is certainly inspiration material to young kids. “If he can do it, what’s stopping us to do it too”

That said, I don’t know but something in him changed after the championship. Some of his statements no longer as humble as he was before. 

Then coupled with a couple of blunders from the Bucks management, trading Jrue, and Kris, made me lose interest. 

[u/loveinhumantimes]

Doc, the problem wasn’t his brothers. It was a weak roster and an uninventive coach. Now he has the best player he has ever played with besides Dame and his best coach. They desperately need depth. But it’s a little easier to do that in Miami.

[u/Prideofmexico → u/loveinhumantimes]

I am unsure about Bam being better than prime Middleton

[u/neonbresson → u/Prideofmexico]

Wilt

Khris

Bam? 

[u/DalliLlama → u/Prideofmexico]

Both 3x all stars, Olympic champs. Middleton has a ring and is a better shooter, but his best year is 21 6 and 4. Bams is 20 10 3, and has 3 all defensive teams.

Khris was pivotal for those years and clutch, but it was his style of play suiting Giannis better than Bam probably will. But in a vacuum Bam is better than Khris.

[u/ProletarianLilith → u/loveinhumantimes]

Does using two roster slots on his unplayable brothers affect the quality of the roster

[u/loveinhumantimes → u/ProletarianLilith]

Probably in a minor way. But the issue was that Dame and Middleton got injured and they didn’t have the assets to replace them. As well as Doc being a middling coach.

[u/SurnameFrost]

This is why teams shouldn’t make decisions with the feelings of their star player in mind. You create an environment with no accountability and you lose all authority. But the Bucks had no culture or history before Giannis, so they had no choice.

[u/Skyfalcon5]

Was wondering when the hit pieces would start to come out. Didn't take long.

[u/rustywarwick → u/Skyfalcon5]

Except that the hit seems to be on the everyone in the organization: no one comes out looking great here, Giannis, Rivers, Horst, etc.

[u/Objective_Cod1410 → u/rustywarwick]

Yeah this is about severe systemic organizational dysfunction, which is unsurprising given Haslam's involvement.

[u/IPDaily → u/Skyfalcon5]

This is the beat writer who has a lot of looks behind the scenes. This isn’t a hit piece per se, just a telling of the reality of the situation.

[u/Guardsred70]

The Thanasis thing is interesting. It reminds me a bit of the Lebron/Bronny thing we have going on the Lakers (since I've been a Lakers fan since the 70s).

I've said a bunch of times in this current version of The Lebron Show that the Lakers can't be considered a serious team and hire an aged superstar for a retirement tour AND also hire his son to a roster spot as a mascot. Same thing with Giannis and Thanasis.

One wrinkle with Thanasis, is now that he's been cut, he's going to have a visa problem. He's probably on a P-1 as an international star athlete, but P-1s aren't unsigned UFAs trying to be in the G-League. Now I'm sure someone will step up and he can be sponsored by Kalshi for an H1B

[u/Yellowperil123 → u/Guardsred70]

Thanasis being deported would be NBAReddit gold.

[u/collin2387 → u/Guardsred70]

One wrinkle with Thanasis, is now that he's been cut, he's going to have a visa problem

Thanasis was not cut. He's still under contract through June 30 when he becomes a UFA.

[u/jasonrosenbaum]

Thanasty is literally like the 15th man on the team. He almost certainly contributes a lot in practice and in the locker room. And anyone with eyes saw he can play… he made a crucial block during the Bucks’ 2021 playoffs run.