The Bucks Body Isn't Even Cold Yet And ESPN Has Wasted No Time Spreading The Giannis To The Lakers Agenda

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The second Damian Lillard went down with a torn achilles and the Bucks fell into a 3-1 hole against the Pacers, we all knew what was coming. Even if the series isn't "technically" over until the Pacers win their 4th, there's no need to lie. This thing is a wrap. Pick whatever reason you want, but the reality is the Bucks have now lost in the 1st round for 3 straight seasons. 

Their future in terms of rebuilding/retooling is beyond fucked. Not only do they not have all that much in terms of promising young talent, their draft capital situation is a disaster

Add in that Dame's age/contract and the fact that he's basically out for a year and will be coming off an Achilles injury, his value has never been lower. With so many holes to fix, the Bucks don't exactly have a ton of options.

Which is why you knew what was coming, which is Giannis trades/speculation. Next year begins Year 1 of a 3/175M extension, so while the Bucks don't have to make any decisions now, that all changes should Giannis finally decide enough is enough and his time in MIL has run its course. I'm not sure he's there yet, but given the Bucks situation, I'm not sure what choice they have. The longer they wait, the more you run the risk that the team still stinks, Giannis becomes more unhappy and you then have to move him with fewer guaranteed years on his deal, which can somewhat lower his return.

So what does that mean? Try and act surprised

Look I get it, this is Carlos Boozer just talking some bullshit, but that's the point. We all knew that not only were Giannis trade segments/takes on the horizon, but that it was going to be ESPN pushing an agenda to get him to the Lakers. I mean the odds on that had to be -10000000 right? Pretty brutal to be doing this while ya know, the IND/MIL series is going on but that's how the content game works. Everyone knows the Bucks are cooked, so this is now their narrative. 

Normally you'd make fun of Boozer for suggesting a trade like this given the Lakers need to get to around $54M in salary and the only player worth a damn that they could trade would be Austin Reaves, and he only makes $13M next year. Something tells me the Bucks are not going to be interested in their potential post-Giannis life with Austin Reaves and an unprotected 1st from the Lakers, but after the Luka trade it's hard to know what is possible anymore. Maybe Adam Silver takes things to the next level after the Lakers lose in the 1st round again and decides both LeBron and Luka need more help. None of us ever would have said the Luka return made sense and look what happened. Are we sure John Horst is any better than Nico Harrison? Look at what he has done to the Bucks roster since their title. Does that seem like a guy who has a clue? 

Not to mention, if Giannis was going to demand a trade out of MIL to "win", I'm not so sure LA is the place for that. LeBron won't be around forever, Luka is showing no signs of actually improving his weaknesses, the rest of their roster kind of stinks and that's not even factoring in what would be left after a potential blockbuster deal to bring in Giannis. There are plenty of other options that could give Giannis a better chance at winning, they just happen to be teams that networks like ESPN don't give a shit about.

All I know is this stuff is't going away anytime soon. We're just getting started actually. Bucks fans are going to have to deal with this not only this summer, but all of next year as well (if they don't move him). You could make the case that it's going to be a topic until Giannis puts pen to paper on his next extension, and as we know, A LOT can happen in the NBA in a blink of an eye.

But Giannis to the Lakers? Gross.