When the Milwaukee Bucks got eliminated from the NBA playoffs, speculations on what Giannis Antetokounmpo would do next.
Antetokounmpo met with Bucks owner Marc Lasry for three hours on Friday to discuss the direction of the franchise, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. In that meeting, Lasry assured Giannis that the Bucks are willing to spend into the luxury tax this offseason to give him a championship supporting cast. Milwaukee’s payroll for 2020-21 will be close to the $132.7 million luxury tax as is, so they would need to do that in order to add more pieces.
Small market teams usually don’t spend into the luxury tax, but considering the Bucks finished first overall for two straight seasons, the team will want to do whatever it takes to keep Anteokounmpo happy.
Despite the disappointment, Antetokounmpo indicated he would not request a trade.
“It’s not happening. That’s not happening,” he told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “Some see a wall and go in [another direction]. I plow through it. We just have to get better as a team, individually, and get right back at it next season.”