According to reports, the Milwaukee Bucks bypassed Giannis Antetokounmpo when they decided to trade Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the Damian Lillard blockbuster deal. It’s not that they did not value Giannis’ input but rather, the front office reportedly did not want to burden Antetokounmpo with having to green-light the trade for someone who he’s become very close with.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Had No Say in Milwaukee Bucks’ Decision to Trade Jrue Holiday?
Apparently, even Holiday himself was not made aware of the trade until it was already official. If the two-time All-Star combo guard himself wasn’t informed, then perhaps this is also indeed the case for Antetokounmpo?
According to a rather compelling theory presented by an NBA analyst who goes by the name Big Ox, it would be “naive” to think that Giannis had no clue that Holiday was about to be traded:
“I’m not even saying that Giannis would have been like ‘No don’t do that. Keep Jrue’. All I said was for y’all to believe that they didn’t even consult Giannis, it’s naive. You’re being naive. That’s what you’re doing,” said Big Ox of the Player’s Choice show (h/t Ernest Leo Hernandez of sportskeeda).
Did Giannis Antetokounmpo Green-Light Jrue Holiday’s Departure?
You have to note that in essence, the Bucks went ahead and did the Lillard trade based on Antetokounmpo’s demand. While he did not directly instruct the front office to trade for Dame, the fact is he put the organization under a lot of pressure when he revealed his desire to leave Milwaukee if he did not win a championship in the near future.
According to Big Ox, Giannis definitely pulled a LeBron James by orchestrating the Lillard-Holiday trade — be it directly or indirectly:
“Every time someone gets traded on LeBron’s team, you won’t hear that the GM’s doing his job. Y’all refuse to hear that. ‘No, it’s LeGM. He runs this. He runs that.’ But when golden boy Giannis– the difference is that y’all jockstrap sniff Giannis and so he can do no wrong,” Big Ox adds.
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Big Ox took a massive shot at Antetokounmpo fans here who believe that Giannis had absolutely no say in the team’s recent blockbuster deal. Whether you believe it or not, there’s no denying that this argument has, at the very least, some merit.
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