When Giannis Antetokounmpo recently implied that he would leave the Milwaukee Bucks if he didn’t win a championship with the team in the near future, it was a clear message to the organization that they must do everything they can to surround him with the necessary weapons to achieve his/their championship aspirations.
You can be sure, however, that several teams from around the league have also taken note of Giannis’ warning here. One of them could be the Chicago Bulls.
NBA Rumors: Bulls Have ‘All Eyes’ On Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2025
In a recent edition of his mailbag, Bulls reporter Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic dropped a massive conspiracy theory about how Chicago could be playing the long game with their eyes set on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The two-time league MVP has yet to sign a contract extension with the Bucks, and if this remains to be the case, Giannis will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025. According to Mayberry, this is when the Bulls intend to pounce.
For their part, Chicago has been criticized for refusing to blow up their current core. Their Big 3 of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic has failed to live up to the lofty expectations but instead of breaking them up, the front office decided to renew Vucevic’s deal this summer, thereby indicating their desire to move forward with this same core for at least another season.
Mayberry argues that there could be a method to this madness:
“By keeping their failed core together and trumpeting continuity, the Bulls aren’t just remaining competitive in the short term. They’ve also maintained salaries large enough and players talented enough to warrant a seat at the table if the day comes that Antetokounmpo is ready to branch out from Milwaukee.
“Chicago, in the summer of 2025, still could have LaVine under contract for two remaining seasons at an average of $47.8 million. Nikola Vučević would be entering the final year of his contract at $21.4 million. Coby White would be entering the final year of his contract at $12.8 million. And Patrick Williams presumably will have just completed the first year of a long-term extension,” Mayberry wrote.
We will all definitely see the Bulls front office and their rather questionable decisions in an entirely different light if they are able to pull off this mind-blowing coup.
To add insult to injury, Bucks fans will feel even more aggrieved if and when Giannis Antetokounmpo decides to join one of their Central Division rivals.
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