Listen to Giannis talk about how he felt after winning NBA championship
Five years after winning it all, Giannis Antetokounmpo sat down with Bucks reporter Jim Owczarski to talk about his emotions after the NBA title.
- Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam addressed the media for the first time about trading Giannis Antetokounmpo.
- Haslam stated the trade was necessary to get younger and replenish future assets after previous trades.
- The Bucks received multiple players and draft picks from the Miami Heat in exchange for the two-time MVP.
Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam spoke for the first time about the team trading Giannis Antetokounmpo as Haslam met with media on July 31 at training camp for the Cleveland Browns.
The Haslam Sports Group has owned the Browns since 2012 and bought a 25% stake in the Bucks in 2023. Bucks co-owner and governor Wes Edens has not yet spoken on the trade.Haslam was asked about the similarities in the Browns trading future Hall of Fame pass rusher Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams on June 1 and the Bucks trading Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat on June 22.
“So, my dad [Jim] is 95 ½ [years old] but he still follows every sports move we make, and he called me up after we traded Giannis,” Jimmy Haslam began, “He goes, ‘do you know that in the last month you’ve traded Myles Garrett and Giannis?’ And I said yes, sir, I know that.”
Haslam laughed at the memory but then turned serious with the rest of his answer, noting the return of Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, 2026 first-round pick Nate Ament, unprotected first-round draft picks in 2031 and 2033, a first-round pick swap in 2030 and a second-round pick in 2033.“Listen, it’s all about what you get, OK?” Haslam continued. “And Giannis is a generational player, won a championship, but we felt the need to get younger. He was the best asset we had.
“We had mortgaged our future going forward [with trades for Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard] and I think we got four really good players and we got two draft picks; No. 1 draft picks, a couple swaps and a second. Time will tell.
“We’ve got to use those picks wisely, just like we have to do with the Myles trade. But, cautious optimism.”
Haslam then acknowledged there is rough road ahead though for the Bucks, which had been either an ascending team or legitimate NBA championship contender since the 2016-17 season.
“Although, you gotta be realistic, rebuilding is no fun,” he said. “I think it’s actually harder to rebuild in the NBA than I do the NFL, but we’ll see.”The Bucks are an organization which has experienced how difficult rebuilding is.
Prior to the ascension of Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton as franchise stars who led the Bucks to the 2021 NBA title and the most wins in the NBA from 2018-25, the team had made the playoffs just seven times from 2000-16 and posted a winning record just four times.
On July 8, general manager Jon Horst admitted the franchise hit a hard reset with the Antetokounmpo trade and said he hoped the return “gets us to the place where we are competitive and we can sustain that competition and that competitive level year in and year out. And if we’re lucky enough at some point to be in a position to knock on the door and have a chance to win a championship.”
