Milwaukee Bucks changed their franchise yesterday. I know that seems like hyperbole, but the statement is true. In the last couple of years, Milwaukee cut corners to make a playoff contender with their big three in tact – Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, and Giannis Antetokounmpo with Brook Lopez playing a supporting role that could win an Oscar. This year, they pushed the chips all in. By acquiring Jrue Holiday and Bogdan Bogdanovic, the worst-kept secret in the league is Giannis will be singing his supermax very soon.

As this is one of the biggest stories of the last year, I’d love to tell you that I have this sourced out. I don’t. But this is an easy ‘read the tea leeves’ moment. Milwaukee does not give up that much draft capital with being in the dark about Giannis’ decision. If they thought there is a chance Giannis is out the door, Bucks do not sacrifice that much. But in Milwaukee’s mind, the pick swaps will never happen. The draft picks will be meaningless. And Milwaukee can always buy second round picks if need be. They’ll operate like we’ve seen every LeBron team operate for the last decade. Not sure why this is suddenly different.

These moves also show that the team listened to Antetokounmpo. It’s not that I ever believed they would ignore him. But they didn’t dig their heels on anything. Giannis did not want Chris Paul. That’s a fact. Bucks didn’t even sniff around for him. Antetokounmpo had mentioned Bogdanovic as a player he would like to play with. Milwaukee became aggressive on bringing him to the Cream City. The Greek Freak also said he didn’t want a super team. This doesn’t qualify as one in my opinion. Rather, this is a team that is built for a championship with like-minded personalities.

When Giannis signs his Supermax, it will be one of the biggest moments in Bucks’ history, and small market history. Nothing is going to be more exciting than to dunk on Heat and Warriors fans who are still living this wet dream of getting the Greek Freak. This is not happening.

Charlie.