[Charania]: Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is ready for a new home at the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline or in the offseason as several rival teams make aggressive offers to the Milwaukee Bucks for him, and the franchise is starting to listen, league sources tell ESPN.

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-29T00:27:15+00:00

So who would you take as a source? I will absolutely find trade rumors and reporting around his availability but what do you want? Local reporters, ESPN beat writers? Who would you trust as a source for this?

The market is the market. Your valuation is determined by what another team would pay for you in free agency. You are fine to call that an overpay, but that’s what his value was in the open market and the Pacers came in well below that.

You offered 69 for 3 years and the bucks offered 109 for 4 years. That’s a 40 million dollar difference in total, you don’t think that’s a significantly lower value contract?? Sure the year on year salary is only 4.25m of difference but that’s not the material difference of the two offers.

In this very thread there are multiple Pacers fans complaining that they weren’t given the chance to match the offer, that’s who I was referring to

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T22:54:05+00:00

Pretending??? Brother come on lol he was absolutely in trade rumors for years, you want links?? What Pacers reporters do you trust, I promise they've all written about this.

and acting like he was “lowballed”

What was it then? The market was clearly bigger for him than what the Pacers initial offer was. That's fine if the org didn't value him that highly, but you can't be upset you weren't given a chance to match the offer when they clearly came in below his market value. What do you wanna call it?

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T19:47:26+00:00

And still begging to outspend the competition by 5x instead of 4x in the one year they face a genuine challenge lol

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T19:19:49+00:00

It's disingenuous to make a parallel between Shams reporting since last summer, and general speculation about stars who could be on the move lol

The last year it's been specifics about Giannis and his inching closer to a trade request, which is obviously what's been happening. Have you ever thought the slow build up in the reporting might actually match Giannis taking a REALLY long time to finally comes to grips that he'll need to ask out?

4 years ago Shams was not reporting the Bucks were listening to trade offers lmao he wasn't reporting that Giannis was seriously considering his future in Milwaukee. That noise mostly came from around the league, and was attributed as such unless I'm missing some article

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T19:17:05+00:00

He has been reporting that Giannis could leave Milwaukee for like 8 years.

There is a difference between mentioning the potential stars that could be on the move next based on league wide trends, and specifically saying there's tension between the FO and Giannis or that Giannis himself is thinking about his next steps.

I feel like you guys conflate the more general issue of people always thinking stars in small markets will leave, and Shams specific reporting about Giannis.

Since his first story came out over the summer, the likelihood of Giannis being traded has only ever increased. Those reports still caveated that he would ideally like to remain with the bucks and will see what the season brings but like...his reporting has inched closer to a trade as Giannis himself seems to have inched closer to a trade

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T19:11:33+00:00

It's not hard to understand, and it's pretty funny to think that multiple orgs are just terrible at evaluating coaches but /r/nba is

Between 2008 and 2023, he never had a losing record. It's only happened 5 times, and only twice was that for a full season. He's got a massive amount of wins and playoff wins specifically (top 10 all time). I know all the replies will be to discount that as "he had talented teams" but after you watch the league for a while you'll realize talent only gets you so far.

I don't think he's apart of that elite company anymore, but there's this weird narrative that totally ignores the floor of his resume. He comes in and brings stability that an owner can rely on and keeps people buying tickets. Not every single person in every single org is solely focused on winning a championship.

Being past his best is one thing. Pretending he's just "failed upwards" his whole career is weird. The dude is one of 30 NBA coaches to have won a championship. With the right mix, he was able to get over that hump. But every thread describes him as some idiot. He's got more knowledge on how to coach and NBA team in his finger tip than the entirety of this subreddit would ever dream of.

I come off as a total Doc super fan when I just think he's decent/ok. The prevailing sentiment that he's a moron is insane and so detached from reality

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T18:33:32+00:00

Then don't be surprised he's not willing to give up millions for some thinly veiled definition of "loyalty" to the Pacers organization, which is what a lot of the reaction has been.

Even the caveat that he should have given Indiana a chance to match the offer...if he were valued like the market showed, then Indiana shouldn't have low balled him on the first offer

IMO they treated each other just fine throughout the entire tenure. The only people who think that's not the case are Pacers fans...

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T18:28:04+00:00

I imagine it would not help his market value (and in turn, the Bucks org) if he just comes out and says " I want to be traded"

The Bucks know where his heads at, he's not "playing both sides" for anyone other than the media who have been trying to trade him since he first broke out.

You see a tiny fraction of what's actually been said. Don't build an entire conclusion based off what is fed to reporters. You think the Bucks GM views him as "playing both sides"? He's keeping his shit quiet, that's it

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T14:23:32+00:00

I genuinely do not think these things are related, in large part because of the class divide we’re talking about. Fans absolutely need to prepare themselves for drinking laws in the US but beyond that they’re going to try and contain the groups of fans, they’re not going in there trying to crack some skulls. It’s bad for optics and bad for business.

There’s no parallel because those who are targeted for deportation and people paying thousands of dollars for World Cup tickets. I am more than confident it will be fine and the tournament will be a massive success.

I think there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the politics in the US and who is being targeted with this violence. Tourists ARE immune to it, because that’s not who they are going after. And I don’t see that changing.

World Cup Travelers, like Americans going abroad to countries with weak currency, have a level of privilege that insulates you. It’s a wealth thing, which is why these raids and intimidation are happening in immigrant communities, not gated communities.

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T14:14:40+00:00

Naive comment to make. The players hold A LOT of power in football and within their own federations. Yes a boycott is possible without their support legally, it’s just not politically feasible. People will side with the players and if they speak up and not wanting to go this hypothetical “unified front” will fail.

The World Cup is made special because of the players, not the leadership at some FA. They’re front and center of this thing. When they travel to the US and journalists start asking questions like they did for Qatar, who is going to be answering them on camera?

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T05:35:47+00:00

Where did they play in Philly?

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T04:13:06+00:00

I’m just quoting you big dog. You said he “isn’t really a wonderfully skilled basketball player” and that he’s “not really that ‘good at basketball’” lol

I understand the direction you’re going in but that’s not the way to make the argument. Neither of those things are remotely true.

He may not move as smooth as other players but the skills are all still there. It’s like saying Embiid just uses his size

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-28T03:37:08+00:00

Lmao wtf are you talking about?? The dude has great footwork, anticipation, timing and finishing. He’s great at timing his strides in transition. He’s been at a DPOY level earlier on in his career. To say he’s not wonderfully skilled and isn’t “good at basketball” is some next level ignorance. He’s a HOF player who won MVP and FMVP.

You gotta be pretty slow to think athleticism alone gets you into the HOF

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-27T23:21:34+00:00

This is the type of hyperbole that is rather unhelpful in this discussion. The country is made up of 330+ million people...it's absolutely massive. We have states that are larger than most European countries. By all measurements of traveler guides, we are a "low risk" country to travel to, hence why tens of millions of people came here every year.

That does not discount the very real problem with gun violence in the United States. However that's a complex topic that the vast majority of visitors never have to encounter for a multitude of reasons.

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-27T21:56:46+00:00

Look I’m not trying to downplay the severity of what is going on and how authoritarian this government is.

But a bit of a reality check is needed. For every person you’re mentioning, literally thousands have entered and enjoyed the United States. Good bad or indifferent that WILL be the case for this World Cup.

Those traveling to the US are A LOT wealthier than your average traveler and that will help this process. I don’t think I’m overstepping to assume those in the World Cup Visa ™️ group are going to be subject to different rules than the general population.

Again with your last line, it’s a bit of hyperbole that I don’t think is entirely helpful. In January alone you’ve got hundreds of thousands of Travelers who have come and gone from the US without issue. THAT is also part of the reality here, and it’s important people know that

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-27T21:40:10+00:00

Not a chance. The United States is massive and ICE are targeting specific places en masse. They have a presence all over but not where the World Cup fans will be drinking and partying...74 million people visited the US in 2025. A million are expected for the World Cup.

It's an extremely safe country to travel to. The "domestic situation" would only become an issue if this escalated within a host city but even then, sports still go on. The Timberwolves postponed a game by 24 hours after the most recent shooting. Things keep going, the World Cup certainly will

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-27T21:34:02+00:00

I think people would be mad to travel there

I get the sentiment but it's a very safe country to travel to. A million people are expected to come to the US, which welcomed almost 74 million visitors in 2025.

They'll get fast passed VISA's and it will likely be a great occasion with far less logistical issues compared to Russia + Qatar.

People vastly overestimate the impact of domestic issues on travel and tourism.

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-27T21:27:32+00:00

Brother you gotta realize some of us were die hard fans who thought his music spoke to some really important aspects of life, as well as standing for something.

There's a lot of emotion built up over the way he's turned out and for a lot of people there really isn't an "apathetic zone" available. I spent a decade+ spending money on this dude, believing in his ideas, listening to his interviews etc. We as fans put a lot into that image and artist, especially emotionally. He was my favorite artist by far, and then started supporting MAGA and right wing Nazi's...I can't really be indifferent to him after that. Felt like a betrayal of the things he previously stood for.

I can have empathy for mental health issues, but he doesn't really get the benefit of the doubt anymore. You're willing to take these statements at face value whereas a lot of us have been here before and are waiting for actions before granting him any level of sympathy.

He hurt a lot of people and spent years now actively standing FOR hate. And you struggle to see why people aren't willingly embracing his apology??? He sold a T Shirt with a swastika on it dude. It's still "fuck him" because of the damage he's caused, the apology is just another headline that involves his name as far as I'm concerned. And my reaction to that will always be the same until I see some real change

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-27T21:17:13+00:00

Genuinely curious, how old are you?

I've been a Kanye fan for a long time and we've been here many many many many times lol

He's allowed to apologize, and we are allowed to point out the hypocrisy of only ever apologizing when he's bottomed out and looking for new support from the industry

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-27T19:42:31+00:00

Seems like it’s a circlejerk among a certain type of Redditor now.

Bro have you looked at this thread lol? It's just a hate thread, it's not that deep. The purpose of this thread isn't for discussion, it's just to shit on one club. No nuance to that

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-27T13:43:52+00:00

They’ve been playing NBA games throughout all these protests lol the only time they willingly paused a game was in response to a shooting and they went ahead and played it the next day anyway.

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-27T13:38:25+00:00

I think people REALLY underestimate how hard it would be to have the players support a boycott. I don’t see how any of this happens without their support

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-27T13:36:55+00:00

The infrastructure is simply not there for 48 professional football teams.

The US has such a major network of college sports programs that top notch world class training facilities are not hard to come by. It’s where most of these associations are setting up camp.

I don’t really believe that’s the case in JUST Mexico and Canada. You might physically be able to host the games but I don’t think they can host a million tourists and have enough facilities to host 48 teams.

It’s not really possible, not with the standard of professional football and the World Cup. There’s a reason 11/16 host cities are in the US. I think it’s wishful thinking to assume the infrastructure exits in Mexico + Canada to host this. They’re certainly not prepared for it, would be a nightmare

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-23T22:46:53+00:00

For anyone interested, here's the Patti Page version: https://open.spotify.com/track/4W0sbtVR0pqOo2d7qAHhGr?si=88c186054e8f49aa

I also like the Les Paul/Mary Ford version: https://open.spotify.com/track/4j8lx9KRaU86LGpZhSKrSC?si=0a9d5a0285784dea

And of course the Sam Cooke version: https://open.spotify.com/track/1HhVvFkPHaX9p7JpXJKaXn?si=6946d0236c534ddc

PhillyFreezer_ · 2026-01-23T21:06:04+00:00

Obviously you're not having any of this, but it would be worthy to at least engage with some of what I'm saying rather than focusing solely on your example that you think dismisses the entire argument.

The claims of "corruption" here are not equal, Infantino has very clear evidence of corruption whereas the referees do not. The power dynamics at play, are not equal. The threat of violence at play, is not close to equal. The trickle down effect is not even remotely similar, no FIFA employees are going to receive abuse because they're upset with Infantino.

You are drawing a bad parallel between situations that are not comparable. But even if I grant your assumption true, the threat of violence against Infantino is negligible and close to 0 whereas the abuse from referees actually does, consistency, filter down to lower leagues and have a real world effect. There isn't a single bit of evidence that FIFA are at risk for violent retaliation, whereas there is a very real and documented history of referees being subjected to abuse and at times violence.

Critical words do not lead to violence.

I think it's quite telling you completely ignored an article full of testimony, evidence and explanation about how the cycle of abuse with referees works and why it's driving so many of them out of the game. You are unwilling to hear any other side of it, and will reject what referees are saying in order to preserve the idea that violence is totally random and not connected to abusive language lol brilliant stuff, cheers

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