Picture this: You’re the star of the show. Your city loves you to the point they have your posters on their bedroom walls. After all, you brought in your team’s first championship in decades. No matter where Giannis Antetokounmpo goes, he’ll be a legend in Milwaukee forever. So the trade speculation must be like a slow twist of the knife for all Brew City residents. Suddenly, their knight in shining armor is looking for a way out. But they got nothing to worry about – well, at least for the time being. Why? Home is where the heart is, and his heart is in Milwaukee.

There’s two aspects to this conversation – Giannis’ loyalty and his family. Let’s start with what’s more important. A star of his stature will only bring be noticed on the streets. He probably won’t even get room to breathe. But that’s not been the case for a while. The Greek and his family are all too comfortable in Wisconsin, where they can move about freely without the worry of eyes on them the entire time. Plus, it’s still in the East, so it fits Giannis’ needs as well.

“I was watching the video of when he, right before he signed his contract extension, and it seems like he’s very good with being in Milwaukee. Like, the people don’t bother him when he’s in public, which seems to be a very important thing for Giannis, just respecting his privacy. His kids are settled. He’s good. He said he can move around the city. He’s very comfortable,” said Dan Titus to Yahoo! Sports.

But the bigger factor in this is his loyalty. In fact, that loyalty reminds some people of a certain Kobe Bryant with how deep it resonates. You gotta respect it though – a man’s nothing if not loyal. “And honestly, I feel like his loyalty is an underrated factor. Like I feel like he has that like Kobe like loyalty in him where it’s like, he’s not just going to go around and bounce around just to win a championship. Like that’s not how he’s built. That hasn’t been the energy that he’s portrayed or exuded for much of his career,” said Titus after.

But well, loyalty has a price. And that usually comes hand-in-hand with success. Sure, the Bucks won the 2021 championship when Giannis Antetokounmpo was the undisputed Finals MVP, off the back of back-to-back season MVPs. But what happened after? Three straight first-round exits in a row? There’s only so long that loyalty can last. And the Bucks have to make sure they prove to Giannis why they’re the best-suited outfit for his future.

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You can’t really imagine either without the other. It’s like a match made in heaven. But both sides have to keep up the good work for the marriage to work. If Giannis is the only one doing his job, it’s just a matter of time before it all goes to the gutter. The Bucks have 3 player options, 5 UFAs, and 1 RFA in Ryan Rollins. They need to rally the troops before showing the Greek what the short-term future looks like for him to stay. And it won’t be easy.

“The only problem is that they don’t have draft picks in order to like help in the short term if that happens, if you’re bad luck next year. The other thing is they have quite a few people on their squad that have like light player options. there is a good chance there’s a good amount of people on the squad can opt out. They just have to convince Giannis that, yo, we got players on our board that we think in the short term can help keep this team afloat and keep our floor high,” said Titus.

Giannis Antetokounmpo staying put in Milwaukee seems to be the status quo now. Slowly but surely, the trade rumors are going away and the reasons to stay are heating up. But we won’t know anything until his sit-down with the Bucks at the end of the season.