The 2024/25 season isn’t over yet. But fans and NBA teams alike are already looking towards the upcoming season for a number of reasons. Among them is Giannis Antetokounmpo’s fate. Where will he end up this summer? Well, things have seemingly stalled in this trade as revealed by an ESPN insider, even though there’s already a frontrunner for his signature. But issues with finances could be why this trade is in the doldrums.

This year, the Milwaukee Bucks exited the NBA Playoffs in the first round for the 3rd year in a row. Everyone expected Giannis to be done with the Bucks because of this. After all, they haven’t made a deep playoff run since their title win back in 2021. But ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revealed that even after all this, the Greek Freak hasn’t asked the Bucks to move him yet.

“I don’t think you’ll see a significant big move with a star player until there’s clarity on what happens with Giannis. And nor should there be because this could go a lot of different ways…I don’t think that Giannis has a 100% said, ‘I’m out of Milwaukee’ yet. I think that would be a mistake to assume that. Do I think that there’s a growing possibility that he’s gonna want out? I do,” said Brian Windhorst.

So it seems that Giannis hasn’t yet asked the Bucks for a move. And that could potentially deter a lot of teams’ interest in him. After all, they can’t simply wait around for him and risk not improving their roster if he decides to stay in Wisconsin. But Windy did reveal that one franchise was still ahead of others in potentially getting the Greek Freak’s signature — the San Antonio Spurs.

“The team that stands out with a bright, fresh flashing light is San Antonio, because San Antonio has a couple of things that are very possible for a Giannis trade,” said Windy. But if that IS the case, what’s the holdup? Well, it’s got to do with the new CBA and the Spurs possibly not qualifying for an exception under it.

Spurs need to make a major decision if they want to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo

Let’s get right to it. Per Dusty Garza, only six NBA teams might have access to the full $14.1M non-taxpayer midlevel exception this offseason. These teams are the Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, and Atlanta Hawks. Further, there’s a caveat for the final team, the Spurs, unlike the rest of this list.

De’Aaron Fox, who joined the Spurs this season, has an expiring contract. Now, the Spurs have a decision to make. They can either extend Fox’s contract and lose access to the full $14.1 million taxpayer mid-level exception, or they can make some moves and/or cuts to make sure they are in a position to use it.  But herein lies another problem.

Without knowing whether Giannis Antetokounmpo wants out, they can’t really pull the trigger on either move. It could pan out in such a way that the Spurs extend Fox, and then Giannis decides to leave Milwaukee. In this scenario, the Spurs might lose their opportunity to trade for him as they scramble to facilitate his trade by making cuts to their roster. Or, they may make those cuts or moves anyway without waiting for the Greek Freak.

If he decides to stay in Milwaukee after the Spurs make those moves, well. The Spurs will have nuked their roster for virtually nothing. You can see how neither of these options is ideal, right? So, things look quite complicated as far as the Spurs signing the Greek Freak goes. Guess we might not be getting that Giannis-Wemby team-up after all.