Giannis Antetokounmpo's likely suitors narrowed to Thunder and two dark horse candidates as per NBA executive

Giannis Antetokounmpo shook things up a few days ago when he said that he would leave the Milwaukee Bucks if the franchise wasn't in a winning mode.

Speaking with the New York Times, the "Greek Freak" said that what matters to him the most is to see that everyone in the organization is willing to sacrifice and win championships. If they are not on the same page with him, he would consider leaving the Bucks, even though he still has three years left on his current deal.

Following this comment, a few NBA franchises emerged as suitors in that scenario.

NBA insider Marc Stein named the LA Lakers and the New York Knicks as potential suitors, but both franchises don't have the picks and young players to send to Milwaukee as part of the trade.

The other option would be to trade their superstars instead, like Jalen Brunson and Anthony Davis or LeBron James, but this is not a likely scenario.

According to an NBA executive, three teams can emerge as favorites to land the "Greek Freak" either as a free agent or via a trade.

These teams are the OKC Thunder, Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder have a super talented young core in Josh Giddey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren and a handful of draft picks that could convince the Bucks to force a trade.

Meanwhile, the Raptors have young star players like Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Scottie Barnes that could be used as trade assets, while the Spurs could pursue pairing Giannis Antetokounmpo with No.1 pick Victor Wembanyama.

Most importantly, they are small markets in which Giannis Antetokounmpo would be much more willing to play compared to big cities, like Los Angeles and New York.

Giannis Antetokounmpo willing to leave the Bucks if the franchise loses its winning mentality

Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't mince his words when talking about his status with the Bucks. Coming off back-to-back disappointing playoff campaigns (2022, 2023), the "Greek Freak" wants to win now and is willing to leave the team if they are on the same page.

"Next summer it (extension) would make more sense for both parties. Even then, I don't know. I would not be the best version of myself if I don't know that everybody's on the same page, everybody's going for a championship, everybody's going to sacrifice time away from their family like I do. And if I don't feel that, I'm not signing (an extension)," Antetokounmpo said.

"At the end of the day, I feel like all my teammates know and the organization knows that I want to win a championship. As long as we're on the same page with that and you show me and we go together to win a championship, I'm all for it.

"The moment I feel like, 'Oh, yeah, we're trying to rebuild' ... there will never be hard feelings with the Milwaukee Bucks. Being a winner, it's over that goal. Winning a championship comes first. I don't want to be 20 years on the same team and don't win another championship."

With its core staying together and Adrian Griffin as the new coach, Milwaukee should be in a position to challenge for the title right away. But all in the franchise will be under pressure, as a third straight failure would bring Giannis Antetokounmpo closer to leaving the squad.

The "Greek Freak" still has three years left on his current deal, with the final one being a player option, worth $51.6 million. Thus, we should focus on the summer of 2025 and the possibility of Giannis Antetokounmpo hitting free agency, unless Milwaukee forces a trade within the next couple of seasons.