The Milwaukee Bucks have a huge decision to make this offseason and whatever they choose will change the direction of their organization for possibly the next decade.

That decision in question is whether or not they'll commit to trading away Giannis Antetokounmpo after months of drama centered around the franchise star's alleged unhappiness with the team and his desire to play for a contender sooner rather than later.

While the tension in Milwaukee didn't culminate in a trade at this past season's deadline, that didn't put to bed any of the rumors or the discontent that has fueled the speculation that Antetokounmpo will start the season somewhere else for the first time in his career. 

The Bucks have seemingly confirmed that this will be an option and that they will be taking calls on Antetokounmpo this offseason and if they do follow through on trading him away, it will effectively end the Bucks' chances at contending for a championship in the near future, but it could also secure their future as well.

As it stands, the Bucks already had their worst regular season finish in a decade and missed the playoffs for the first time in that span as well, and that was with Antetokounmpo on the team.

Granted, he played a career-low 36 games due to injuries, but when he was on the court he still effective. 

As it stands, the Bucks' roster is simply not set up for regular season success, let alone playoff success. It's also a roster that revolves around Antetokounmpo and seemed genuinely lost when he off the court, one of his points of frustration with the team. 

Removing Antetokounmpo from the equation altogether would only magnify that problem and all but guarantee would be stuck near the bottom of the Eastern Conference for some time. 

While the Bucks may be putting themselves out of playoff contention for years by parting ways with Antetokounmpo, the potential gains of the future may be worth that.

Trading Antetokounmpo means that the Bucks are clearly committing to a rebuild and the potential haul that they can receive for Antetokounmpo will jump start that rebuild. 

Pairing a potential haul with both Ryan Rollins, an emerging talent, and their 10th-overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft sets the Bucks up to be a talented young team that, if Taylor Jenkins' tenure as Milwaukee head coach is successful, can develop into a solid team even without Antetokounmpo. 

Should they rebuild and that rebuild go well, then the Bucks could make up for their lost playoff years with a newly developed team, especially if they commit to the rebuild even further and sell off the rest of the veterans on the team.

Trading Antetokounmpo will close the Bucks' playoff window with a thud, but that might be okay.