SWIFT TRAINS traversing the Brightline terminal in West Palm Beach move both northbound and southbound, connecting Orlando and Miami. Their passage generates a tremor that reverberates through the second-floor conference room.
At this pivotal junction in South Florida, the two individuals holding ultimate authority concerning one of the NBA’s most significant narratives have convened. Their purpose: to deliberate the trajectory of their franchise’s cornerstone, the renowned superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Wes Edens and Jimmy Haslam, joint proprietors of the Milwaukee Bucks, informed ESPN during a collective 90-minute interview that they will jointly determine the course of action regarding their two-time MVP. The most crucial determinant, they stated, rests on whether Antetokounmpo commits to the four-year, $275 million extension he is qualified for on October 1.
“Giannis is entering the final year [of his contract],” Edens, the team’s primary owner until April 2028, stated. “Consequently, one of two outcomes is certain: He will either be re-signed or he will be dealt.”
“The prospect of simply allowing him to complete the final year of his deal is something we cannot countenance. Such a scenario is not aligned with what benefits the franchise. This isn’t solely a Giannis matter; it pertains to any player nearing the end of their contract.”
Nevertheless, team sources, competing executives, and league insiders challenge whether the situation is truly that straightforward. Discussions with over a dozen individuals familiar with the circumstances indicate that what’s unfolding in Milwaukee transcends a standard NBA franchise’s challenge in sustaining a competitive lineup: A distinctive proprietary arrangement has rendered it arduous for opposing franchises to ascertain who is genuinely directing the organization.
“This is unrelated to Giannis and whether he requests a departure,” stated one source familiar with the team’s workings. “It concerns who is determining the choice to potentially deal Giannis, and I frankly don’t believe anyone is certain of that. I interact with them constantly, and honestly, it varies daily.
“They are far from poised to reach a conclusion of that magnitude.”
FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD, ANTETOKOUNMPO HAS openly declared his desire to remain in Milwaukee, contingent solely on the team being title-contending. Virtually every NBA franchise is anticipating his determination of when these variables become irreconcilable.
They are virtually eliminated from playoff contention completely this season, following three consecutive first-round playoff eliminations.
It’s an astute enough strategy, and sufficiently alluring, that his future perpetually stands as one of basketball’s most captivating conjectures.
“It’s no coincidence that franchises such as the Lakers, Clippers, Heat, and Warriors have all positioned themselves to possess salary cap flexibility in 2027, when Giannis becomes an unrestricted agent,” an NBA executive informed ESPN. “A talent like Giannis can truly alter the league’s hierarchy for years ahead.
“What remains uncertain, however, is whether they will genuinely deal him before he reaches unrestricted free agency — and the process by which they will reach that determination.”
For almost five years, the NBA has scrutinized Antetokounmpo’s statements, seeking any indication he would openly request what ESPN’s Shams Charania has frequently disclosed: that the 10-time All-Star has confidentially advised the Bucks for months that he feels it’s time to separate after over a dozen years together.
It was the paramount issue of this winter’s trade deadline, as the Bucks unprecedentedly considered substantial proposals for their 31-year-old superstar. And it will persist into this summer break, given the Bucks have stayed in the 11th position in the East notwithstanding Antetokounmpo’s comeback on March 2 from a calf ailment that sidelined him for 15 games. Furthermore, contention now exists over whether to sideline Antetokounmpo for the duration of the season after his most recent injury.
“Currently, I am a Milwaukee Buck, and I am dedicated to that,” Antetokounmpo stated in mid-February. “Now, should circumstances evolve and shift in the time to come? I am powerless over such change.”
Edens’ declaration — that he either signs or departs — however, implies the opposite: that the decision rests solely with Antetokounmpo.
In the interim, the team will be compelled to address its franchise player’s ultimatum: Construct a roster meriting my continued presence, or secure my transfer to a new destination.
THE UNCERTAINTY REGARDING decision-making in Milwaukee stems from the fact that the Bucks operate under one of the most uncommon proprietary models in professional sports. Every five years, the controlling governorship alternates among partners.
This framework, in prior times, fostered internal disarray and conflicting objectives among the stakeholders, and such issues might recur.
For the upcoming two years, Edens serves as the primary stakeholder. Subsequently, Haslam, who possesses the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and MLS’ Columbus Crew, will take on the primary role. All significant determinations necessitate agreement between the two alternating primary stakeholders and the third-biggest equity holder, entrepreneur Jamie Dinan.
Edens and Haslam informed ESPN that this arrangement has functioned effectively since Haslam acquired a 25% share in the team from Marc Lasry in 2023.
“The partnership with Jimmy is exceptionally beneficial,” Edens remarked. “And that’s exceedingly crucial because… the probability suggests, considering the recent season and the challenges ahead, that we must make some difficult choices. It would be advantageous to make such choices with a truly congenial and reliable partner.”
As Edens’ tenure as primary owner nears its end, however, there are compelling signs that Haslam’s influence within the organization is expanding.
In late January, the Bucks declared that president Peter Feigin would be stepping down from his role after 12 years, ceding control to Josh Glessing, who is employed by the Haslam Sports Group and formerly managed the Crew.
Reportedly, it was a smooth transition of authority. Yet for Milwaukee residents, the decision to substitute Feigin, 56, an esteemed personality who was presented with a key to the city by Mayor Cavalier Johnson on January 29, signaled a significant redistribution of influence from Edens to Haslam.
“As more time passes, Jimmy’s authority will increase,” stated the source familiar with the team. “And ultimately, it’s going to be his regardless, so he won’t permit the individual relinquishing primary control to ultimately determine the outcome.”
Those who have engaged commercially with the Bucks, including teams that made inquiries regarding Antetokounmpo before the trade deadline, informed the sports network that Haslam played a greater role in decisions than he did previously. One team owner even held explicit discussions with Haslam instead of Edens about a prospective transaction for Antetokounmpo, according to numerous informants aware of the talks who spoke to ESPN.
“We primarily interacted with [GM Jon] Horst,” an executive from one of the teams that intensely negotiated with the Bucks informed ESPN. “But our perception was that Jimmy was truly the individual who would determine this matter.”
An executive with another team that participated in discussions for Antetokounmpo commented, “There were evidently several
owners there, but one got the distinct impression that privately, Jimmy was orchestrating more of that train.”
To the executives from that second team, it was evident that the Bucks were unwilling to part with Antetokounmpo during the season.
“Undoubtedly, they didn’t want to move him,” the official stated. “Because it never arrived at a juncture, in any of our negotiations with them, where they said, ‘We will do it if you do X.'”
Numerous informants throughout the association indicated the Bucks’ asking price was colossal, with an executive from a third team characterizing the Bucks’ approach as “assessing the market” and their price as “all our draft picks and promising young players.”
The Golden State Warriors’ bid encompassed four unprotected first-round selections in an effort to acquire Antetokounmpo, sources revealed, but never seemed to gather much traction on a transaction.
The athletes the Bucks did appear keen on were youthful foundational talents such as VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers or Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers, informants noted.
Edens and Haslam vehemently deny the impression that there is any misunderstanding or estrangement between them, emphasizing that they conversed daily about the situation with Antetokounmpo and other team affairs and have consistently managed to achieve accord.
“It was exceedingly straightforward because we were entirely united on this whole matter,” Edens explained. “If we’re going to undertake anything, it’s a weighty decision, so we’re going to approach it with gravity. And we endeavor to obtain the optimal advice we can on the player side from Jon Horst.”
Still, uncertainties persist among other NBA proprietors and Bucks subordinate equity holders who spoke to ESPN due to how the previous collaboration between Edens and Lasry fractured.
THE INITIAL PROPRIETARY arrangement was established when Edens, Dinan and Lasry acquired the team for $550 million in 2014. It functioned effectively for the first few years in which Edens held the majority interest but began to unravel in 2017 when Edens and Lasry differed regarding who should replace John Hammond as general manager.
Ultimately, Edens elevated Horst to the position after an external search had centered on two other finalists, then-assistant GM Justin Zanik and Arturas Karnisovas, who was eventually promoted by the Denver Nuggets (and is now GM of the Chicago Bulls.)
The collaboration between Edens and Lasry fragmented after that, internal informants said, but remained unified through the NBA championship season in 2021 and until Lasry divested his holdings in the team to Haslam in 2023.
There was an opportunity to conclude the peculiar configuration of shifting control when Lasry sold, sources indicated. Lasry presented Edens with the option to buy his shares, but Edens chose not to follow through. Eventually, one of Edens’ chief deputies, Sarah Watterson, liaised with Glessing, one of Haslam’s chief deputies, and the transaction was finalized in April of 2023. Lasry departed with one year remaining on his five-year term as governor.
“I knew their rapport was poor,” one team insider said. “But I hadn’t grasped the extent of the severity until I saw them at Giannis’ wedding [in 2024] and they avoided proximity.”
While the partnership between Haslam and Edens appears to be more robust, the intricate proprietary framework — and possibility of comparable disagreement — remains.
THUS FAR, THE most significant actions the current collaboration has made together both involved daring strategies surrounding Damian Lillard. In September 2023, the Bucks exchanged Jrue Holiday, a pivotal member on their championship-claiming squad, for Lillard in an effort to prolong their title opportunity with Antetokounmpo.
While lauded for its audacity and promise at the time, not only did it fail to materialize as intended, it depleted the squad’s resources as the urgency grew for victory with Antetokounmpo at the height of his career. To exacerbate the misfortune, Holiday ended up winning a title with the Bucks’ Eastern Conference rival, the Boston Celtics, the subsequent season.
Thereafter, sources told ESPN that Antetokounmpo disclosed to Holiday how much he and the Bucks yearned for Holiday’s defense and leadership.
After Lillard ruptured his Achilles tendon last April, Milwaukee intensified the original outlay, extending the two years, $113 million left on Lillard’s contract this past summer, to sign free agent center Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million deal. That essentially implied the Bucks would bear $22.5 million in inactive salary on their books for the next five years — an additional obligation they deemed acceptable to incur if it rescued the opportunity for victory with Antetokounmpo.
“Once we conversed with Giannis in June and he reconfirmed he wanted to be here, we commenced constructing the team around him,” Edens said at Bucks media day in September. “Instead of it being a $120 million decision, it’s more of a $60 million decision. That’s nevertheless a significant sum, but you extend that over five years and kind of divide by five, it’s a much more manageable figure.
“So while it seems like an immense figure, we’d essentially expended the funds. You’re dedicated to it and you have an athlete of Damian’s quality who’s not going to play, that leaves a considerable void. So it may seem like a very resolute action and it is committed, but it’s also a very logical approach and we deliberated extensively obviously.”
Those who’ve observed Edens’ entrepreneurial path highlight that he’s amassed wealth in comparable situations.
Subsequent to the 2008 economic downturn, Edens and Fortress Investment Group generated billions buying troubled high-risk home loans and retaining them for sufficient duration for the real estate sector to recover, enduring an unduly extended period in which Fortress’ share value fell under $1.
In 2015, The Wall Street Journal proclaimed him as “The New King of Subprime Lending” as his $124 million wager transformed into $3.5 billion. In that article, Edens depicted the revitalization of Springleaf Holdings, Inc., a company that focused on private credit for high-risk borrowers “the most significant success” of his career.
On Tuesday, Edens’ company New Fortress Energy, with a market cap of $261 million, declared an agreement with its lenders to reorganize approximately $5.7 billion in debt in order to enable its ongoing functioning after the company witnessed its stock value plunge nearly 99% in a year and was subjected to substantial solvency reductions last fall.
New Fortress Energy is a natural gas liquefaction enterprise Edens has possessed since 2014. Its share price has collapsed due to building postponements, legislative obstacles and a cash flow crunch from a high of $63.06 on Aug. 25, 2022, to $0.87 on Thursday, leading to Edens losing billions in investor equity.
Forbes calculates that Edens’ personal fortune has decreased by 40%, from $4.3 billion in 2023 to $2.5 billion in 2025.
REINTEGRATING ANTETOKOUNMPO and affording the Bucks a fresh opportunity for championship pursuit might just be considered a more significant resurgence.
Thus far, the Bucks’ strategy of cutting and deferring Lillard in order to sign Turner has proved counterproductive. Antetokounmpo has been sidelined for 32 games with sundry ailments, Turner has failed to make a significant impression, and the Bucks have contended with a lack of steadiness. After a season like this, multiple league executives argued that the Bucks’ optimal approach would be to trade Antetokounmpo for a bounty of selection rights and robust youthful athletes rather than intensifying commitment to this season’s unsuccessful endeavor and offering him a colossal contract renewal.
“He’s still a transformative player, but he’s 31 with a record of lower limb ailments,” a rival executive said. “And now you’d essentially be acquiring a guy on a contract nearing its end, so I’m uncertain if the proposals they’ll get this summer are going to be superior to what they previously received.”
But by retaining Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline, the Bucks have, once again, gained themselves a reprieve to reorganize and maybe even mend the rapport with their team legend.
Rather than seeking to deal Antetokounmpo this summer, the Bucks could try to obtain fresh talents — most likely other teams’ undervalued resources — with the aim of persuading Antetokounmpo to ink the contract renewal they can offer him in October.
“There’s still an alternative strategy,” said one insider with team ties. “Put a top-tier agreement prolongation in front of Giannis — and challenge him to reject it.”