Bucks just handed the Spurs the Giannis Antetokounmpo gift they dreamed of

If you watched the end of game five of the Milwaukee Bucks/Indiana Pacers series, you likely still can't believe it ended that way. Up seven points with 40 seconds left in the game, you expect to win. As a matter of fact, there has never been a team that lost in that scenario in the history of the playoffs prior to last night's debacle. It leaves you wondering about the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Two years ago, Giannis was clear about how much winning means to him. To ensure he wasn't misquoted, he went on a podcast called "48 minutes," hosted by one of his former coaches, and said, "I want to be a winner. Contracts, fame, status, and comfort zone do not matter to me. What matters at the end of the day is that thing right there." He was talking about the NBA's trophy.

Giannis wants to win and the Spurs are ready to compete

Giannis is one of the fiercest competitors in the league. He's one of the few players whose effort you can somewhat tell just by looking at the numbers because they're so ridiculous. In a game that led to their elimination, the Greek Freak went out with a bang, putting up 30 points, 20 rebounds, 13 assists, two steals, and two blocks.

Now that they've been knocked out of the postseason early again, everyone is wondering what's next for the Bucks' franchise player. Milwaukee has lost in the first round of the playoffs for three straight seasons. They haven't recovered since firing Mike Budenholzer, who led them to the franchise's first championship since Kareem Abdul Jabbar was Lew Alcindor in 1971.

Their franchise finds itself in a precarious situation now. Giannis only has two guaranteed years left on his deal. If he's not happy, he can begin pressing the issue for a trade, but like De'Aaron Fox, he could assert influence over his destination. Teams would be hesitant to give up the haul a trade for the former MVP would require without a handshake agreement for an extension from Giannis.

If Kevin O'Connor is right about Milwaukee's potential position, it makes a trade to San Antonio more difficult, not easier. The Spurs have a bunch of picks, but not from teams guaranteed to be awful right now.

Their picks won't be worth much because the winning is about to start, Atlanta is already better than we hoped, and it happened much faster than we thought. They'll potentially get a draft pick from Sacramento depending on how the draft lottery goes, and with the free agent class out there, the Hawks have several avenues they can use to upgrade their roster.

San Antonio has a pick swap from Boston in a few years (2028), and another one from either Dallas or Minnesota in 2030. So, their first-round picks won't be the most coveted assets on the market. But that's why GMs are in the positions that they are. If Giannis is available this summer, Brian Wright has to make a call to see what it would take to get him to Alamo City.

If they need to involve another team or two, so be it. He would be the better option for the Spurs over Kevin Durant or anybody else on the market, and Milwaukee's epic collapse against the Pacers makes this all possible.