There were plenty of reasons why things went south between Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Both parties have reason to be upset about how things played out, despite each moving on to situations that could be better for them in the long run. But the emotional wreckage left to sort through after the league-shattering trade is still being processed by both sides, and it exposed a sad underbelly of the NBA that's keeping small-market teams from keeping their stars: the second apron.
But before we get to that, let's address the elephant in the room. The second apron isn't the biggest culprit as to why the Bucks had to trade Giannis, although it is the runner-up. However, both parties would probably agree behind closed doors that it was the injuries. Through ups and downs in the regular season, everyone felt like they could pull off another miracle run if health wasn't a factor. But between Giannis' persistent lower-body injuries, Damian Lillard tearing his Achilles tendon, and several other impactful injuries along the way, it became insurmountable.
With that said, the looming threat of the second apron forced the Bucks to make a few decisions for the sake of saving money, more so than the sanctity of the team. There would be no Kyle Kuzma/Khris Middleton swap had the Second Apron not forced it upon them, and that before even mentioning the super max contract value that Giannis seeks.
The NBA has a serious problem on its hands that's forcing teams to trade star players well before they should, and the Giannis trade was just another bullet point under the 'supporting' column.
The Bucks never would've lost Giannis under a better supermax system.
If there were a system in which the Bucks could pay Giannis Antetokounmpo his supermax contract, worth 35% of the salary cap, without it destroying their ability to build a contending team, he'd still be on the roster. Paying Giannis his money was never the problem for the Bucks — it was finding creative ways to build a title contender while he takes up more than a third of their money.
If the league had provisions that allowed teams to pay their homegrown talent these hard-earned contracts without it counting the full amount toward the salary cap, smaller-market teams like the Milwaukee Bucks could afford to keep their star player and his supporting cast without leveraging everything to do it.
We're seeing similar situations throughout the NBA, where a proven champion like Jaylen Brown could get dumped because he's making too much money for a team that he earned a Finals MVP trophy for. Or maybe the Charlotte Hornets would be more inclined to keep building around their former No. 3 pick in LaMelo Ball without feeling like keeping and paying him would ruin their chances of staying under the Second Apron in the long run.
It's a problem that just struck the Milwaukee Bucks, but will eventually creep into every locker room in the league over time. This isn't baseball, where large markets can spend as much as they want and foot a hefty tax bill in return. Entering the second apron makes it nearly impossible for teams to build or maintain contending rosters without making wholesale changes that oftentimes force star players off the teams that drafted them.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has his hands full with some other issues right now, but when he finally gets past some of these issues, it's time for him to tackle the elephant in the room, and that's the salary cap and contract structure that's killing NBA teams' dreams of keeping their stars for the long haul.
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