Ex-Jazz fan favorite all but confirms where it all went wrong between Giannis & Bucks

It's pretty much confirmed that the Giannis Antetokounmpo era is over in Milwaukee. Odds are that the two-time MVP won't join the Utah Jazz, but a Giannis trade could shake up the entire NBA. Until a trade happens, many will wonder how we reached this point.

Jazz alum Jae Crowder, who played with Giannis on the Bucks for a season and a half, believes there was an exact moment in time that kick-started the downfall of the Giannis era in Milwaukee: replacing Adrian Griffin with Doc Rivers. Crowder made that very clear in a Crowder-like fashion on X.

Crowder made it very clear that, despite what some footage from around that time period may say, neither he nor his then-Bucks teammates agreed with the decision.

(Some context for those who don't remember: Bucks released this video after the Bucks fired Griffin)

There is some legitimacy to what Crowder is saying here, as the Bucks finished with a record of 49-33 that season. However, looking at their schedule before the shift, their hot start may have been more attributed to having a lot of easy games early on. Plus, Giannis went down days before the postseason was about to start, effectively sealing their fate regardless of how they finished.

The Bucks had problems before the Griffin move

Crowder, who doesn't have the best track record of making smart choices, isn't necessarily wrong about how this was a turn for the worse for the Bucks. However, the red flags were there even before they fired Griffin.

They got straight-up embarrassed by Miami the year before in the first round of the playoffs, no less. They then swung for the fences on Damian Lillard to rectify the issue, but it was clear their problems ran so deep that he would not fix them on his own.

They also let Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton age out with no adequate plans to replace them, along with making trades that either backfired drastically, like dumping Donte DiVincenzo, or did absolutely nothing, like trading for Crowder. Just horrible asset management after winning the title.

They let sentiment interfere with keeping the team afloat (a mistake Danny Ainge does not make). It hurts to cut ties with players that helped you win a title, but when it's clear those players are not what they used to be, trading them is the most logical decision.

Of course, Crowder was there when many of Milwaukee's problems were taking place, so he definitely got an inside look on what was going wrong. It sounds like he disagreed with the decision to fire Griffin, and his Bucks teammates did too.

Regardless of who's to blame or what went wrong, the Bucks are in an unwinnable situation with Antetokounmpo. Right or wrong, Crowder has every right to call it how it is.