Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam was at the Cleveland Browns’ training camp on Friday, but even in an NFL setting, he couldn’t escape questions about the decision to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami, Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes in a subscriber-only piece.

The Haslam Sports Group has owned the Browns since 2012 and purchased a 25% stake in the NBA team three years ago. Haslam has been involved in major trades with both franchises this summer, sending star pass rusher Myles Garrett to the Rams on June 1 and then dealing Antetokounmpo to the Heat three weeks later.

“So, my dad (Jim) is 95 ½, but he still follows every sports move we make, and he called me up after we traded Giannis,” Haslam told reporters. “He goes, ‘do you know that in the last month you’ve traded Myles Garrett and Giannis?’ And I said yes, sir, I know that.”

While it’s always difficult to part with a franchise cornerstone, Haslam explained that the return from Miami provided what the team was seeking it its efforts to start building for the future. The Bucks received Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, 2026 first-round pick Nate Ament, unprotected first-round selections in 2031 and 2033, a first-round pick swap in 2030 and a second-round choice in 2033.

“Listen, it’s all about what you get, OK?” Haslam said. “And Giannis is a generational player, won a championship, but we felt the need to get younger. He was the best asset we had. We had mortgaged our future going forward (with trades for Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard) and I think we got four really good players and we got two draft picks; No. 1 draft picks, a couple swaps and a second. Time will tell. We’ve got to use those picks wisely, just like we have to do with the Myles (Garrett) trade. But, cautious optimism.”

The trade also represents a change in direction for the Bucks, who have been focused on short-term moves ever since winning the 2021 title in an effort to stay in contention and keep Antetokounmpo happy. That philosophy caught up with the team last season, resulting in a 32-50 record, the first non-playoff year since 2016 and limited hope for a quick turnaround for a franchise that was short on draft capital.

Haslam admitted that it’s somewhat scary to be entering a rebuilding phase after having a team that was one of the NBA’s best for most of the last decade, featuring Antetokounmpo as the centerpiece.

“Although, you gotta be realistic, rebuilding is no fun,” he said. “I think it’s actually harder to rebuild in the NBA than I do the NFL, but we’ll see. The Bucks are an organization which has experienced how difficult rebuilding is.”