Milwaukee Bucks superstar power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been making headlines for months as chatter builds that the nine-time All-NBA honoree could ask for a trade this offseason.
The 6-foot-11 big man, still just 30, has accomplished a lot during his 12-year tenure in Milwaukee, including bringing the small market franchise its first title in 50 years.
Now, with the club's upside murky as nine-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard looks to be sidelined for most of 2025-26 recuperating from an Achilles tendon surgery, speculation has run rampant that Antetokounmpo could demand a deal.
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) lock up during a free throw in the first half at Fiserv Forum.
Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images
ESPN's Shams Charania, now the premiere breaking news insider for the network following the departure of his mentor-turned-rival Adrian Wojnarowski, recently suggested that the two-time MVP is weighing his options.
Antetokounmpo, who may be second only to Kevin Durant as the NBA's most-hilariously online superstar, tweeted out a pointed dig, seemingly at Charania, on Wednesday.
"Does anyone else miss Woj?!" Antetokounmpo said.
It sure seemed like he was criticizing Charania's intel.
Now, Charania has clapped back.
During a morning appearance on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," Charania was shown the offending tweet.
"I think we're all good. I really believe me and Giannis ae all good. I did see that, and I'd like to say, I think we all in the industry really miss him [Wojnarowski]. I worked with him for two years, two-and-a-half years. And so I learned a lot. He was a great mentor to me... Made me better on a daily basis."
Charania and Wojnarowski were colleagues at Yahoo Sports, until Wojnarowski left for the Worldwide Leader in 2017. Charania later left for The Athletic, and eventually replaced Wojnarowski at ESPN when the latter ditched the reporting game to serve as the general manager for his alma mater, St. Bonaventure University.
"But I will say, I'll just focus on what I can control," Charania said. "At the end of the day, I very much trust my reporting. What I reported, let's give everyone a debrief: I said, during the NBA Draft Combine week, that Giannis Antetokounmpo is open to exploring his best fits outside of Milwaukee. I didn't say he had asked out."
Per Reeves Weideman of The Intelligencer, Charania and Wojnarowski's relationship soon turned adversarial, as they battled each other to be the first to break NBA stories. Wojnarowski appeared to foster a relationship with league front offices, while Charania's focus was on connections to players and agents.
"And I 1000 percent stand by that reporting," Charania added. "That week, there were a lot of conversations, I'll just put it like that, in Chicago about his future with him [and] his representatives."