One of the first reports that was sought and came out of the news that Damian Lillard was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks was whether Giannis Antetokounmpo was informed about or if he had a say before it was finalized.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, Damian Lillard
Mar 4, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and guard Damian Lillard (0) react after defeating the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
This is natural. The two-time MVP is their superstar and they are trying to keep competitive with him being an MVP contender and continuing to produce astronomical numbers.
Reporter Ramona Shelbourne said Antetokounmpo is aware of Myles Turner news but did not indicate whether he knew that it entailed letting Lillard go.
“They did inform Giannis Antetokounmpo they were doing this,” said Shelburne on NBA Today.
“This was a conversation with Jon Horst. Did they tell him they were waiving Damian Lillard in order to facilitate this? I don’t know the answer to that. But he did know about Myles Turner, and I think he was excited about Myles Turner because he knows how good he is.”
Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
Mar 18, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (right) chats up Golden State Warriors assistant coach Ron Adams before a game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
This news came to Lillad’s X feed and he has an interesting (more of mysterious) reaction.
pic.twitter.com/QKtvshkECe
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) July 2, 2025
Giannis Antetokounmpo tried to dictate trade once
The Greek Freak has said a lot of times that he only needs to do is perform his job and he is letting the front office and the coaching staff do their job.
He said this when asked the trades. He said this, too, when asked in 2023 why did he not volunteer to guard Jimmy Butler during the playoffs where they were eliminated in the first round as an eighth seed.
Antetokounmpo is leaving all the off court decisions to the management but there was one time that he tried to stop a trade according to former teammate John Henson. This trade involved Jimmy Butler and was about to happen before the Bucks became a contender.
John Henson, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Dec 2, 2017; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) reacts with forward John Henson (31) after scoring a basket in the first quarter during the game against the Sacramento Kings at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
“Specifically, there was a trade, talk about a long time ago, Khris Middleton for Jimmy Butler swap,” Henson said in appearance at the SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“Giannis was like, ‘Nah, we’re not doing that.’ So, that was the only time I ever see him stand up and say something. Something’s wrong, he will say something. But for the most part, he lets the front office do its thing.”
Henson suggested that Antetokounmpo went being laid back after that. He failed to stop the Middleton trade to Washington Wizards mid-season.
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