With speculation about a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade out of Milwaukee occurring daily, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers recently shared his brutally honest response to the situation involving the NBA superstar.
Rivers has coached Giannis since 2024, and it has been a challenging run for the coach and his franchise player. In the 2025 postseason, the Bucks were without All-Star guard Damian Lillard due to a grueling injury.
Due to his talents and popularity, rumors suggested many NBA teams were interested in adding Giannis to their roster, including the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks.
In particular, reports previously suggested that Giannis was open to a trade this offseason and had an interest in joining the Knicks. However, there were also reports that he and the Bucks got on the same page and wanted to make things work for him with the team.
When asked about the numerous trade rumors, Rivers seemed frustrated by the continuing reports that Giannis would be dealt to another team and not stay in Milwaukee.
Rivers basically shut down the rumors, suggesting there weren’t any new stories regarding a Giannis trade, because the team’s general manager has yet to contact other teams about him.
“I can tell you Jon [Horst] has never called a team about Giannis. That has never happened. And until that happens, you really don’t have a story,” Rivers told reporters, per The Athletic’s Eric Nehm.
"You know, I read where it said several conversations, well, that never happened. It was a conversation where a team called, and Jon has been saying no now for 11 years. I don't know why this is a new story, but I guess it is," Rivers said.
NBA insider Shams Charania indicated in a recent ESPN segment that the New York Knicks have emerged as Giannis’s frontrunner for a new team to join.
In the segment, Charania suggested that, based on what he knew, the “Knicks didn’t offer a deal strong enough to continue these conversations,” but the Knicks felt that the Bucks “never seriously considered” trading their superstar away this summer.
Based on Charania’s additional comments, Giannis and the Bucks are still interested in trying to win with him in Milwaukee. It seems that Doc Rivers is also committed to that and has grown tired of hearing about the constant rumors surrounding the superstar player’s potential trade.
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