Amid swirling speculation about his future with the Milwaukee Bucks, star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo set the record straight regarding trade talks with the organization. The two-time MVP stressed that he remains committed to the team and that he personally hasn’t requested a trade out of Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo has been sidelined since Dec. 3 due to a calf strain.
"If my agent is talking to the Bucks about it, he's his own person. He can have any conversation he wants," Antetokounmpo said in his first public comments in a couple of weeks. "At the end of the day, I personally have not had the conversation with the Bucks. I'm still locked in, locked in on my teammates, most importantly locked in on me getting back healthy."
Antetokounmpo saying that he hasn’t talked to the Bucks but his agent might have is a matter of semantics. Obviously, Antetokounmpo’s agent isn’t going to engage the organization on potential trade talks without a green light from his client. So, if such talks are going on, Antetokounmpo is well-aware of them, and on board.
If he doesn’t want to say so publicly, that’s his prerogative, but don’t be fooled by his phrasing. He’s not some uninvolved third-party. This particular approach from Antetokounmpo recently drew criticism from NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins, who called the Bucks forward a “coward” for hiding behind his agent and anonymous reports.
“Giannis is a coward. Giannis is a coward,” Perkins said. “Let’s just call a spade a spade. … And I say that respectfully, because he don’t want to be there [Milwaukee]. … Instead of him just coming out and saying ‘trade me, trade me, trade me.’ … Publicly come out and say, ‘trade me’ and stand on it.
"Once it comes out and they ask you the question, say ‘yes, my time is up,’ because I’m tired of it, bro.”
This story will be updated.