Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA trade rumors, Giannis Bucks future, Bucks news, NBA news
Getty
Giannis Antetokounmpo directly addressed the trade rumors surrounding him and his future with the Milwaukee Bucks in a recent interview.
For the past few months, the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Milwaukee Bucks has come intomajor question, and with the 2026 NBA trade deadline less than a month away, there was previously the prevailing thought that he wouldbe moved before February 5th.
However, despitethe numerous reports and trade rumorsthat involved the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and aheap of other teams around the league, all of that might now be null and void.
According to a recent interview by Sam Amick of The Athletic with Antetokounmpo, the 2021 Finals MVP drew a line in the sand as it relates to his Bucks future and the trade rumors surrounding him.
“There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment, that I will come out and say ‘I want a trade,’” Antetokounmpo told Amick after theteam’s loss to the Warriors on Wednesday night. “That’s not … in … my … nature. OK?”
WhileAntetokounmpo’s latest commentsindicate that hehimself would never demand a trade from Milwaukee, Shams Charania of ESPN has reported ona few occasions that the star has hadtalks with the franchise about his future with the team.
Giannis Trade Rumors Take Sharp Turn With Latest Report
Charania’s reporting never conclusivelysaid Antetokounmpo had requested a trade, but rather that he had serious discussions with the Bucks about what his future would look like, whether it be in Milwaukee orsomewhere else.
The franchisestar’s latest commentsdon’t come as too shocking, considering other NBA insiders have reported a similar notion: that Milwaukee would onlytruly deal Antetokounmpo if he directly asked to be traded, which now feels unlikely considering his latest interview with Amick.
“Not one time have I shown thatI’m not invested in this team,”Antetokounmpo added. “I am not (going anywhere). Iam invested in this team. I want to turn this team around…I’m locked the [expletive] in.I’m locked in.”
Despite all of that, the Bucks front office can make its own decisions. Just because Antetokounmpowon’t, as he believes, ‘give up‘on the franchise, thatdoesn’t mean they have to keep him going forward, especially if he is unhappy or not in a winning situation, whether he wants to admit that or not.
Antetokounmpo had previously addressed the trade rumors surrounding him earlier in the season,giving upbeat responses sayingthat he was happy to betalked about in such a positive light.
“Ifyou’re around the team every day, and you saw those reports, you would laugh,”head coach Doc Rivers said to Amick.“He’s given no indication (that he wants out)…If something happens someday, where he changes his mind,I’d actually be surprised. But that can happen.”
Ashe’s said in the past, Antetokounmpo addedthat’s how he feels right now, but that can always change.
“My plan is to be here for the rest of my career. Ifthey don’t want me…”he tailed off.
Giannis Wants To Win, Wherever That May Be
Antetokounmpo’s conversation with Amick was two-sided to say the least. At the same time that he expressed he had no plans to ask for a trade, he continued to say that things can always change, and that he prioritizes winning over everything.
However, the Bucks are not in a winning situation right now. After the failed experiment with Damian Lillard, the current roster has little hope of making any progress in the playoffs, if they can even clinch the postseason with their current 16-21 record.
Milwaukee has a few solid young players, but with the somewhat injured Antetokounmpo and less impactful Myles Turner, the teamhasn’t made much ground in the East through the first two and a half months of the season.
“Winningdoesn’t always look the same.It’s eitheryou’re a winner, oryou’re not a winner. I want to win,”he said. “And the thing about this team is that as long as we figure out, ‘How can we be selfless and give things away?’ It’s buying into winning — really winning — and then we are going to figure it out.”
Antetokounmpo cited both his championship run in 2021 and that of the Boston Celtics in 2024 for why some players have to sacrifice certain aspects of their game to reach the glory land. He knows this teamisn’t a championship contender as currently constructed.
While that might be hard to come to grips with, the two-time MVP made it clear that regardless of the talenthe’s playing with, thatwon’t meanhe’ll do what so many players have done in the past, and give up on whathe’s built, at least for the time being.
“And there will never be a scenario on this planet that I will ever quit on my team.That’s not in my nature,”Antetokounmpo said after the Bucks fell to 11th in the East standings.