Giannis Antetokounmpo, Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, Bucks, Lakers, Warriors
Getty
Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks dribbles the ball against Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter at Fiserv Forum on January 21, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sent the NBA world into a tizzy earlier this week when he said he wasn’t sure about finishing the 2025-26 season with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I don’t know. I take it day-by-day,” he responded when asked how confident he was that the Bucks would not move him by the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline.
It turns out there’s more to the comments than initially believed. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, teams are still monitoring a possible Giannis Antetokounmpo trade scenario despite the Bucks repeatedly stressing that their franchise star is unavailable.
“The Bucks are still not taking phone calls on Giannis,” Windhorst reported on ESPN’s “NBA Countdown” on Wednesday.
“Having said that, teams around the league are poised to believe this is leading to a separation at some point.”
Giannis Trade Still Possible?
Earlier in the day, Windhorst told ESPN Radio Los Angeles that teams are not convinced that the Bucks have ruled out a Giannis trade.
“…Other teams in the league are not convinced that Giannis is not going to get traded. That doesn’t mean he will get traded. I’m just telling you that they’re not convinced,” Windhorst said. [H/T RealGM].
“If you take that out in aggregation, you can use it against me. But the nuance is it’s not like there’s 11 other guys to trade for. That’s the key. But there’s a number of team that are like ‘Boy, if. If B, then A.’ Giannis is the big ‘if’ right now.”
Last week, The Ringer’s Zach Lowe reported that teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks are holding onto all their assets in preparation for a potential Giannis trade over the offseason.
Giannis Trade Inevitable?
“The Hawks, the Warriors, the Lakers, the Heat, maybe the Knicks that are sort of thinking to themselves do we need to keep all of our stuff and wait for Giannis to may be become available, whether it’s now or in the summer,” Lowe said, via BasketNews.
“The whole league is watching if the [Bucks] slide any further down the standings. … Does Giannis push the button now instead of waiting until the summer? The biggest story in the NBA, potentially.”
Among those teams, the Lakers likely have no avenue to pull off the blockbuster deal before the offseason, when they’d have up to three tradeable first-round picks. The Knicks, too, have limited draft assets, but could put together a compelling package that includes two of Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, while possibly securing draft assets from a third team in a three-team framework with the Bucks.
For what it’s worth, Antetokounmpo has yet to request a trade and continues to maintain that he’ll never ask out as doing so is not in his nature. However, the 2021 NBA Finals MVP has not been shy about expressing his displeasure with the Bucks. After Wednesday’s 122-102 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, he blasted his teammates for playing a “selfish” brand of basketball.