Once upon a time, Giannis Antetokounmpo was hailed as one of the few loyal stars in the league. In an age where stars tended to make trade requests seemingly on a whim, the Milwaukee Bucks star remained committed to his team. Even after multiple playoff disappointments, Giannis, time and time again, reaffirmed his commitment to the team.
However, even the most patient ones have their breaking point. While he was still outwardly saying that he wants to stay in Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo has dropped hints of him potentially leaving. Now, those hints have been realized, as rumors of the Bucks star requesting a trade intensify.
One of the major questions around the rumor is when this trade will happen. The NBA's trade deadline is on February 5, leaving just four days before Milwaukee sticks with Giannis until at least the end of the season. As it turns out, there's a disconnect between Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on when they want the trade to happen.
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“There is a belief among several teams that have been in contact with the Bucks this week that their preference remains to keep Antetokounmpo beyond Thursday's 3 PM ET trade buzzer,” Marc Stein wrote. He later adds, “Yet it must be noted just as strongly that various teams involved in the Antetokounmpo chase believe that, from his camp's side, there is a preference to push a trade through before the deadline … even in absence of a clearly stated public demand for such an outcome.”
The Bucks have no reason to rush an Antetokounmpo trade. As Stein outlined, teams believe that Milwaukee would want to evaluate its options more. Waiting until the offseason would give them a much larger pool of teams to deal with. There's also the matter of their current draft pick: their decision to trade Antetokounmpo also hinges on where their first-round pick lands in 2026.
Still, stranger things have happened. Perhaps a deal comes along that's just too good to pass up for the Bucks. For now, though, Antetokounmpo remains in limbo with Milwaukee as they endure a four-game losing streak.