It is a great day to be a fan of the Milwaukee Bucks. Once again, after months and months of rumors, it is official that Giannis Antetokounmpo will remain with the organization that drafted him. He will not, in fact, be traded. They did, however, trade Amir Coffey and Cole Anthony to the Phoenix Suns for Nick Richards and Nigel Hayes-Davis. Wisconsin fans will remember Hayes-Davis for his collegiate playing career with the Badgers.
And while the Bucks have some work to do to get back in the 2026 NBA Playoffs picture, they are going to be doing so with their ten-time All-Star on the roster. Granted, he still needs to come back from his latest calf injury, but the good news is that he is not going to be on another NBA team.
As it turns out, he never was really close to leaving.
The Milwaukee Bucks were never close to trading Giannis Antetokounmpo
Dec 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) reacts after scoring against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Amid the Bucks’ announcement to teams that they are not going to trade Giannis today, many fans of multiple NBA franchises, especially fans of franchises that were led to believe their team could possibly get to the two-time MVP, were enraged with ESPN and their reporters.
But what really must be disappointing to those fans, but not surprising to Bucks fans, is that all the information coming out now indicates that Milwaukee was never, ever close to trading Giannis:
The Bucks feel they can build a contender around Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer and get him back on board to being there, per @ShamsCharania
They were never close to trading him before the deadline pic.twitter.com/cKDW8Wz4XE
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) February 5, 2026
As one can see from the post above, not only are the Bucks not trading Giannis today, but they are going to be working hard on improving the roster (and probably the coaching staff) in an effort to convince him to stay.
It will be important for Bucks fans to remember and keep in mind that the Greek Freak could, after all of this, be traded in the off-season. Already, the national media is starting to talk about possible trade destinations for him in the summer.
But make no mistake: Giannis does not want to be traded. He wants to compete, and he would prefer to do that in Milwaukee.
The Bucks are going to be doing everything they can to make sure that is possible for him.
Hopefully they make better coaching and roster decisions this time around.
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