Hoops Rumors

With the Bucks lottery-bound for the first time since 2016 and increasingly at odds with their longtime superstar forward, one source close to the team tells Shams Charania of ESPN that the state of affairs in Milwaukee is “as toxic of a team situation as any in the league.”

It’s one of many troubling quotes from team sources within Charania’s in-depth look at a nightmarish season for the Bucks, who have posted a losing record both with and without Giannis Antetokounmpo available in 2025/26.

“When your best player is one foot in, one foot out,” one team source told ESPN, “you’re not going to win.”

“The crux of the issue is feeling Giannis doesn’t want to be here on any given day,” another said.

One team source added that the Bucks have “no identity,” while multiple club sources suggested to Charania that Giannis’ uncertain future has created a tense locker-room environment over the course of the season.

Although Antetokounmpo hasn’t explicitly requested a trade out of Milwaukee, he and agent Alex Saratsis conveyed to the Bucks early in the season that it was probably time for the two sides to part ways, according to Charania, who says Giannis’ camp pursued an “amicable split” during the season, meeting with co-owners Jimmy Haslam and Wes Edens two weeks before the trade deadline to discuss how the team could “do right” by Antetokounmpo. Charania explains that both Giannis and Saratsis recalled making a handshake agreement after the star forward signed extensions in 2020 and 2023 that the two sides would work collaboratively on a trade when the time came.

“Giannis has wanted to handle this professionally by being very up front with the team,” one source with direct knowledge of the situation told ESPN. “This could have been a happy resolution but instead might end up being a nasty breakup.”

Shortly after that January meeting with ownership, Antetokounmpo was informed by general manager Jon Horst that he was engaged in trade negotiations and that the 31-year-old may not be on the Bucks’ roster by the start of the 2026/27 season.

However, not every team that spoke to the Bucks about Giannis leading up to February’s trade deadline believed they were serious about making an in-season deal. Milwaukee’s front office took days to respond to certain suitors’ messages and calls, according to Charania, though he notes that the Heat, Warriors, and Timberwolves believed Horst was operating in good faith.

While Golden State and Minnesota sensed as the deadline approached that the Bucks weren’t going to accept their offers, team sources tell ESPN that Milwaukee seriously considered Miami’s proposal, which included Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, and several draft assets. Ultimately, the Bucks let the Heat know on the morning of deadline day (Feb. 5) that they wouldn’t be trading Giannis, since they believe they’ll receive stronger offers this summer, per Charania.

The Bucks’ top decision-makers have come to terms with the likelihood of an Antetokounmpo trade happening this offseason, Charania adds.

Here are a few more highlights from Charania’s in-depth story:

• While the Bucks’ disagreement with Antetokounmpo about his late-season availability following a mid-March knee injury has been well-documented, Charania provides a couple new details, writing that Giannis is still hoping to return later this week – perhaps for Friday’s home finale – and wants to share the court with his brothers Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Alex Antetokounmpo before the end of the season. Most interestingly, Charania notes that Giannis – who has been limited to 36 games this season – will miss out on a “significant” bonus in his contract with Nike that would’ve been triggered if he played in at least 41 contests.
• Guards Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. were called out by Bucks coaches after shooting a combined 9-of-27 in a blowout loss to Chicago on March 1, according to Charania, who says Rollins and Porter were directed to focus more on getting the rest of the team involved and avoiding selfish play. While the coaching staff’s message was meant to “empower” the young backcourt duo, it left the team feeling “splintered,” leading to a players-only meeting in which veteran forward Kyle Kuzma told Rollins and Porter not to worry about what their coaches had said. After the staff learned about Kuzma’s comments, he received his first DNP-CD of the season in Milwaukee’s following game, then had a conversation with head coach Doc Rivers to talk through the situation, per Charania.
• Referring to a “season-long disconnect” between Rivers and several Bucks players, Charania details how the veteran coach began one team meeting by telling his team to look up his résumé. “I took teams to the playoffs and to the championship that weren’t supposed to. I thought this was one of them,” Rivers reportedly told players during that meeting.
• Ownership is expected to make a decision on Rivers’ job status within the next week, sources tell ESPN. He has just one season left on his contract. As for Horst, the general manager was extended a year ago and still has multiple years left on his deal, but there has been “friction” between him and Antetokounmpo since the trade deadline, Charania writes.