Given that the Bucks hope to operate as buyers at the trade deadline and make a second-half push into the postseason, teams around the league inquiring about star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo are being rebuffed, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirmed during a recent appearance on Sportsnet (Twitter video link).
“I’ve spoken to plenty of GMs that would love to have Giannis and have tried to talk to Bucks GM Jon Horst about acquiring him,” Scotto said. “And quite frankly, he’s not going anywhere, they’ve been telling me. The Bucks have been steadfast that he’s not going anywhere.”
Antetokounmpo reportedly entertained the idea of a change of scenery during the offseason, prompting the Bucks to briefly explore the possibility of a trade with the Knicks, but the two teams gained no traction in those discussions. If Milwaukee keeps losing and Giannis decides he wants to be moved, it will require a “more forceful” request from the two-time MVP, according to Jamal Collier and Shams Charania of ESPN, since the team won’t be looking to proactively deal him.
“The question is who is going to get made uncomfortable,” one league source told ESPN. “There’s a difference between saying it out loud and innuendos. [The Bucks] know Giannis doesn’t want to be the villain.”
We have more from news and notes from around the Central:
- Pacers guard Ben Sheppard missed an 11th consecutive game on Monday due to a left calf strain, but he was upgraded to questionable before being ruled out, notes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star, which suggests his return may be imminent. Indiana has been banged up all season but got Aaron Nesmith back from a knee injury over the weekend and appears on the verge of having Sheppard back in the rotation too.
- The Pacers remain shorthanded in the frontcourt while Isaiah Jackson recovers from a concussion, which is what prompted the team to add free agent center Micah Potter last week. However, as Tony East writes for Circle City Spin, Potter’s stint with the team may be short-lived, since Indiana will have to waive him on or before next Wednesday in order to avoid guaranteeing his full salary.
- Veteran point guard Lonzo Ball was a DNP-CD on Monday as the Cavaliers picked up an impressive win in San Antonio, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). “We wanted to look at some different combinations, but also with Zo, I have a big picture thing of just keeping him healthy and fresh,” head coach Kenny Atkinson explained after the game. “It was kind of twofold for tonight. I spoke to him. We need him healthy and available. He has been so far. I want to keep that going. I know we don’t have back-to-backs, but we are playing every other day. At a certain point, I need to find him some games. I talked to him about it, and it just happened to fall on tonight.”
- As Fedor observes, Craig Porter Jr. played well as the Cavaliers‘ backup point guard in place of Ball, registering six rebounds and four assists in 15 minutes in the victory over San Antonio. Cleveland outscored the Spurs by 12 points during Porter’s time on the floor, which matched the team’s margin of victory in the 113-101 decision.