Giannis Antetokounmpo distanced himself on Thursday from a report earlier this month that he and his agent Alex Saratsis have held discussions with the Bucks regarding his future.
“If my agent is talking to the Bucks about it, he is his own person,” Antetokounmpo said, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “He can have any conversation he wants about it. At the end of the day, I don’t work for my agent; my agent works for me. And there’s going to be conversations that are going to be made between him and the Bucks, and him and his other players, and him and other teams and other GMs, executives around the league. It’s something that you can’t control. But at the end of the day, I personally have not had the conversation with the Bucks.”
Antetokounmpo held court with the media for the first time since he suffered a calf strain on December 3 that knocked him out of action. The superstar forward said he remains focused on maximizing the potential of his current team.
“I’m still locked in, locked in on my teammates. Most importantly, locked in on me getting back healthy,” Antetokounmpo said. “And then, locked in on my teammates and how can I help them from the sideline or encourage them to be able to play and play free? Because at the end of the day, it takes a toll on them, too, right? They’re playing game after game after game. Thank God we’ve had a very good schedule in the last couple of weeks, but it takes a toll on them, too — rumors, injuries, lose, win. It’s hard, right? As a leader, but most importantly as a winner, you just gotta be there for them first.”
Antetokounmpo recognizes that the trade rumors aren’t going to die down unless the Bucks go on a hot streak.
“Do I hope it ends? For sure. Do I think it’s going to end? No,” he said. “I think when people see cracks, they see opportunity to get in through those cracks. And I understand it. It’s part of the game. It’s part of winning. You’ve gotta make the right moves to create the best chance for your organization to compete and win a championship. So, I get it.
“If I was on the other side and I was an executive, I would probably do the same thing. Eventually, you’re going to break. We’re going to keep on calling you, and if the team is not doing well or is not performing in the standings the way you guys think it should, we’re going to keep on calling until you say, ‘OK, let’s get it done.’ That’s how it works in business.”
Milwaukee is currently floundering near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with an 11-17 record. While he waits to get healthy enough to play again, he has tried to encourage his teammates and make sure they’re playing with a sense of urgency.
“You just gotta give urgency to the team. Like, ‘Guys, this is serious,’” Antetokounmpo said. “Who are we trying to be? We gotta turn this around. We have time to turn this around. And you gotta have a little bit more urgency. I think I’ve had the conversation with the coach about it; I think I’ve had the conversation with individual players about it. I’ve been approached by teammates and asked about the rumors because it also may affect their own life and their own career. I’m straight with them, whatever that answer might be.”
As for his soleus (calf) strain, Antetokounmpo believes it was related to a previous injury — he had a left adductor strain earlier in the season. He doesn’t want to make the same mistake regarding his latest ailment. Reporting at the time of the calf injury suggested a recovery timeline of two-to-four weeks, though it doesn’t appear he’s close to returning.
“As a leader of this team, when we are competing and you feel like maybe you’re not out there to help your team and not giving your team the best chance, you kind of feel like sometimes it’s your fault,” Antetokounmpo said. “And instead of taking the time — the appropriate time — for you to get back, you kind of rush things, which that’s what I’ve done my whole career, just to be out there. So, maybe it was a mistake of me coming back a little bit earlier. … The only way you can pop your soleus is by overcompensating and then having an extreme amount of (work) load or play a lot of games in a short period of time.”
“My agent can talk to anyone he wants”
Like bro didn’t tell him to do what he’s doing.
This saga will never end. Giannis will be retired for five years and we’ll still be reading articles about his future with the Bucks.
Also: Fire Doc Rivers.
I agree. Doc Rivers has got to go.
You have Rollins and Kevin Porter, go trade for Miles Bridges, sign Kai Jones and Jarvis Crittenten.
Traded Lillard for Holiday and Middleton for Kuzma. Fire the GM
Giannias wanted Liilard. Kuzma seemed like a good fit but is not. His value is higher than Middleton now.
Na Giannis wanted the dame trade. Holiday is cooked in all honesty and not the reason bos won the championship. Holiday is over paid at this point and they wouldn’t have won with him. As a former pro Hooper you pro ball fall off comes quickly. Not saying he is not a NBA player he is and still start but he is not the over the top players anymore. Just like LeBron can lead a team anymore. Happens to everybody.
Middleton was also cooked. And there wasn’t a trade market for him. Teams did want his contract so Kuzma was the only option. Try for a younger guy. Somehow you guys on the site value players more than what other GM’s and coaches value those same guys.
So on one hand with Middleton he wanted to be paid for his services and helping them win the one championship. As fans we believes he deserves it and he does but it comes with a price and that his contract is bloated
Wait, you went pro???
Two years in Italy, two years in Russia and 2 years in Brazil. Yes enjoyed 6 years. You then get swapped out for younger players or ex NBA players. Facts of life as you get older. That’s why I’m so big in people save save save and having backup plans. The worst NBA players are better than the rest of us. However at that level there are levels. I love holiday played against him in AAU in highschool he is 3 years younger than me. Truly a great two way player. But he is no longer a star anymore. However he is a two time champion and no one can take that away from him. I still think he can start on a championship team but he can’t be your number 2/3 at this point in his career. Hope he gets traded to Houston that would be right there with Denver
That’s cool man! Thanks for the info. What was Russia like living there for 2 years as a basketball player?
“If my agent is talking to the Bucks about it, he is his own person,” Antetokounmpo said, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “He can have any conversation he wants about it. At the end of the day, I don’t work for my agent; my agent works for me.”
Not contradictory at all lol.
He has all that word salad in his response, but if he actually wanted to be a Buck all he has to do is flat out say he does not want to be traded at all.
Who’s to say Alex “Saratsis” isn’t actually Alex Antetokuonmpo working behind the scenes to get them all back on one team? Hmmm
Giannis was talking about his loyalty to the bucks but his tone was sad….
Is the guy as much a pain in the ass as he seems to be?
Not sure what you mean by that. The media is asking him questions where there’s no good answer.
Chucktoad1:
And I’m sure there’s ways he could just put this to bed. Then there’s things that he’s trying to get traded to the Knicks. He’s happy then he’s not happy. I mean come on. Anytime they ask him he could just say I’m focused on being here and leave it at that. If he wants to be traded, that can all be done behind the scenes.
He wants to go to a new team and contend, so waiting until free agency and not making his new team gut everything trading for him is the smart move.
i read a rumor at another site saying the warriors are trading Curry to the Rockets. That is why you don’t get excited about your team is getting a all star player until it happens because many of these trades writers are guessing at them.
Young coaches are having the most success. Rebuild at the right way after you trade Giannis and fire doc.
A Giannis trade is the best outcome for the Franchise and for Giannis. All this stalling is just wasting time. Bucks should be starting their rebuild. The sooner the better. And trading Giannis gives them a big jump on their goal. Make the Trade.