Speaking to Sam Amick of The Athletic after Wednesday’s loss to Golden State, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo reiterated that he’s “locked in” with the team and said he plans to remain in Milwaukee for the rest of his career.
“There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment that I will come out and say I want a trade. That’s not … in … my … nature. OK?” Antetokounmpo said, pausing between those last few words for emphasis.
Antetokounmpo has been the subject of trade speculation since last spring, when Milwaukee was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for a third straight year and Damian Lillard suffered a torn Achilles tendon. The Bucks made drastic changes to their roster during the offseason, including waiving Lillard and signing center Myles Turner, as they attempted to construct a supporting cast for Antetokounmpo that is capable of making a deep postseason run.
However, an October report indicated that the Bucks and Knicks had briefly discussed the possibility of an Antetokounmpo trade during the offseason after Giannis conveyed that he had some interest in New York. In December, a report stated that Antetokounmpo’s camp had reopened conversations with the Bucks about his future.
Antetokounmpo told reporters later in December that those talks with the Bucks involved agent Alex Saratsis, not him. He referred to Saratsis as “his own person” and suggested that he “can’t control” the conversations that his agent has with the club. Giannis repeated that message to Amick.
“I keep on saying (that) conversations that are happening between other people, third parties, it’s something that I can’t control,” Antetokounmpo said. “I can’t control what you’re going to say with my agent, or with my best friend, or with my chef. I can only control what comes out of my mouth. And not one time have I shown that I’m not invested in this team.
“If there was a time on the basketball court where you’ve seen that, ‘Oh, Giannis doesn’t look like he wants to be a part of this team no more,’ I want you to pinpoint that. There’s never been an interview where I’ve said that. So I don’t know why people discredit what I say. Like, even when your article will come out … people will say, ‘Yeah, but. Yeah, but.’
“… I am not (going anywhere). I am invested in this team. I want to turn this team around. I want to play good basketball. I want to be healthy. I want to help my teammates. I wanna win games. The last six games we’ve played, we’re 4-2. We have a lot of games in front of us. I’m locked the f–k in. I’m locked in. My priority is just staying healthy.”
Antetokounmpo’s statements to Amick represent his most emphatic commitment to the Bucks in recent months and suggest that teams waiting to see if he’ll request a trade before the February 5 trade deadline probably shouldn’t hold their breath. Still, his comments weren’t entirely unequivocal.
Asked by Amick if he has definitively decided that he doesn’t want out of Milwaukee, Giannis replied, “As of today. You know how they say this thing about your significant other, or your wife, you always have to say, ‘As of today.'”
When Amick pointed out that remarks like that are the reason why fans believe he’s “leaving an out” to change his mind about his future with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo said that doesn’t bother him.
“I don’t care. I really don’t. It doesn’t affect me at all,” he said. “What I care about is basketball. I want to be good at what I do. And there’s some things that I have to do, which I will do on the basketball court.
“But until today, my guy (Bucks director of content) Nick (Monroe) has been with me for 13 years, and it’s been great. Tomorrow, when I wake up, it may not be great. Today, our relationship is great. Tomorrow it might be different. It’s the same thing with my wife. Until today, my wife is great. She’s a great mother. She’s a great partner. She supports me. Until today. Tomorrow, she might wake up and be like, ‘I don’t want this. I fell out of love.’
“Until today, me and (Bucks general manager) Jon (Horst) have a good relationship. Tomorrow, (Horst) might think there’s something else out there, and he might have to do whatever he has to do.
“You know, for me, right now, today, I am committed — not 100 percent, but one million percent to my teammates, to my craft, to this team, and to this city. One million percent. I don’t look right. I don’t look left. I look only to the next game, which is the Lakers, and I want to win the game. I want us to stack wins before the All-Star game to get ourselves back to the race. We’re what, 11th now? This is not who we are, you know? So that’s the only thing in my mindset.”
While the Bucks are 16-21 on the season and remain one game back of the Bulls for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, they have a 13-10 mark when Antetokounmpo has been on the court. He has performed at his usual MVP-caliber level in those games, averaging 29.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in 29.0 minutes per contest, with a .645/.406/.655 shooting line.
Antetokounmpo is making $54.1MM this season and is owed $58.5MM in 2026/27, with a $62.8MM player option for ’27/28. He’ll be eligible for a contract extension beginning in October.
Respectfully Giannis just doesn’t want to be the bad guy by asking out. Just wish they would end this back and forth of he wants to compete (knows the bucks aren’t good enough) and wanting to still be with them. Just rip off the bandaid already.
I think you nailed it. He’s never going to say publicly that he wants to be traded.
But there’s been so much smoke that you know there’s a fire nearby. They need to get it done for the good of the team. Reload in a massive way if they still can.
There is 0 reason he would say trade me because that means his Buck’s fans will turn on him. Also the Bucks can get a even better trade package then if he says trade me. If the Bucks are out of playoff race come trade dealine he will get traded.
Yeah I agree, plus it feels like word play. He might not personally ever come out publicly say he wants out but him telling his agent that he wants out is a different matter all together.
He’s the kind of person that wants to break up and instead of just doing it tries to force their partner to break up. There is way too much smoke to blame the media for 100% of this and he has had dozens of chances to simply say, “I do not want to be traded I plan on staying and resigning.”
But he literally said that in this interview.
He can extend this summer. That’s when you’ll know. For now, take Giannis at his word.
Giannis/Steph/Jimmy about to go Hamptons 5 2.0 on everyone!!! Can’t wait!!!
Those last two are geriatric. Keep dreaming, kid.
“Geriatric” – while both are still top 20 in the league. Keep dreaming about the Warriors demise, baby boy.
I don’t have to dream! They are 8th in the East and old as dirt!
24-19, 7-3 last 10, they’re one of the hottest teams in he league…Bucks are 17-24 with Giannis…you are in big trouble.
Lmao how’s that going for you ?
Say all the right things. You may even actually feel that way. The truth is, the team must move on. This NBA thing is a business. Giannis is holding the team back from progress. At his salary and with no picks. The Bucks have already exhausted their run with Giannis. He does more good for the franchise, the city, the team. By moving on and letting them rebuild. His value will never be higher. Time is now. It’s best for everyone involved.
Found Shams’ burner.
I mean… he’s right though.
I gotta respect Giannis. More after reading his words today. Before I didn’t really care about him. There is something respectable about being and staying homegrown and showing loyalty. Especially in today’s awful “winning is everything” world. When you start bouncing around in any profession you lose a lot. Look how the media forced Lillard out and what happened to him. And to Durant too, etc. I’m a diehard Celtics fan but will now pull for The Greek Freak secondarily.
And I gotta respect you BeachGuy2. A tip of the cap for a Celtics fan’s appreciation of greatness.
Giannis is a class act through and through. He seems to be a genuinely good guy (and fun) and a consummate professional. I’ve been a Bucks fan for 55 years and feel blessed (as much as I make fun of that word) by rooting for him. I never thought I’d see another championship after the last with Kareem but Giannis delivered it. I respect him as a bball player but also as a person, much like Kareem.
Giannis has handled the trade speculation well, as has the Bucks. Both seem committed to each other and to competing at a high level.
I’ll believe Giannis. He also said previously he wants to end his career back in Greece. Sounds right. My sense is Giannis is a honest man of his word and just opened and explained his mind. Nothing is black and white. Of course Milwaukee can trade him, but why, he’s brought them a championship and is a young superstar and in his prime. Many of the posters here are jaded about life and what money means and believe you should do anything to win. Right? Because that’s what they see everyday now in the news.
“Winning is everything” is awful now?
Yeah sure man, lets start ignoring superstars with rings and instead platform Cam Thomas!!! Winning is bad, actually!
He dost protest too much, methinks.
I don’t believe you Giannis. Dame said these exact same things for multiple years.
Dame and Beal both said the same and I still believe both fully meant it when they said it. The fans, front office and especially the media pressured both until they decided they wanted out.
It’s just the player telling the fans “Hey, I didn’t want to be traded, the front office decided that.”
Awe, but I’ve read so many media speculations I need this to happen and refuse to change how they’ve made me think!
Giannis to Spurs >>>>> get it done ……
Olynyk, Johnson, Harper, Sochan, Two 2026 2nd rd picks, 2028 1st rd pick.
Bucks get three starters with upside. Olynyk is expiring money. Imo K Johnson is a major talent at SG. Sochan top defensive player. Harper could be a future star. Bucks rebuid in ONE year. And have draft capital and cap space to move on and get better.
Spurs are a top contender for West. For the next 7yrs. Starting with this yr. Feb 5 TD 3:00 PM ET.
Giannis in a multiteamer for
Kuminga (Bucks)
Draymond (other team)
Buddy (other team)
Bucks get 2 other players for Dray and Buddy
3 FRP and 2 pick swaps with GSW.
You have a better chance of getting AD than Giannis. Bucks want young talent. Not necessarily picks. Imo Spurs and Thunder can make best offers for Giannis. They are loaded with young talent.
Spurs and Thunder can for sure put a better package together, but they have both publicly stated that they don’t want to do that….so GSW it is!
Both of you are delusional.
@Enregistre I am so sorry your fave team is going to trade your fave player and enter a rebuilding phase. Hopefully you will get another Wemby or Flagg!
You are definitely a flat earther. The type who tries to convince people they’re wrong when they say 2+2=4.
So much mental gymnastics by the people above to try and twist Giannis’ words. How do you mfers not believe him when he keeps saying this more and more forcefully through the interview?
Just gotta use your imagination like Shams does.
We believe him, but we realize he’s not in charge of if he gets traded or not. The owner and GM or whoever is running the team is in charge of that.
He can want to stay all day long, but he can still get traded.
Because he HASN’T been forceful in his interviews. If you’ve been paying attention to this saga from the beginning, he has chosen his words carefully and that has been a calculated decision. Someone who is being truthful doesn’t mince words or dance around the topic by saying nonsense like “I can’t control what my agent does” (of course you can; that’s exactly what you’re paying for!) or “I’m never going to ask for a trade” (irrelevant because plenty of guys ask out without publicly asking out)”. That’s all that needs to be said. No need to write a novel taking a much longer route.
And let’s face it. Considering how the Bucks as a city and organization struggled to acquire talent before Giannis’s arrival, the ONLY reason they would consider moving him is because they feel they have no choice but to. Just look at all of the desperate moves they made to placate him in the first place. Those boneheaded moves also don’t happen if they are confident he stays for the long haul.
I don’t even blame him tbh; this is how the trade dance goes and it’s in the best interest of both Giannis and the Bucks to talk the talk. But let’s be real here. This is basic PR/lawyer talk and anyone with a background in those areas probably sees right through this charade.
Now if this were me and I truly had zero intent of being traded, I would
a) never open my mouth about wanting to play for a contender in the first place, or something to that effect (completely self-inflicted and unnecessary on Giannis’s part)
b) make a truly definitive statement like “I have no intention of ever leaving this organization and I’ve informed my agent and the organization of my desire to stay here for the rest of my career. Through thick and thin, I will see things through until the end and hope to bring another championship to this city”.
Whoops
>>That’s all that needs to be said. No need to write a novel taking a much longer route.
Meant to put that at the end of the last paragraph rather than the first.
I have been paying closer attention than you, I would bet my entire life’s savings on it. This is just you wishcasting, like so many others, and accusing Giannis of lying through his teeth in public interviews.
This is VERY forceful. Those ellipses. He is not mincing words. He’s telling you what HE wants. He’s not talking about what his agent is saying. You’re essentially telling us that we should believe what his agent says over what the player says. You’re saying that everything he’s doing is a lie for one reason: because you want him to leave Milwaukee.
“all of the desperate moves they made to placate him in the first place. Those boneheaded moves also don’t happen if they are confident he stays for the long haul”
Come on. The Dame trade was successful on the floor, they didn’t succeed in the playoffs because both he and Giannis were hurt. What other “boneheaded” moves have there been to make him happy? And he signed extensions at the first opportunity each time, within days of becoming eligible. Within days. How does that say they’re not confident he’ll stay?
“But let’s be real here. This is basic PR/lawyer talk and anyone with a background in those areas probably sees right through this charade.”
You’re telling people to not believe what Giannis says. He is not a lawyer and is clearly speaking very honestly here.
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Am I reading between the lines? Absolutely. Could I be wrong and seeing things that aren’t there? Of course. My batting record is far from perfect.
The one thing I know, though, is that players, coaches, and executives say things publicly all the time that end up being untrue. You’re telling us Giannis is the exception to that rule. Perhaps so. I just don’t buy it for the reasons I’ve outlined, though I’m sure his love for the city and organization is very real. But Giannis is also an elite competitor and just because you love one thing doesn’t mean another thing you love can’t or won’t come out over top of it when push comes to shove.
In any event, I’m very curious to see how all of this plays out over the next year or so. I honestly hope he stays, so if I’m wrong then great.
Shea, were you trying to say Giannis secretly wants to be traded or are you deomonstrating the formentioned “mental gymastics” required to recant the ESPN mantra which services the highest ad revenue?
That’s a fair point—and it’s not just ESPN, but the entire trade rumor ecosystem. Lord knows I’ve pointed that out myself from time to time. Still not convinced I’m wrong, but I obviously very well could be. We’ll find out eventually!
You are a Bucks homer though, so….
The pot calling the kettle black lol. Shall we go back to your preseason predictions (which, by the way, were made knowing full well the man you hate was still going to be coaching the team).
Just teasing you. We’re all wrong from time to time, including myself.
You’re a Warriors homer who thinks his team is going somewhere with three 37 year old has-beens
Curry is a “has-been”??? Oh how interesting! You seem like a smart guy!!! LMAOOO
Oh because you’re so smart thinking the Bucks front office DESPISES Giannis lmao
Hold this L.
Real Bucks fans know their run is over. Hopefully your team does. Cause where are they going. With no picks and no cap room. A Giannis trade gives Bucks hope and a real chance at building a winner. Yeah why would you want that, right.
Even trading just Jimmy Butler and 3 FRPs and 3 swaps for Giannis arguably makes the Bucks better right now too, Butler feeding and driving around Turner/Kuzma would be nasty
Not happening Davey. Warriors don’t have the young talent they need. Bucks will want a major haul for him. Have to look elsewhere lol.
The picks are literally the young talent they need. Facepalm.
Davey you are a disaster. Your account is gonna get banned again!
You have no idea that their best young talent is a guy named Ryan Rollins who your favorite team drafted and gave up for nothing! He’s in MIP conversation. Your team is old as dirt and has no young players worth anything. Whiffed on Kuminga and Wiseman. Gonna trade Kuminga for nothing. Moody and Podz are role players. Keep crying baby boi.
Delusional Knicks fan at it again. Guarantee you that you have never met a Bucks fan so you have no idea that “real Bucks fans” want Giannis to stay and already have their ring. No one needs cap room. Free agency isn’t how you get top players, you trade for them. They have two of the most valuable firsts any team can offer.
“A Giannis trade gives Bucks hope” because trading one of the world’s best 3 players in his prime gives you hope lmao
Dude just get over it, the Bucks are over, the front office DESPISES Giannis and wants him gone so they can tank and save money…same thing happens all over sports, now its happening to you and you cant handle it.
17-24.
Oh, Giannis is definitely getting traded. This language is just him showing that if he does get traded, its on the Bucks front office, not him.
The Bucks front office have been trying to get Giannis to ask out for at least 2 years. I mean they told him with a straight face that Giannis, Myles and Kuzma were their “big 3”. What a joke. Speaks volumes that the FO hates Giannis being there and wants him out.
What a surprise. You’re here making up nonsense again because you’re clinging to hope that your aging team will make a move for Giannis. Telling us that everything he is above is a lie. Who are you to say such a thing? He says he plans to stay there his whole career. You think he’s lying to us?
The Bucks have made it clear they do not intend to trade him. Your whole statement is a bunch of BS. They never told him ANY of this. They have said publicly multiple times they want to build around Giannis.
Giannis/Kuzma/Turner is exactly the “big 3” I would support Giannis with, if I wanted Giannis to hate me and demand a trade. Giannis isn’t “lying to us” only you are lying here, about what I am saying.
Giannis saying “I plan to stay here forever” has absolutely nothing to do with what the front office thinks. Giannis isn’t lying at all when he says that, he means “If I am traded, its 100% on the front office.” Like, I literally wrote all that and you still don’t understand.
Reading comprehension = you have none. And the Bucks have a terrible roster that will never win in this league, its time to sell their best asset, sorry if this triggers you, Giannis likely will not retire a 1-teamer.
He is kind of helping them out. They can have a bidding war because he does not openly request trade or has a list of teams to public.
My god, you don’t need an invitation. A GM has a job to do. Just trade him already.
If one of the league’s best players, who is your entire franchise, keeps you profitable, keeps TV eyes on you and fans in the seats, says he doesn’t want to be traded, you don’t trade him. The job you’re talking about is what GMs like Harrison did, who got fired. Trading Giannis without him asking condemns the franchise to years of financial loss.
16-21 says Giannis cannot do it all, and the Bucks front office is doing absolutely nothing to get him help…because they want him gone. They want to cut costs so the faceless investors at the top make more profit, which has nothing to do with players or W-L. Selling ads alone profits these leeches. Sorry your team is run by grifters who are pushing Giannis out of town to the Warriors.
Lmao you’re so shook that this man is loyal and doesn’t want to go to your oldest team in the league that couldn’t even beat the Bucks without GIannis.
lmao you are so shook you are going to lose Giannis
Your reading comprehension = bad. Look at what Giannis said:
“My plan is to be here for the rest of my career.”
“There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment that I will come out and say I want a trade. That’s not … in … my … nature. OK?”
These are Giannis’ words and you just think he’s lying because you desperately want him to be lying and come to your old team that’s going nowhere. Your only joy in life is a basketball team that DOESN’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Sad!
You’re trying to tell everyone 2+2=5. You live in a fantasy world where girls talk to you and everything is soft and pink, brony.
Yeah, YOUR reading comprehension is even worse. I am saying the BUCKS FRONT OFFICE wants Giannis gone. He has NOTHING to do with it
You have zero proof of this, lmao. Jon Horst has said repeatedly that they want to keep Giannis. Again, you’re telling me 2+2=5.
Stop showing your face around here. You made a complete fool of yourself and talked all kinds of smack, then your boy Butler tears his ACL. Karma got you, boi.
I’m glad Giannis cleared this up. Guess we don’t need to talk about this ever again!
In all seriousness, they need to fire Doc Rivers. Fire him now. See how the team plays the rest of the year, maybe make a few small moves to better the team without mortgaging the future. If the team sucks the rest of the way, explore trading Giannis. If they play well, maybe you retool again. The East is wide open. But they’re 100% not winning anything with Doc Rivers as the head coach.
Doc rivers reminds me of a MLB manager that is always getting a job even though he won a long time ago.
Ok I take it back, Kerr isn’t the #1 worst coach in the NBA, its Doc. 1 and 2 probably changes every other day though.
Kerr is #2 or easy top 5 worst coach though.
That’s all you had to say player. Now get those hawks in the lottery so the spurs can get another top 3 pick.
But but but, Kuminga is available. You could even take Buddy, some 2nds, a towel and a drink bottle.
He says it by not signing an extension. MIL is right to wait until the offseason, but if doesn’t sign, they have to trade him. He doesn’t need to say a word to anyone.
Enjoy no more contending….