Although they entertained trade offers for the superstar forward, the Bucks ultimately decided to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo past Thursday’s deadline, pushing a decision on his future into the offseason.
The two-time MVP made an interesting social media post on Thursday afternoon (Twitter link). He wrote, “Legends don’t chase. They attract ” alongside a video clip from “The Wolf of Wall Street” in which Leonardo DiCaprio’s character repeatedly says, “I’m not leaving,” among other obscenities.
Sources close to Antetokounmpo reiterated to Chris Haynes of NBA on Prime (Twitter video link) that the 31-year-old “never requested a trade.”
“Obviously (Antetokounmpo) has been applying pressure over the last couple of years in hopes that the Bucks would turn this roster into a championship (contender),” Haynes said. “He wants to contend for a title for years and years in his prime.
“But right now he’s happy. I was told that he’s committed and focused on getting back healthy from that calf injury. He’s progressing really well, to the point where he might even play in the All-Star game on February 15.”
Here are some more Giannis-related rumors:
- A source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the Heat were informed “very late” Wednesday night that Milwaukee would likely be retaining Antetokounmpo beyond the deadline (Twitter links). According to Jackson, Milwaukee considered the Heat’s offer and Miami was willing to “do what it took” to acquire the nine-time All-NBA member, but the Bucks preferred to wait and see what types of packages they could get in the summer. While the Warriors reportedly got the impression earlier this week the Bucks didn’t plan to trade Giannis, that was not was not how the Heat viewed the situation until late Wednesday, Jackson adds.
- One team that was in pursuit of Giannis told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN that Milwaukee never gave a threshold it wanted met in a deal, leaving the unnamed club skeptical that the Bucks ever intended to trade Giannis this week (Twitter video link).
- Antetokounmpo recently made it known he was interested in teaming up with Anthony Edwards on the Timberwolves, team and league sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. According to Krawczynski, the Wolves canvassed the league to see what they could get for multiple key rotation players, but talks with the Bucks never reached an advanced stage. Krawczysnki hears that while new owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez were intrigued by the possibility of a Giannis trade, they also weren’t convinced that dealing away Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Joan Beringer would have been a “prudent” decision, given Antetokounmpo’s age and injury history.
- The Lakers intend to make a “hard push” for Antetokounmpo in the summer, sources tell Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The Lakers will have three first-round picks to trade in the offseason, as opposed to the one they had access to prior to the deadline. Turner hears New York and Miami are Giannis’ preferred landing spots, but the 13-year veteran hasn’t ruled out the Lakers as a possibility.
Giannis relies so much on athleticism and he can’t shoot nor make his FTs consistently. Those NBA teams should know this before giving the farm to the Milwaukee Bucks.
This is an exact criticism of his game, and also spot on. He has never been a threat as a jump shooter from any distance. However, whatever his place in NBA history as a whole, I cannot come up with a similar quality comparison in terms of how his career plays out until his retirement. A statistical and athletic comparison does not exist. There have been players with some of his skills but not all at once. He is truly unique. Personally I don’t think he ages well without his athleticism, but how long his athleticism lasts is a different question, I just don’t think the NBA has had a guy to reference to know how long it lasts before he is not having a positive impact on winning. The closest I can come up with is a rich man’s Charles Barkley, who was a better shooter, but not as good of a passer, and less long and less athletic.
I don’t know, he’s shown signs of developing a jumper. Last season Giannis attempted over four mid range shots per game. He converted attempts at a tate of 47.8%, positioning him among the league’s elite midrange shooters. He’s struggling this season from mid range but he’s shooting.395 from deep albeit on only 1.3 attempts per game.
Reaves and 3 picks is not getting it done sorry, no value.
The deadline is over…put it to bed already.
Now the Lakers hahahahaha yeah OK. Although I’m sure Silver probably tried.
‘I would never play for the Lakers, not in my nature’
Giannis doesn’t come across as the type to backflip on his morals or word.
Why would ESPN keep Shams on staff. This clown… again. 3 years in a row. With his lies about Giannis “wanting out”, “pressuring the team”, “asking to be traded”.
It’s never been true. Not one word. WT F ESPN
And every media idiot was enlisted by the NBA to do what they could to force Giannis into a bigger market. Disgraceful and disgusting.
The bucks mortgaged their future to buy Giannis a chance. Now they are reaping what they sowed. Not sure why people think organizations owe their players.
The reason Giannis wasn’t moved is the league didn’t have a path to reward the bucks with the first overall pick in the next draft.
MVP caliber players getting moved to a large market means free first overall pick in the next draft. He won’t be moved until this can become a reality.