Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been one of the league’s brightest stars for over a decade. He is a two-time MVP and a Defensive Player of the Year and led the Bucks to the 2021 NBA Championship, winning Finals MVP in the process. Antetokounmpo shot 50 points. Throughout his career, he has remained loyal to the Bucks despite several rumors to the contrary.
With the Bucks doing some heavy lifting this season, waiving point guard Damian Lillard to sign big man Myles Turner away from the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers, some believed the Antetokounmpo rumors would die down. Instead, they have heated up with one team in particular, the New York Knicks, at the center of the talk.
Doc Rivers, Giannis Antetokounmpo Respond to Rumors
When asked about the rumors, Antetokounmpo seemed truthful in his response.
“I’ve said this many times, I want to be in a situation that I can win,” Antetokounmpo said. “I believe in this team. I believe in my teammates. I’m here to lead this team to wherever we can go. It’s definitely going to be hard. We’re going to take it day by day, but I’m here. So, all the extra stuff does not matter.”
Antetokounmpo didn’t rule out a change of heart.
“I’ve communicated with my teammates, communicated with the people I respect and love, that the moment I step on this court or in this facility, I wear this jersey, the rest does not matter. I’m locked into whatever I have in front of me. Now, if in six, seven months I change my mind, I think that’s human, too.”
That doesn’t exactly instill confidence if you’re a Bucks fan. Head coach Doc Rivers didn’t seem to help matters either.
“I don’t have to because Giannis does that,” Rivers told reporters, per The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. “Everything Giannis says is about the team and being a better team, so I don’t have to do that. Every part of Giannis says that. If you read his comments this summer, every comment he’s made is about being in Milwaukee, loving the city, but for some reason and it’s funny.”
Rivers then drew a hilarious parallel to end all speculation: “What’s the old saying? You create the story, and then you report on the story you created. And that’s what it feels like. And it gets old for us. But at the end of the day, there’s nothing we can do about it, but I can tell you, Jon [Horst] has never called a team about Giannis. That has never happened. And until that happens, you really don’t have a story.”
This conviction in Antetokounmpo is excellent, but an insider has something else to say.
NBA Insider Believes Antetokounmpo Could Be Out In 6-7 Months
Appearing on ESPN’s “First Take,” NBA Insider Brian Windhorst said he believed what Antetokounmpo was saying regarding the possibility of changing his mind.
“He didn’t just pull that number out of thin air,” Windhorst responded. “He thought very carefully about how long it was until the end of the season. And what he basically said there is, ‘I’m going to give it another evaluation at the end of the season.’”
Both Antetokounmpo and Rivers gave the answers they needed to earlier this week, but Windhorst points out that neither party denied that Antetokounmpo could be moving on soon.
“Giannis said yesterday what he had to say,” Windhorst explained. “He’s starting the season with the Milwaukee Bucks. He made that decision over the summer. Doc Rivers had some comments yesterday. Doc said what he had to say, which is that they’ve got to focus on this season, but you didn’t see a denial from either of them.”
It also should worry the Bucks that they have had at least some talks about dealing their star when they made a couple of big moves to rebuild their team.
“The Knicks and the Bucks certainly talked in August,” Windhorst said. “And I’m going to say if you look at the big picture, it’s a little bit disconcerting if I’m the Bucks that I made this crazy maneuver in the in July, waving Dame Lillard and then signing Myles Turner. Both of them hundred-million-dollar maneuvers. And then in August, Giannis said, ‘Hey, what about the Knicks?’ That’s not necessarily a good sign.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean the ‘Greek Freak’ is definitely on his way out. However, the league does view it that way.
“If Giannis truly wanted to get traded, he probably would have approached the Bucks in June, and he would have done some maneuvers that made it clear that’s what he wanted. But it is very clear to the whole league that Giannis’ situation in Milwaukee is probably short term.”
Antetokounmpo remains one of the league’s top players. He was once again a finalist for the MVP award, so he could instantly make several teams, including the Knicks, favorites to win not only the Eastern Conference but perhaps a championship.