Giannis Antetokounmpo caused quite a stir on social media during the offseason after some comments he made. The Milwaukee Bucks star seemed to show that his loyalty was wavering after insinuating that he could leave the team. That, coupled with his upcoming contract extension, seemed to signal Giannis' discontent.

After the Bucks traded for star point guard Damian Lillard, some fans wondered how much Giannis Antetokounmpo's comments impacted the front office's decision. Some also wondered if this was all a masterplan by Giannis to get the front office to trade for a star. According to Giannis himself, that's not the case, per The Athletic.

“No. Zero. None of those things,” Antetokounmpo said emphatically during our post-practice discussion. “It was organic. I didn’t have a strategy. Nothing. (That message) is something that I always — every year — say. I can go back and find five articles of me saying this since I was 22 years old, you know?”

Jon Horst, the Bucks' general manager, echoed this sentiment from Giannis. According to Horst, Giannis' comments had minimal impact… because the star has told the front office this privately many times. This was just now known by the media, but Horst and the FO has been working with this information for the last few years.

Bucks GM Jon Horst: “I think it’s probably too dismissive to say that didn’t factor in at all. That’s probably not honest and sincere, because I care about everything that our players say and I try to assess it and evaluate it and understand it. But (the part it played) is just a little bit above ‘not at all'…  And the reason is that it’s not new. It’s nothing that he hasn’t said to me privately, that he hasn’t said publicly (before). It’s nothing different than how I believe and feel and operate, obviously, considering the things that we’ve done.”

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are hoping that Lillard's arrival helps them win another ring for the star. After winning the championship in 2021, the team has struggled to make it back to the Conference Finals, mainly due to injury. Can the team deliver on the hype surround their roster?