The trade rumors around Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo continue to swirl, although the ‘Greek Freak' himself is saying he is locked in on being the best he can be for the Bucks.
On a recent NBA on Prime broadcast, insider Chris Haynes gave the latest on Antetokounmpo amid reported trade talks.
“I did reach out to Giannis, and he spoke to me about just being where his feet are planted. He said that is where his focus is at,” Hayes said. “He told me something about five years ago, and he said, ‘Chris, remember what I told you five years ago?' I remembered, but I said, ‘No, tell me.' He said, ‘There are people who see a door, and they want to hurry up and escape through that door.' He said, ‘But I see a wall, and I want to run through the wall and make things work.' He said, ‘So that's my focus right now. I want to run through a wall, make things work, get healthy and try to be there for my team.'
“And he said he doesn't know what's going on behind the scenes with the front office, or what they're looking at doing as far as his future goes. He said his focus is getting healthy and being there for his team and not running from situations.”
Unfortunately for Antetokounmpo, he cannot be there on the court for his team right now; after suffering a strained right calf last week, he is expected to miss about four weeks to recover, according to Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers.
Before his injury, Antetokounmpo was playing at his typical MVP level, averaging 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists per game while shooting a career-high 63.9% from the field and 43.5% on 3-pointers. Despite this, the Bucks were 9-13 and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference when Antetokounmpo went down.
The Bucks' current and various struggles over the past several years will likely only enhance the rumors that Antetokounmpo has been a subject of for several years.
Milwaukee returns to action on Thursday against the Boston Celtics.
