When it comes to NBA trade rumors, one name that has continuously popped up over the last couple of seasons has been Milwaukee Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo. On Wednesday afternoon, a report surfaced claiming that the Bucks and Giannis had begun conversations regarding his potential future with the team.
Prior to the Bucks’ game against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers explicitly stated that Giannis has never asked for a trade and that no conversations have occurred to this point. That would seemingly be in contradiction to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reporting that Giannis had indeed already requested a trade at some point.
Regardless of what is accurate or not, the entire saga is reportedly being felt in the Bucks locker room, as per Shams Charania of ESPN.
“The locker room, I’m told, can feel the tension at play with Giannis. Giannis, sources told me, has been frustrated over the losing recently, just as the organization has been. . .it’s inching closer to what one source described to me as, ‘the writing on the wall,’ Charania said.
“My understanding is a resolution to this, and whether it leads to a trade request, is expected in the coming weeks,” Charania continued. “This is a Bucks team that is 9-13, they’ve lost eight of their last nine games before today’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons. And remember, in the offseason, Giannis had concerns over the team’s roster and its ability to truly compete.”
If the Bucks continue to struggle this season, those trade rumors involving Giannis will likely get more forceful.
The nine-time All-Star has appeared in 16 games coming into Wednesday’s matchup with the Pistons, at a little over 30 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 30.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocked shots with splits of 63.9 percent shooting from the friend, 43.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 63 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
