The Milwaukee Bucks have no intentions of exploring a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade before the Feb. 5 deadline, per NBA insider Marc Stein.
On the latest “All NBA Podcast,” Stein reported that the Bucks have told teams around the league that Antetokounmpo is “not available” and they have no intention of moving their longtime franchise star.
“As trade season draws close, everyone is talking about Giannis. Even though — and I want to underline this — the Bucks continue to tell teams: ‘He’s not available. We don’t want your trade pitches,’” Stein reported on Dec. 8.
“So, it’s this weird deal where the Bucks keep shouting into the wind: ‘Listen to us! We don’t want to talk trades with you about Giannis Antetokounmpo!’ And the rest of the league just ignores it and obsesses about him.”
Giannis Trade Request Not Official
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers made it clear last week that Antetokounmpo has never brought up the idea of being moved from Milwaukee, despite reports that the “Greek Freak” is unhappy with the franchise over its offseason moves.
“Giannis has never asked to be traded — ever. I can’t make that more clear,” Rivers said shortly after Antetokounmpo suffered a calf strain last week.
The two-time MVP sparked rumors of his exit when he wiped all Bucks-related content on his social media. While the rest of the world perceived his actions as a sign of unhappiness, the Bucks star had a specific reason for cleaning up his X and Instagram accounts, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes.
“He said right now what’s most important in his life is confidentiality and privacy,” Haynes said after a conversation with the 2021 NBA Finals MVP.
“…He said he looked at it from that standpoint. He said, ‘You know what? I’m deleting all my social media stuff. I’m only leaving a couple championship photos out there. If people want to see me, come to the games and I’ll give you all of me and showcase what I can do.’”
Giannis Sidelined for a Month
The Bucks initially announced that Antetokounmpo would miss 2-4 weeks of action based on his recovery. However, Doc Rivers said on Dec. 5 that his best player will be out for closer to a month, hinting that the injury is far worse than initially expected.
“I feel like we should learn from calves — make sure they’re healthy,” Rivers said, referring to recent calf strains that led to catastrophic Achilles injuries for Tyrese Haliburton and other NBA stars. “So that may take longer than we want. That even may make Giannis frustrated over it, but we just got to try to get that right.”
Antetokounmpo has missed eight of the Bucks’ 25 games this season, meaning he can afford to miss only nine more games — or else lose eligibility for an All-NBA Team. The star forward currently holds the longest active streak of All-NBA First Teams, having received the honor for seven consecutive seasons from 2019-20 to 2024-25.
Going by Rivers’ one-month timeline, it’s highly unlikely that Antetokounmpo will meet the criteria of 65 games to qualify for end-of-season NBA accolades.
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