We have the impression of being in the Groundhog Day moviebut let’s repeat this again:
The Milwaukee Bucks won’t trade Giannis Antetokounmpo unless he demands it — and Antetokounmpo has yet to play the bad guy and make that effort. Milwaukee knocks down teams clamoring for Antetokounmpo trade, and reportedly signaled to other teams that it was looking to add players before the deadlineto improve the roster, not to trade the best player in franchise history.
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That last part repeated itself on Thursday, when Antetokounmpo, speaking to reporters for the first time since reports surfaced that his agent was talking to the Bucks about his future in Milwaukee, said he was unaware of any of that. (via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).
“I haven’t heard about the report. Again, if my agent talks to the Bucks about it, he’s his own person. He can have any conversation he wants about it. At the end of the day, I don’t work for my agent, my agent works for me…
“But, at the end of the day, personally, I haven’t had a conversation with the Bucks. I’m still locked in, locked in on my teammates. More importantly, I’ve been fixated on getting back healthy. And then on my teammates and how can I help them from the sideline or encourage them to be able to play and play freely…
“So right now again, I’m just focused on getting back on the field healthy, how I can encourage my team to be the best version of themselves. After that, focus on how I can go out there and help them win games and get out of this hole that we’ve dug ourselves into, and then everything else comes after that.”
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Antetokounmpo has a presence on social media, with a marketing and PR team, and is undoubtedly aware of the trade reports and discussions around him, as well as how it’s unfolding. What he said above fits the pattern we’ve seen from him for a long time: trying to stay focused on what’s in front of him right now, but it’s also not that he’s asking for a trade.
No matter what Antetokounmpo says, the trade rumors don’t stop, but the in-season market could be somewhat limited. Here are some of the other Antetokounmpo-related trade rumors:
• The Golden State Warriors want to see how the Antetokounmpo situation develops before going after New Orleans wing Trey Murphy III (the Pelicans are reportedly asking a very high price for Murphy or Herb Jones, more than teams seem willing to pay), reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
• Don’t expect the Spurs to go all-in on Antetokounmpo, league sources tell NBC Sports (echoing other reports). Impressed with the way Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, De’Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell come together, San Antonio wants to see how the rest of this season plays out — especially after an impressive run to the NBA Cup Finals — without breaking up a promising young core for an older player with an injury history.
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• Along the same lines, anyone suggesting that the Oklahoma City Thunder — the young reigning champs who are 25-2 and have the best point differential in NBA history so far — are going to blow up their core to get into the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes is just click-chasing. There is no truth in that.
