Giannis Trade Rumors: Bucks Superstar Only Available If He ‘Pushes for It’
Zach BacharContributor INovember 10, 2024
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks is entirely dependent on his desire to remain with the organization.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, rival teams don’t expect the Bucks to show “any willingness” to move Antetokounmpo and will only discuss trades involving the superstar forward if he wants to be moved.
“It is understood quite clearly in 29 other front offices that Antetokounmpo is only ever going to be made available for trade if he pushes for it,” Stein wrote on Sunday.
The Bucks have opened the 2024-25 season with a 2-7 record.
Milwaukee hasn’t been complacent with its sluggish start, but luxury tax restrictions have reportedly prevented the team from making progress in trade negotiations.
Per Stein, the Bucks are still trying to improve their depth around Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard but they’ve been “foiled more often than not” by restrictions they face as a team operating above the second tax apron.
Head coach Doc Rivers has also made changes to his current rotation to try and provide a spark, replacing sharpshooter Gary Trent Jr. with athletic wing Andre Jackson Jr. in the starting lineup on Thursday.
The move initially helped the Bucks secure a 23-point win over the Utah Jazz, but they couldn’t maintain the momentum and suffered a lopsided 116-94 loss to the New York Knicks on Friday.
After the defeat, Antetokounmpo called out the lack of competitiveness that Milwaukee showed.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to compete,” Antetokounmpo said, per ESPN’s Chris Herring. “Teams are not just going to give us games. They’re not going to feel bad for us. We’ve got to compete every single possession. Every loose ball, we’ve got to get a body on the floor and put it on the line. But we didn’t compete at all.”
After winning the second championship in franchise history during their 2020-21 campaign, the Bucks have fallen short of the Eastern Conference Finals in three seasons since. Antetokounmpo previously acknowledged his uncertain future with the organization when speaking to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
“Do you have it in the back of your mind, like, ‘[What] if this year doesn’t go well?’ Yeah, if we don’t win a championship, I might get traded. Yeah, this is the job we live. This is the world we’re living in. It’s everybody,” Antetokounmpo said before the start of the regular season.
The eight-time All-Star has averaged 30.1 points, 12.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 60.5 percent from the field to begin the year.
