Giannis Antetokounmpo’s name refuses to leave the rumor mill, even as the Milwaukee Bucks attempt to silence the chatter with their recent play. Teams around the league are asking one question: When will the Greek Freak leave? Now, one NBA insider has a substantial update.
“I think eventually he’s going to be out of town,” Sam Amick recently told the hosts of Run It Back. “I don’t think it happens mid-season… I told him we needed to catch up and mentioned all the different reports, and he says, ‘Oh, false narrative, false narrative.’”
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Around the league, insiders don’t usually speak with that level of finality about a franchise cornerstone, especially considering Antetokounmpo hasn’t yet publicly demanded a trade. However, Amick was set on one point: it’s not happening at the deadline.
There was a simple reason for this: contractual reasons. There’s no clear pathway for teams around the league to make an in-season blockbuster trade for Antetokounmpo, who makes $54.1 million this year, because the math around rosters, contracts, and apron restrictions can complicate things very fast. Most contender-level teams already have an established core, and are unwilling to gut their teams on the fly without clarity on what remains ahead of them, and matching salaries can create an even bigger headache.
The Bucks’ recent surge also complicates things. The team has quietly won four of their last five games, which has helped stabilize the mood around the team and bought them some breathing room. However, it only delays the decision, and no amount of unexpected winning can create a championship-level roadmaps that didn’t exist a month ago. Clearly, Antetokounmpo understands this too.
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“He’s smart enough to read the room,” Amick said. “I think that if you’re Giannis, that makes you go, all right, let me just settle in and try to make the best of a pretty tough situation.”
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Giannis Antetokounmpo Pushes Back on “Disrespectful” Trade Talk Amid Bucks Struggles
For the time being, it seems like Giannis Antetokounmpo is committed to the Milwaukee Bucks. After a recent game, when the Greek forward was asked if he still wanted to be with the Bucks while they were in the middle of a losing stretch, his response was both immediate and sharp.
“Don’t ask me that question,” he told the reporter, clearly irritated. “It’s disrespectful towards myself and my teammates… It’s disrespectful towards the organization, my coaching staff, myself, and all the people that work hard.”
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To him, the premise ignored everything that was already happening in the locker room, and the question undermined the daily work being put in by everyone around him. It wasn’t silencing rumors as much as rejecting the idea that his commitment depends on the standings.