MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo said Thursday he’s focused on getting healthy and helping the Milwaukee Bucks turn their season around, not on rumors about his future plans.
Antetokounmpo spoke to reporters for the first time since a Dec. 3 ESPN report indicated that he and his agent, Alex Saratsis, were talking with Bucks officials about whether he's best suited to stay in Milwaukee or get traded. Antetokounmpo strained his right calf in a victory over the Detroit Pistons that night and hasn't played since.
“There’s going to be conversations that are going to be made between (my agent) and the Bucks, and him and his other players, and him and other teams and other GMs, executives around the league,” Antetokounmpo said during the 24-minute media session. “It’s something that you can’t control. But, at the end of the day, I personally have not had the conversation with the Bucks. I’m still locked in, locked in on my teammates. Most importantly, locked in on me getting back healthy.”
The speculation regarding Antetokounmpo's future has picked up as the Bucks have struggled through the last month. Milwaukee's 111-105 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night dropped the Bucks' record to 11-17. That includes a 2-9 mark in games Antetokounmpo hasn't played.
Antetokounmpo missed four games with a left adductor strain last month and hurt his calf in his fourth game back from that injury. Antetokounmpo, who turned 31 on Dec. 6, believes his rapid return from the adductor issue may have led to the calf problem.
“Maybe it was a mistake of me coming back a little bit earlier, because once I come back, now you’re overcompensating,” Antetokounmpo said. “The only way you can pop your soleus is by overcompensating and then having an extreme amount of load or play a lot of games in a short period of time. Again, I think all of the things that I was thinking and trying to come back led to the incident that I had with my soleus.”
This is a critical season for the Bucks because of all the concerns about Antetokounmpo’s future.
ESPN reported before the season that the Bucks and New York Knicks engaged in trade talks regarding Antetokounmpo in August but never gained traction on a potential deal. Antetokounmpo spoke to reporters one day later and said he's "locked in" with the Bucks but acknowledged the possibility he could eventually change his mind.
The idea that Antetokounmpo could request a trade has been the talk of the NBA ever since.
“This is the most I’ve been ever talked about in my career,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m in my house with my kids and all that and I’m opening the TV and it’s like, ‘Oh, Giannis is going to the Memphis Grizzlies,’ or ‘Giannis is going to the Detroit Pistons.’ Which, hey man, I’m not going to lie, I’m the hottest chick in the game right now. No, I’m joking.”
Antetokounmpo said all this conjecture about his future is tough on his family and on the team. Antetokounmpo said he’s had informal conversations with his teammates to offer encouragement and reassurance.
“I’m never going to have a meeting with my teammates and sit everybody down and talk about like, ‘Hey guys, hey, if we don’t win I’m going to get out of here,’" Antetokounmpo said. “Like, come on. We’re grown … men. That’s not going to happen. They’re grown, too. I think they understand the deal. You’ve just got to give urgency to the team. Like, ‘Guys, this is like serious. Who are we trying to be? We’ve got to turn this around. We have time to turn this around.’ And you’ve got to have a little bit more urgency.
“I think I’ve had the conversation with the coach about it. I think I’ve had the conversation with individual players about it. I’ve been approached by teammates and asked about the rumors because it also might affect their own life and their own career. I’m straight with them, whatever that answer might be.”
When he spoke to reporters about his future back in October, Antetokounmpo expressed hope he wouldn’t have to address the issue for the rest of the season. Now he says he understands the topic is going to keep coming up because “when people see cracks, they see opportunity to get in through those cracks.”
But the nine-time All-NBA forward said he’s not thinking about that issue. He’s more concerned with returning to the floor and getting the Bucks to start winning consistently again.
“At the end of the day we’re fighting for our lives,” Antetokounmpo said. “Like, we’ve got to win a game. So, rumors won’t help us win a game. Or, you know, anything else. We’ve just got to focus on basketball.”
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