Giannis Antetokounmpo celebrated his 31st birthday on Saturday.
On Friday night, in a message delivered to Chris Haynes via the NBA on Prime postgame show on Amazon, Antetokounmpo insisted that the 10-15 Milwaukee Bucks’ struggles make him “want to run through the wall and make things work” rather than push for a trade.
The rest of the NBA, meanwhile, remains on Giannis Watch no matter what sort of messaging is emanating from Milwaukee.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers strenuously insisted Wednesday that Antetokounmpo “has never asked to be traded … ever.” I can share, from my own reporting, that team officials have tried as hard as they can to operate as normal in the wake of ESPN’s report earlier this week that Antetokounmpo and his agent Alex Saratsis have re-opened discussions with the organization about the player’s future. It’s an approach Milwaukee has maintained since unveiling Myles Turner as its marquee free agent addition in July at a press conference set up adjacent to a concourse at the Thomas & Mack Center during Las Vegas Summer League.
Antetokounmpo, remember, is also sidelined indefinitely by a calf strain he sustained in the first quarter Wednesday against Detroit soon after Rivers’ impassioned pregame remarks. It is yet another complicating variable for the Bucks, who are 1-7 without Antetokounmpo this season and have relied on him for a league-leading 38.1% of their points in the 17 games he has played (9-8).
The Bucks entered the season in the belief that Antetokounmpo was all-in until the offseason without exception … with two of his brothers (Thanasis Antetokounmpo and two-way signee Alex Antetokounmpo) on the roster alongside him. Will that hold if Antetokounmpo, as Rivers also acknowledged as a possibility this week, misses closer to a month than two weeks and the Bucks continue to sink in the East standings?
It’s a question that the entire NBA is asking.
On this Sunday, then, we expound on the week’s first around-the-league notebook on the matter from me with a fresh look at various connected situations:
A common refrain you hear from rival teams is that they are still waiting for a clear signal that the Bucks are open to fielding trade pitches for Antetokounmpo.
Which has not happened yet.
Another common belief circulating among league executives:
