12/03/25 11:06:00
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12/03 23:01 CST Bucks coach Doc Rivers disputes report that Antetokounmpo is
talking with team about his future
Bucks coach Doc Rivers disputes report that Antetokounmpo is talking with team
about his future
By STEVE MEGARGEE
AP Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) --- Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Wednesday there have been no
talks between team officials and Giannis Antetokounmpo regarding the two-time
MVP's potential exit from Milwaukee.
Rivers' comments before the Bucks' 113-109 victory over the Detroit Pistons
followed an ESPN report that Antetokounmpo and his agent, Alex Saratsis, had
started speaking with the Bucks about the superstar's future and whether he's
best suited to stay in Milwaukee or play elsewhere. Rivers said "there's been
no conversations" in that regard.
"Giannis has never asked to be traded --- ever," Rivers said. "I can't make
that more clear."
Antetokounmpo played just three minutes Wednesday before a strained right calf
sent him to the locker room. Rivers said after the game that Antetokounmpo was
undergoing an MRI and added that he believed the Bucks had ruled out any
possibility that the superstar had injured his Achilles tendon.
Antetokounmpo's future has been the subject of much speculation around the NBA
ever since the Bucks made a third consecutive first-round playoff exit last
season.
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. According to ESPN, Antetokounmpo had indicated New York was the
only place he wanted to play outside of Milwaukee.
After that report, Antetokounmpo expressed confidence in what the Bucks could
accomplish this season and said he was "locked in," but he also acknowledged
the possibility he could change his mind eventually.
"I believe in this team," Antetokounmpo said at the time. "I believe in my
teammates. I'm here to lead this team to whatever we can go. It's definitely
going to be hard. We're going to take it day by day, but I'm here. All the
added extra stuff, that doesn't matter. I think I've communicated with my
teammates, communicated with the people that I respect and love, that the
moment that I step in on this court, in this facility, I wear this jersey. The
rest does not matter. I'm locked into whatever I have I front of me.
"Now if in six, seven months I change my mind, that's human, too. You're
allowed to make any decision you want. But I'm locked in. I'm locked into this
team. I'm locked into these guys, this group, and to my coaching staff and to
myself.
Since then, the Bucks have struggled.
The Bucks (10-13) had lost eight of nine games before rallying from an 18-point
deficit Wednesday against the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons. Bucks forward
Bobby Portis said the Bucks held a team meeting Wednesday morning.
That slump included a seven-game skid in which Antetokounmpo missed four games
with a left adductor strain.
"Let's just call a spade a spade," Rivers said. "We're not playing well. We had
a tough loss (at Washington) the other night, and so now, this is the subject
matter. It's no more true than it was this summer. Does it affect our team and
our players? I hope not. I can tell you after listening to our guys talk today,
it doesn't. But that doesn't mean it won't. I can't answer that."
Rivers then reiterated his belief that Antetokounmpo has no interest in leaving.
"The thing I keep saying is I go to the source," Rivers said. "I talk to the
source every single day -- every single day -- and he loves Milwaukee and he
loves the Bucks."
Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. expressed similar sentiments after Wednesday's
game.
"Giannis does a great job of assuring he's wanting to be here with this group
specifically, so we ain't worried about all the outside noise," Porter said.
"That's my brother. I'm sure if there was something, he would come to us."
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their first title in half a century in 2021,
scoring 50 points in the Game 6 clincher against the Phoenix Suns. But the
Bucks have won just one playoff series since and have lost in the first round
of the postseason each of the last three years.
The Bucks have made plenty of blockbuster moves the last few years while trying
to win another title. Antetokounmpo repeatedly has said he would like to stay
in Milwaukee but prioritizes playing for a team committed to contending for
championships.
Milwaukee acquired seven-time all-NBA guard Damian Lillard to team up with
Antetokounmpo shortly before the 2023-24 season, but injuries caused them to
play just two playoff games together from start to finish.
After Lillard tore his Achilles tendon in the 2025 playoffs -- knocking him out
for the 2025-26 season -- the Bucks took another big swing by waiving him and
stretching the rest of his salary for the next five years to create the cap
room to sign former Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner. The Bucks hoped they
had built an ideal supporting cast for Antetokounmpo by getting younger and
more athletic.
During the Bucks' media day event before training camp, owner Wes Edens said
he'd had a "great conversation" with Antetokounmpo in June and that the
nine-time all-NBA selection had "made it clear that he was very committed to
Milwaukee."
Antetokounmpo was asked about that conversation later during that event and he
said he couldn't recall that meeting.
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