Giannis’ Press Conference Raises More Questions Than Answers for the Bucks

Giannis’ Press Conference Raises More Questions Than Answers for the Bucks

We heard from Giannis for the first time in nearly three weeks, and it seems like we’ve heard this story before. We dig into the details of what he had to say coming up next on this bonus episode of Locked on Bucks. You are Locked on Bucks, your daily Milwaukee Bucks podcast, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. Welcome in to Lockdown Bucks. I am Justin Garcia joined as always by Camille Davis. We thank you for making this your first listen of the day each and every day and for making the Lockdown Podcast Network the number one sports podcasting network in the business. You can hear me on the Bucks Radio Network each and every game. You can find Camille on our Locked on NBA coverage and the Technical File podcast as well. If you missed it earlier today, we had the postgame breakdown of the Bucks loss to the Toronto Raptors. But prior to the game, Camille, we heard from Giannis >> for the first time since that injury against the Detroit Pistons on what, December 3rd. So, >> yep. >> Two two plus weeks. Um, I said it feels like we’ve heard this and and seen this and experienced this before because you as we were talking prior to recording, we both kind of said, you know, it gave vibes of a certain player that we’ve experienced the same thing with. Um, I’m old enough to remember listening to all the postgame press conferences at the podium by a famed Packers quarterback, Brett Favre, where you would look at it and you’d say, “Man, he’s” So, one of my jobs in the Packers radio network when I did that was cutting up those um postgame audio and you would see the file for Favre and like, man, this was like 32 minutes and then you go back and count like this was six questions. and he talked for, wow, these really went off and wide ranging and it just became meandering and a lot of word salad and it starts somewhere. He doesn’t know where it’s going to finish and it it eventually ends up where the question was. Um, I don’t know if it was quite to that level, but I got a lot of those vibes. It was a lot of word salad in 25 minutes. Uh, it was a lot of somewhat direct questions. I don’t mean that as a knock or or anything against those who were there and ask them, but um answers that kind of started where he was I don’t know if he was trying to kind of get them to drop their guard a little bit with the Target reference and telling Mariah like you don’t need to go to Target every day. Um and even trying to relate to like maybe you go home and smoke a cigar and you go home and you do this, I do that. It it it just kind of went everywhere for 25 minutes and it didn’t provide any concrete information. I mean, I think we were coming in looking for just give us an answer one way or another. Have you engaged in any conversations? How do you view your future on this team? What are your thoughts watching this season? There’s a lot of reporting that these things happen. so care to elaborate and instead we just kind of got more of the same. It was kind of doubling down on the well my my agents you I can’t control them in any conversations that they have and then in the very next sentence you acknowledge my agents work for me. >> Yeah. Yeah. That was the part like that particular answer when he went on about that that entire answer he kind of bounced around in a few different areas, right? Um where reading between the lines a little bit here, he seems like he is very kind of over um the trade rumors and everything that comes with it, but at the same time, this could have been an opportunity to qual them like to really squash them. like in training camp when he came out there and he said, “I hope this is the last time I have to talk about this this season. I’m a Milwaukee Buck. I’m not thinking about anything else. I want to be here.” It was a lot more definitive um at that point. What we heard >> that part of it was the rest of it was not at training camp. >> Yes. Yeah. I definitely agree with you on that. But at least he gave us at least something in that initial reaction of like, “Hey, this is where I feel we’re moving on. But if I change my mind in six, seven months, then I changed my mind in six, seven months.” which I was like >> relatable, can deal with that. But with all the noise that’s been around Giannis this season around like oh his agents reaching out his representatives and then hearing Chris Haynes come out and say like Giannis is saying he can’t control what representatives say and what they do. And it’s like I I get what you’re saying in the sense of all adult human beings have control over what they do, but when someone works for you, there there’s a certain level of I believe lock step that tends to go within that. Like Giannis may not personally be having the conversations, but if his agents are exploring it, then it’s something that’s on the table. It wasn’t necessarily ruled out. The way that Giannis talked in this presser where he kind of said, “I’m locked in on the Bucks. like what does all this mean? Like I’m not going to do my job. I don’t think I’ve ever doubted that. Like I know Jiannis is going to give his all making sure his body is right to make sure he can give everything he has on the court. Um but it seems like he he really wants to win as we have continued to hurt and I get that. But it’s at the same point where it’s like I don’t want to get to a point where it is like Brett Favre and you’re just tired of it all and then the relationship between the star and the fan base starts to fracture in ways. I don’t want to see that happen with Giannis because he’s been too valuable, too important, um, and means too much to the city for it to go that way. You know what I mean? I don’t want to see it devolve into that. >> Yeah. I mean, look, we’ve we’ve said before, um, he is the greatest player in franchise history. >> Yeah. Some argue it’s Kareem. I personally still think it’s Giannis because of the longevity attached to >> Kareem reached two finals. Sure, I will give you that. But the importance of what Giannis brought to the team and I yeah Kareem won what third year in the league for this team as an expansion franchise. They won a championship. There were sharks in the water. It was very real that this team may no longer be in Milwaukee if Giannis doesn’t not just Giannis the ownership change and the investment in money and getting a new arena. Um but your interest is gone if there’s no player to hang your hat on. And I know Giannis wasn’t MVP caliber at the time that the arena plan passed, but the steady progression and to create and cultivate Bucks fans that did not exist because of this individual player. There was no interest. You know this >> no interest in this team outside of Milwaukee. No one cared. You get to Madison, you get North in the state, you get West, it’s the Packers and the Brewers. He changed that where they at least even if you’re a casual, you’re a casual and I got to pay attention and I know this Giannis guy and I check the box scores. You didn’t even have that before. So that and delivering a second championship, keeping your team at that level for a decade now, which as we’ve seen, it’s starting to fracture. But he is and and by the records, by the numbers, every statistical category and record that he is going to own, he is the greatest buck in franchise history. Kareem Abdul Jabbar has had a better career outside of Milwaukee in full career, yes, but he’s the greatest buck in franchise history. So, we’ve talked about loyalty that Giannis has to the organization. Um, I do think it goes both ways, too. And that’s the tricky part of all of this in that if he doesn’t have an answer, if he’s uncertain, which we’ll get to coming up in a second here, and he doesn’t tell you, I want to be traded, they’re not going to trade him, >> right? >> Because of everything we’ve already talked about, how important he is financially. That’s a cash cow. for a group that didn’t have it before. We knew what this was like in the 90s, in the early 2000s. >> You were basketball Siberia. You didn’t have national games. There was no interest. You weren’t even a thought to play on Christmas Day. You get tourism revenue from people that are coming in to stay in your city to buy tickets to your arena to come there to watch Giannis specifically. You have a country of Greece that has invested in your team and now Bucks fans. Um everything that built up around the arena too. If we take all the economic impact into it, it is not even up for debate whether or not Giannis is the greatest player in franchise history because of things like the hotel that exists, the new arena, how what’s been built in Deer District that’s out there now. Um that’s all money you’re walking away from if he’s not here anymore. Like what’s what’s the international dollar? Your your TV, your local rights deal isn’t what it currently is. You don’t fetch as much demand there. And I know it’s not great and it’s going downhill for every team, but the interest isn’t quite where it is. You’re not getting fans that are coming in and making this a trip to see Giannis. You’re losing out on jersey sales. You’re not getting people going to that hotel as frequently and trying, oh, we’re going to go to a Bucks game and we’re going to frequent these places outside of it. So, it’s a massive economic impact as a business decision. You can argue whether or not it’s the right basketball decision. I get that. but a business decision. That is why they have no interest in trading him. That being said, too, if he says, you know what, I I’ve thought about it and I would like to finish my career here. I think they owe it to him to do that and to say, okay, then we are going to make this work. But there is a give and take here if that’s what we’re doing. And I think that’s the next part of it. So, I want to get into that. one of the other interesting things that he had to say about his conversations with teammates and of course the bigger thing the bigger concrete thing that came out of what he had to say yesterday and that is his timeline for return. So we’ll get into that coming up next. This season’s heating up and Door Dash has a way to keep fans in their bag the whole way through. Whether you’re watching the highlights, the tunnel fits, or just your favorite player, Door Dash makes the entire season more fun. 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Um, everybody’s running with the I can’t control what my agents do and and we’ve shared our thoughts and it is ridiculous to to say that and then acknowledge a sentence later that your agents at the end of the day my agent works for me, right? Um, but he was also asked about his teammates and you know we heard again distractions aren’t good like we want to keep that out of it. I I don’t focus on that. Uh, we don’t want these distractions around us. There’s a way to end the distractions, right? And and we’re not asking for even a definitive statement. Just say like, “No, I haven’t asked for a trade. I’m not asking for a trade. I I’m finishing the season with the Milwaukee Bucks. If we have to re-evaluate things in the summer, >> then we do, but my focus is on how do we turn this around right now and get us back into the playoff picture.” End of sentence. Like, >> yep. >> Yes, the question is still going to come up, but you have to do those types of things to at least put some water on the fire. We didn’t hear that. Um, what we did hear that was interesting was, “I’ve been approached by teammates who ask me about the reports because it might affect their own life and their own career.” And I’m straight with them, whatever that answer may be. Whatever that answer may be. >> So, does it change dayto day? >> It could. Who know? And that’s the thing, like it it really does feel to me as if the reason that there is no definitive statement is because he’s currently still unsure about what it is that he he really wants. Um, I think I’ve said it before, I’m not sure if me and you were just talking or if it was actually on air, but like I never doubt or question the love that Giannis has for Milwaukee and for the Bucks. I don’t think that if he does change his mind and he decides like, hey, actually, I want to be traded. I want out of Milwaukee. I don’t think that that’s a reflection on like how he feels about the city or the team as a whole. It’s just like I’m looking at the landscape right now. >> I’m looking at us 11 and 17. >> Yeah. Like I don’t think I have a chance to win here and I don’t see it getting better anyway going forward. Now, the caveat to that that I continue to throw out there is like Giannis at this point, well, and by the end of this road trip, if I remember correctly, will have missed like half of the Bucks games that they have played so far this season. >> Yeah. >> So, like that does play on the record that they do have because again, this was a team constructed to be put around Giannis. Without Giannis, we said it before the season even started. If Giannis misses large stretches of the of the season, the Bucks are going in trouble. Like, we knew that before we even saw it in play. seeing it, it might be like even more jarring in person of like, dang, like I thought it would be a little bit of a struggle, but I didn’t expect it to be this much of a struggle. >> I mentioned uh real quickly, you know, when when it started and we saw all the numbers that that showed, hey, with Giannis on the floor so far this season, they’re playing at a 58 win pace. With him off, they’re a 14- win pace team. You looked at it and you’re like, okay, that’s a little extreme. And then you’ve seen these games unfold and think, maybe not. Yeah, maybe not at all. And that’s where I’m at with this team where it’s like I I can get it, but like I keep coming back to like for me, I just what I hope is that at least the season plays out. Like at least just play the season out. Let’s see where that goes. in the summer. Let’s reevaluate there for a few different reasons because if he does decide like this is not where I want to be anymore for the the health of the Bugs franchise going forward, I feel like the deal they can get in the summer could be a bit better than whatever they can get in season from >> I don’t know really. >> Um yeah, because you’re going to have more value in season because of the urgency that comes along. it opens up more teams in the off season because of you know this CBA makes it difficult for >> right >> um for a number of teams. So like it it brings more people to the table in the off season, but I don’t know that those teams that like like for example right now >> I am all but willing to say there is no chance the Knicks can trade for Giannis within season because of the constraints they’re up against. They’re hardcapped at the first apron. They can’t take back more money than they send out. they don’t have any player that’s making um as much money as Giannis and it just it becomes messy for the New York Knicks for example. So, if it goes into the off season, they could become a player, but still, what what is it that you would be getting from the Knicks, even in a multi-team deal? Um, that would ultimately be the case where they flip one of those guys that’s a win now player elsewhere. You those assets in that sense, it opens up more teams. I still think if it was an inseason deal, it’s a team that says, “Look, it’s out there for the taking right now. Look at the East. The Cavs are in shambles. We don’t really buy into the Pistons. The Knicks have some staying power. We think if we had Giannis, we’re at that level and we can win right now. And then who knows? Like you you also can’t live your life in fear and say, “Well, the Oklahoma City Thunder are out there, so why even bother?” Like, >> you never know what’s happen. >> Injuries happen, right? You don’t know what happens along the playoffs >> and in the playoffs. So, I I do think it’s more value in season. That being said, I don’t see an inseason trade happening. Yeah, I want as many biders to the table as possible. I I if if it gets to that point, I want what’s best for the Milwaukee Bucks franchise going forward ultimately. Um and again, my my hope is that that continues to involve Giannis out of the Kumbo going forward. But if he chooses not to, like I won’t have any hard feelings against Giannis about it. The only way the feelings start to become different um and as you can see with just reaction to the comments that he made before the game against the >> is if you make it. >> Exactly. if you continue to draw it out and honestly I again I don’t know Giannis we all know that Giannis keeps things very close to the chest close to the vest but >> when I it feels like he doesn’t want to be a bad guy and sometimes when you fight so hard not to do something you can unintentionally just become what it is that you’re hoping you’re not going to be and like I said before like I don’t want it to get to a Brett Favre level. I don’t even want to get to like the Aaron Rogers level that it was before Aaron left Green Bay himself. like I I don’t want it to be that type of situation if it gets to that point. So ultimately like I just want clarity. I would love for things to be spoken about as clearly as possible um going forward. But we might not get that and that’s the other reality of it. Like this just might be what it is for the until we get to February 5th and then after that it is what it is because the trade deadline has come and gone. You now know what it is. But unless the Bucks start reeling off some wins consistently, it I don’t think this is going anywhere. If anything, it’s just going to continue to get louder and louder and louder. >> No. And we’ve seen nothing to suggest they are going to reel off some winds consistently. Um, one final piece to wrap up that exact quote and what it could potentially mean. And then the other thing like the the elephant in the room of a room full of elephants now is the timeline has been adjusted for the Bucks and what that means for Giannis and everyone else involved. We’ll get into that conversation next. Let’s be real. No one starts a business for the joy of calculating tax withholdings or managing payroll spreadsheets. 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Take it up a level. Join the everyday club and get locked on bucks with no interruptions. Members only Discord access and more. All for just $5 a month. Or save and get $50. Get the full year for $50. Uh to sign up, just find the URL. It’s posted in the show notes. All right. What So what do you take that exact quote as? Like it’s changing daily or I’m straight with them, whatever that answer may be. Because there’s really there’s two scenarios here, right? Um, if you are being upfront with your teammates and telling them, “Here’s where it is. I if you’re honestly telling them, “Yeah, guys, look, I’m not going to I’m not going to BS you. We’re looking into exit scenarios because I I just think that’s best for me, my family, and my career.” It’s a matter of time before that gets out, right? like the old adage of sure three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead. So like if if you’re telling this then it’s a matter of time before a leak starts to occur. If Giannis has already told his teammates he’s looking at this. Um if he’s telling them >> I’m I don’t know where this is coming from. I’m not looking at leaving. This isn’t from me. I’m committed to here. I’m coming back at this date. And we’ll get to that in a second. Let’s just figure this out. and you’re traded in season or you’re traded in the off seasonason. Like even if you try to spin this as guys this was not my doing, the Bucks traded me or my agents cooked this up. Players know how this works. Players know they’ve been in the league. So like you run the risk then of what is and this isn’t, you know, as important for on the court per se, but like you talk about your legacy and he mentioned legacy again in those 25 minutes yesterday. I mean that’s part of it. if guys are like that guy was never truthful with us and he he blatantly lied to us and and some of us who were free agents and going into a big season like told us don’t worry and then in the offseason or during the season he’s gone. >> Yeah. I mean we heard certain teammates come out and talk about it like Kevin Porter Jr. has been somebody very strong in his comments whenever he’s been asked so far about the honest rumors and I mean the last time he was asked like I’m not answering these questions anymore like he was calling it you know like fake news for the most part of like this is not what we heard from Giannis like I know if things change I will hear from him first and until then I I don’t I’m not believing these reports this isn’t going to continue to be noise if we real seven eight wins in a row which as you mentioned like let’s let’s start with two wins in a row we haven’t done that since the end of October Let’s start with two two in a row and then we see what happens from there. But yeah, like that relationship is important. >> Camille, next week is going to be a oneweek anniversary of backto-back wins. >> That is so true. I hope Oh, that is so true. Yeah, that was a whole different >> Merry Christmas >> and happy new year to you. But yeah, I mean it does matter. Uh, and I I do believe when Giannis was talking about how much he does not like this for his teammates and how hard that can be on them. I wholeheartedly believe that he means that with everything in him that he does not want to be a distraction in the sense that it affects >> other people. Like if this could be a decision that only affected him going forward, I’m sure that, you know, he’d be okay with what’s going on around him. Like he even laughed about how every time he turn TV on, he’s being brought up like I’m the hottest chick in the game right now. >> Yeah. laughing about it and it’s like that’s Giannis. >> He threw shade at the Memphis Grizzlies. >> Yeah. Like yeah, I’m not going in New Orleans. I’m not going to New Orleans. We know that at least. But like for his teammates though, I do believe that that’s something that does weigh on him of like I I don’t like this affecting my teammates and the jobs that they’re trying to do as well because they’re all adults. They’re grown with families situations. People need to take care of themselves too. So like we don’t want that. But again, he said it during his comments too of like winning cures everything. Winning puts a lot. It just it calms everything down because you want to have fun and you’re not having fun when you’re losing games. So like he mentioned the was it the 19 season when the Bucks were just rolling. He’s like we didn’t lose two games in a row. It was fun. Like we didn’t have the postseason we wanted but the season was fun. He was like I want to get back to playing fun basketball. >> We’ll have to see if Milwaukee can get to that. Uh, and they did lose back-to-back games. I think they lost three in a row, didn’t they? It was it was the very very end of the season before they went to the bubble that they finally lost uh consecutive games, but I mean that team was a death machine basically for for most of the season. So, yes, I mean, long story short, we did not get a whole lot of clarity you were hoping for. We saw obviously Giannis appearing on a prominent podcast that he uh has a close personal relationship to the day before this and then um I do wonder if that’s why this was timed out that we heard from the very next day when I’m sure there was a lot of anticipation of okay we’re going to get some of these answers then and you didn’t um but we didn’t get the answers we hoped to get not only on that front to clear it up but also on the front of the timeline line where he said this is a solius strain which he dealt with leading into the playoffs two seasons ago and I forget >> what he said the timeline was then it was it was two months wasn’t it before he resumed doing anything um so he he confirmed it is a solely a strain it’s not a calf strain and yeah it’s four to six weeks not two to four which then you know begs the question of did something change along the way like was there additional imaging that was done and something else happened that you oh let’s get this looked at again or I just this doesn’t feel right to go from a calf strain two to four weeks to no solely a strain four to 6 weeks which I take as it’s 6 weeks you know maybe maybe even more um that was notable especially as we talk about they got to find a way to pull themselves through this without Giannis well bump back that timeline even more and here’s the other thing this brings to the and a a an incredible run that he had when you look at all NBA first team finishing in the top four I think in MVP voting >> that’s done because you were already buted well up against it if this was you know a a three to four week injury it meant you had one or two games to play with the rest of the season for three months this now this is going to take him beyond the the 17 games that you can miss >> yeah and that’s That’s disappointing, right? Because the streak that he has put together has been so impressive. And that was one of the things that I thought could be a silver lining heading into this season of like, hey, people don’t really expect much of the Milwaukee Bucks. If Giannis can stay healthy, I think he’s going to put up some really monster numbers this season because we do know the basic formula of Giannis plus shooters tends to equal really, really good results. And that’s what I was hoping for of like, hey, maybe this is an MV3 season if the narrative can get to like it’s a great year for narrative, right? Um, and it’s still been a great year for narrative in the sense of what’s bringing in eyes and views. Um, just not the narrative that I was hoping would be around the Milwaukee Bucks right now. And if that’s out the window now with this injury, because the Bucks initially listed it as like, hey, two to four weeks injury for Giannis and hearing Giannis speak and not even mention two weeks, he said, this is a four to six weeks type of injury. Um and no one >> and to be fair Doc said immediately like uh this is longer. >> I would guess four weeks. Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. Doc even even what a week ago a couple games ago said like >> he’s not >> not close hasn’t done anything yet. Yeah. >> Which can make confusion like wait how is he not close if it’s two to four weeks but when you hear the timeline is actually more in line of four to six weeks it makes a lot more sense for the team. So, uh, ultimately he did mention that he thought he got this injury because he kind of rushed back from that prior injury that he had and it’s an overcompensation injury and you don’t want that. So, again, he is getting older. We know 31 at this point now. There’s there’s no >> no good reason to try to rush back if it’s going to jeopardize something else on in your body. That’s, you know, the way you make money at this point. So, the awards are cool and everything like that, but ultimately his health is the most important thing going forward. So, like don’t rush it back. And it doesn’t seem like he’s in the m the mentality to be rushing back from this. Like he understands how important it is to make sure that this particular injury um is fully healed before he steps on the court even though you can also tell he is thirsty to play some basketball right now and he’s unable to. >> Okay. So, um I guess we’ll wrap with with some difficult questions, Camille. Um, having said that and the, you know, him acknowledging he thinks this occurred because he rushed himself back because this team is currently 11 and 17. And we mentioned on the earlier show today where they sit in the standings and at this point a very real possibility that you come out of this road trip and all of a sudden you’re one of the three worst teams in the league and and you’re just locked down there in the conference I should say. Um, it’s still December, so it’s still too early to fully lean into, well, it’s time. But does that kind of frame your judgment for the rest of the season? And look, this team has massively struggled without him. We know he’s not going to be back for at least two more weeks from where we currently sit. Probably closer to three weeks now or four weeks. Um, we have a pick this summer. We don’t next summer. We got swaps after that. like we pay off the credit card statement with the the New Orleans Pelicans next summer, summer of 2027, >> but then we other we have this other massive bill that’s coming in for the other credit card with the Blazers. So, does this nudge you to say, “Okay, it’s time we just we have to lean into making sure we get a really good pick.” And again, it’s complicated because it’s a swap, but as long as the Pelicans remain really bad, um, you can slide back four spots with other teams jumping in front of you. So, I think at this point, the Bucks on average are going to be picking around 11th. You could potentially move that thing up there where we’re all of a sudden talking about the lesser of those two picks is like the fifth or sixth pick in this draft, which by all accounts is very loaded. Um, does this push you to, yeah, we need to do that and let’s kill two birds with the one stone by saying, let’s see what we have with this guy. Let’s let’s see if Jericho Sims can develop X, Y, and Z. Let’s see if Andre Jackson does have one last gallon of gas in the tank with this. Uh, let’s see some of these unconventional lineups with Ryan Rollins and ask him to do these types of things because maybe it’s not going to yield success in terms of wins and losses. It’s going to help the player growth and it’s also going to help us get a pretty good pick this summer. >> Maybe. I don’t think I’m quite there yet. Um although this is a draft I keep I keep my eye like man this this would be a really good year to be able to have a high draft pick just given the talent that’s coming out uh this year into the NBA. But the reality of it is for me is like things are dire. If the Bucks go one and four or god forbid 0 and5 on this upcoming road trip, um you’re gonna end the >> 0 and5 it’s over. >> Yeah. You’re looking up at the standings there. Uh but the the again I keep saying this like the craziest part is like the East is still so jumbled in a way where it’s like if you could put together two good months, you would probably still find yourself in the in the playoff conversation because of that’s just the the conversation. And on top of that too, when we hit January, there are going to be other teams who are looking at their situation as well and saying, you know what, we’re also looking ahead to the 2026 draft. And then it becomes the the tankathon of like which teams are going to lose more so and so forth. Like >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I mean, that’s the thing, too, is um other teams are going to start to get there. Now, I haven’t fully I I don’t know off the top of my head and haven’t fully looked into who has what in terms of what they owe out because that determines a lot too in pick protections, but other teams are going to start to get there. You may have a head start on them with the way that this month has gone or these last two months now. Gez, and potentially this fivegame road trip as well, but that to me like the hope that you had was still clinging on two to four weeks. If Giannis can come back in three weeks, it’s not ideal, but like you feel you’re not the 11th seed. You’re not the 10th seed with Giannis playing consistently. Now, are you a three seed? No. You know, we haven’t seen enough to really convince you of that, but you’re a better team than this. So, you get him back and maybe you can sneak into that seven or eight line because of how the season’s gone so far. But now having to add to that timeline and extend it out by at least 2 weeks, that’s that’s a tough cell to me that that’s what really starts to change things for the trajectory of this season with this group. >> Yeah, we’re going to have to see like it’s all on them. like we can continue to have the conversations about this, but ultimately I said this too with the um with the Green Bay Packers after the Micah Parson’s injury of like no one else is going to feel sorry for you right now. There’s going to be a lot of conversation outside the building about the way you’ve been performing, what people expect from you going forward, but ultimately the people who are in that building, the players who are going to get out there on the court in this situation on the field with the Packers, um it’s going to be on them of what they make of the situation going forward. How much of this outside noise can they block out? How closely can this team continue to stay together during this time period? Like, we’re gonna see. Maybe they can make people eat their words. We haven’t seen enough on tape so far to give me confidence to say this is what they’re going to do. But ultimately, what I say doesn’t matter because it’s about the guys who are going to hit that court. So, it’s on them of how this season continues to turn out because if we get another two weeks out here um and you’re at the bottom of the standings looking up, Yeah. then decisions might start coming from the front office and other situations where uh the game plan changes because I say it often even with tanking teams the players who are on the court they’re not the ones who are who are trying to throw the game you see it by sub patterns you see it by the guys who are available during the games you see it in all other ways but the players are always going to go out there and play um so as somebody who has enjoyed watching the Milwaukee Bucks for decades at this point um as somebody who’s born and raised in Milwaukee, who went through the dark years of being ridiculed for wearing Bugs Gear outside in Milwaukee at times. Like, I would love to see a product on the floor that makes me want to continue to tune in and like enjoy watching the team. Like, I hope that they can find a way. They just haven’t given me enough confidence with what they’ve put on tape so far to say that’s what’s going to happen. But, I would love for them to prove me wrong. >> We shall see here. this road trip is is going to determine a lot for this team and we’ll see as we continue to hear from Giannis. If we continue to hear from him, I would imagine that will be pretty sparse here, especially we didn’t hear um whether or not he’s going to be on the trip with this team is is Doc was pretty ambiguous about that uh on the most recent road game that they had in Brooklyn against the Nets, but we’ll see where he’s at there. But um yeah, again, if you’re looking for postgame commentary on the loss to the Toronto Raptors, that’s its own show. So, it’s the one right before this. Go search that out. But this one specifically focusing on what we heard or or I guess more importantly, what we didn’t hear from Giannis in his 25minute media interview session earlier in the day on Thursday. That’ll do it for this bonus edition of the show. We’ll be back next week to recap the first game of that trip in Minneapolis against the Timberwolves. And um still working on a plan on how we’re going to attack the rest of the week as um we’d both like some time off around the holidays. I’m sure Camille, I’ll speak for you on that one. So, >> absolutely. >> We’ll see um how next week is is going to be handled. But uh that will do it for today’s show. As always, thanks for tuning in to Locked on Bucks. Uh, the next show, as we just noted, is going to be the postgame recap against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Make sure you subscribe and follow Locked On Bucks, so you get all of the latest episodes. If you need a lastminute gift for somebody that keeps asking what you want, make it easy. Ask for the Everydayer Club, add free episodes of this show, exclusive Discord access, and more. Subscriptions can be gifted. You can find the link in our episode description. And for those of you on video, we send you to the first ever 24/7 National NBA YouTube channel. On audio, make sure you make that your second listen NBA game night on Locked on NBA. For Camille, I’m Justin. We will talk with you guys once again next week on Locked on Bucks.

Milwaukee Bucks fans brace for uncertainty as Giannis Antetokounmpo finally breaks his silence amid swirling trade rumors and a brutal stretch without their superstar. The future of Milwaukee basketball hangs in the balance—will Giannis’ ambiguous comments fuel further speculation, or does he still have unfinished business in Cream City?

Justin Garcia and Camille Davis dissect Giannis’ 25-minute media session, comparing it to Brett Favre’s infamous wordy pressers and scrutinizing the lack of clarity on his injury and long-term commitment. Key topics include the Bucks’ ongoing struggles without Giannis, business implications for the franchise, and the possible effect of his absence on the team’s lottery odds. With a four-to-six week timeline for Giannis’ return, can Milwaukee keep its playoff hopes alive, or is a rebuild on the horizon? Don’t miss this inside look at the crossroads facing the Milwaukee Bucks.

00:00 Word Salad and Familiar Vibes
04:44 Giannis, Bucks, and Future Speculation
08:30 Giannis’ Impact on Bucks’ Economy
09:47 Making It Work: The Timeline
16:07 Knicks’ Giannis Trade Constraints
18:00 Future Uncertainty with Giannis
26:26 Soleus Strain Timeline Confusion
30:04 Team’s Struggles Amid Key Injury
31:48 Bucks Draft Strategy Discussion
34:59 It’s On Them

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