Doc Rivers denies that Giannis Antetokounmpo has asked to be traded
Watch Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers answer questions about Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and the lineup for the Bucks game against the Detroit Pistons at Fiserv Forum. Courtesy of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and his agent will re-engage the Milwaukee Bucks in discussions about his future with the team.The decision comes amid the team’s recent struggles, having lost eight of their last nine games.Antetokounmpo has previously shown dissatisfaction, including removing Bucks-related content from his social media.
Doc Rivers sat on the podium in the Jim Paschke Interview Room in Fiserv Forum less than two hours before his Milwaukee Bucks took on the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 3, and rather than fielding the usual questions about injuries, play style or even the Eastern Conference-leading opponent, he was asked about a report from ESPN about Giannis Antetokounmpo and his representation engaging in conversations with the organization about his immediate and long-term future.
“So, here we go again,” Rivers said, visibly annoyed. “There’s been no conversations.”
Multiple league sources clarified to the the Journal Sentinel that all the parties involved (Alex Saratsis, the co-managing director of basketball for Octagon Sports, Antetokounmpo and Bucks front office) routinely talk throughout a season, but what made the Dec. 3. report by the league’s broadcast partner unique was that such communication was made public.
“It’s different in the middle of the season because the season is going on and you have to answer these questions again,” Rivers acknowledged.
He then took the next step in the anticipated line of questioning.
“I want to make it clear,” Rivers continued. “Just for the, I would say one more time, but for the 50th time, it clearly is not getting to one network for sure – Giannis has never asked to be traded. Ever. I can’t make that more clear.”
Multiple league sources told the Journal Sentinel in the offseason Antetokounmpo has never requested a trade, and that remains the case, but Rivers took that step because the revelation of what are private in-season conversations appeared to represent a pivot from Antetokounmpo’s public declaration in training camp that, “I’m locked into this team. I’m locked into these guys, to this group and to my coaching staff and to myself.”
Antetokounmpo said on Oct. 8 that he addressed a report that the Bucks engaged in some trade discussions with New York with his team and that he felt he needed to show that leadership.
When asked if that is something Antetokounmpo may need to do again, Rivers said, “I don’t think he needs to, but if he has to, he will. I know they all talked today and they were great. Again, it is what it is. The thing I keep saying is, I go to the source. I talk to the source every single day. Every. Single. Day. He loves Milwaukee and he loves the Bucks.”
The Dec. 3 report was interpreted as perhaps the latest display of dissatisfaction with the direction of the team from its star player.
Antetokounmpo had scrubbed his social media accounts of nearly everything Milwaukee and Bucks related, along with personal photos of himself and his family, while the team was mired in a seven-game losing streak in late November. He missed 4½ of those games after being injured Nov. 17.
He then elected not to speak to a small group of reporters in Washington after a disappointing loss to the Wizards on Dec. 1, instead sitting quietly for some time in his locker.
“I’ll just say this: There’s a lot of outside noise, that’s just what comes with it, and Giannis does a great job of assuring that he’s wanting to be here with this group specifically,” Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. after the game. “So we ain’t worried about all the outside noise. That’s my brother, and I’m sure if it was something he would come to us. But he with us. And we’ll hold it down until he ready.’
Milwaukee has lost eight of its past nine games and 10 of its past 13 to fall to 9-13. They are 11th in the Eastern Conference, two games behind Chicago in the loss column for the final play-in spot and four games behind Cleveland in the loss column for the sixth and final playoff spot.
“We are trying to win games,” Rivers said before the Dec. 3 game. “Listen, we’ve lost; the reason this is out is because we’re not playing well. You know, when we started out the season (6-3) guys said, man, they’re gonna be really good. So, let’s just call a spade a spade. We’re not playing well. We lost, had a tough loss 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.”
Antetokounmpo is earning $54 million this season and is under team control for $58.4 million for 2026-27. He holds a $62.7 million player option for 2027-28, but those are usually not picked up by star players.
Antetokounmpo is eligible for another maximum, four-year, $275 million contract extension in October. He could sign that deal with a new team six months after a potential trade.
During the offseason, Antetokounmpo and Rivers acknowledged that the Bucks and New York Knicks had an August conversation about trading the two-time MVP to the Knicks. Two team sources with intimate knowledge of the situation told the Journal Sentinel in the summer that Antetokounmpo never formally asked for a trade in the offseason.
The day after ESPN broke that news, Antetokounmpo said, “First of all, I haven’t read that story. When the season starts, I try to get off social media and I try to focus on my craft and the team. But yeah, I’ve said this many times, I want to be in a situation that I can win and now I’m here. I believe in this team. I believe in my teammates. I’m here to lead this team to wherever we can go and it’s definitely going to be hard. We’re going to take it day-by-day, but I’m here. So, all the other extra stuff does not matter.
“I think I’ve communicated with my teammates, communicated with the people I respect and love that the moment I step on this court or in this facility, I wear this jersey, the rest does not matter. I’m locked into whatever I have in front of me. Now, if in six, seven months, I change my mind, I think that’s human too, you’re allowed to make any decision you want.”
Antetokounmpo added that he hoped the Oct. 8 interview would “end it,” regarding the reporting around his offseason activities. He addressed the trade report again when the Knicks came to Milwaukee a couple of weeks later and said, “I didn’t read that article. I try to stay away from all that rumors, how do you call it, speculations and trade and all this. That doesn’t concern me one bit. I try to involve myself and try to help my team win games.”