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.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers has repeatedly stated that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has never requested a trade from Milwaukee.Speculation about Antetokounmpo’s future arose after a report detailed regular conversations between his team and the Bucks’ front office during a losing streak.Antetokounmpo has reaffirmed his commitment to Milwaukee, stating he wants to be there as long as the team has a chance to win.
“I want to make it clear. 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.” − Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers, Dec. 3.
The Bucks coach took an emphatic step in trying to, once again, quell speculation that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo either had, or was on the verge of, forcing his way out of Milwaukee during the 2025-26 season.
Rivers’ statement put an on-the-record spotlight on the Journal Sentinel’s offseason reporting (which was reported again in early October) that Antetokounmpo had never specifically asked to be moved, and that remained the case even as the star player, his representation and the organization conducted their regular, in-season conversations about the team and its direction.
Rivers felt the need to address the topic directly again before his team’s game against Detroit on Dec. 3 because a few hours earlier, ESPN had reported that Antetokounmpo and his representation were speaking with the team about its direction amidst a stretch of eight losses in nine games. The Journal Sentinel learned that such conversations happen regularly, but what was different, for a reason not yet publicly known, was that this regular communication was exposed.
For Rivers, the answer was rather obvious.
“We feel very good about this team, but we have to play better, we have to win games,” Rivers said. “And until we start winning games, this is going to be out here. We rip off 10 in a row, my guess this is magically going to disappear. That’s just how I feel. I just keep saying this. I’ve heard guys say they talk to sources and I talk to the source. And if I’ve learned anything in life, the source usually knows.”
Over the summer, Antetokounmpo went through his annual evaluation of the team, his place within it and its potential ceiling. It was reported that the Bucks did field a call from New York in August about a transaction. Antetokounmpo and the Bucks did not deny the call took place, but with Antetokounmpo not specifically asking to be moved and the Bucks not being interested in moving him, the discussion with the Knicks predictably gained no traction.
Antetokounmpo addressed that situation directly Oct. 8, and once again admitted that every summer he looks around to see where his best fit may be, Milwaukee or otherwise, but once the season begins his feet are where they’re planted.
“Guys, same thing,” Antetokounmpo said at the start of training camp. “I’ve always wanted to be in Milwaukee. I always wanted to represent the city. As long as we have the opportunity to win and I feel like we have an opportunity to win, with this guy right here (Bucks teammate Gary Trent Jr. walked by), man, you know this guy is going to make so many shots this year, I speak it into existence.
“So I’m here. Milwaukee Bucks, I’m here.”