Tension within the Milwaukee Bucks’ organization and locker room is at “an all-time high” amid the team’s struggles and trade rumors and speculation regarding superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, per ESPN’s Shams Charania on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday (8:11 mark).

“The frustration that Giannis Antetokounmpo has is at an all-time high. He’s frustrated with the losing. He’s frustrated with the situation, and I will say this, I’ve spoken to about a dozen sources on-and-off for weeks now, and the tension that’s in the air within that organization, in that locker room, it’s at an all-time high, and there’s this somewhat of a splintering environment that we’re seeing going on there, because when a player of Giannis’ caliber maybe has a wandering eye, or maybe doesn’t know what his future holds there, and having these intense conversations with the organization about what that looks like, there’s going to be such high levels and degrees of uncertainty within that organization.”

Eleventh-place Milwaukee has lost four of five games to drop to 18-25 overall, and its last three defeats have been by an average of 23.7 points per game.

It’s no surprise that tension is reportedly high within the Bucks’ locker room given the team’s performance. At this rate, Milwaukee may not even qualify for the playoffs, which is hard to believe given that Antetokounmpo, in his 13th NBA season, is still playing at an All-NBA level (28.2 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 5.6 APG).

Antetokounmpo unfortunately has missed 14 games this season (eight due to a right calf strain), and the Bucks have gone 3-11 in those contests. Still, Milwaukee is just barely above .500 (15-14) with Antetokounmpo on the floor.

The question now is whether Antetokounmpo’s incredible 13-year run with the Bucks, which has seen him make nine All-NBA teams, win two NBA MVP awards and lead Milwaukee to the 2020-21 NBA title, comes to an end.

The Feb. 5 trade deadline looms, but even if Antetokounmpo remains in town for the rest of the season, a summer deal could also transpire.

Last summer, Charania reported that Antetokounmpo expressed concerns about the roster to Bucks brass, and he also said the only team he wanted to play for outside Milwaukee was the New York Knicks. Talks went down between the two teams but went nowhere.

Antetokounmpo has been incredibly loyal to Milwaukee and the Bucks, as Charania noted. He did say, though, that the “writing is on the wall” regarding a potential split, per comments made Friday.

“Everything about Giannis’ brand has been loyalty. He spent 13 years in Milwaukee. It’s clear. He loves the city. He loves the organization. But what I’ve been hearing over and over for months now is that the writing is on the wall for Giannis and the Bucks. It’s just, how do they get there? When do they get there? And really, when is either side ready to step up to the plate and have that level of understanding? Or will it continue to live in this nebulous state where, you know, will they or won’t they, will he, or won’t he? And that has a direct impact on the team and how the performance is and just the level of the air. And so everything that happened in the summer, everything that I reported, that is all just a backdrop to what we’re seeing play out now in real time. The only difference with what was going on in the summer and right now is it’s all happening in everyone’s public domain, because there are games to be played.”

That next game will be played on Friday at home against the Denver Nuggets as Milwaukee tries to sneak into the play-in tournament picture.