MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo said Thursday he is focused on getting healthy and helping the Milwaukee Bucks turn around their season rather than focusing on rumors about his future plans.
This was Antetokounmpo’s first interview with reporters since ESPN reported on Dec. 3 that Antetokounmpo and his agent, Alex Saratsis, were discussing with Bucks officials whether he would be best suited to stay in Milwaukee or be traded. Antetokounmpo strained his right calf in a win over the Detroit Pistons that night and hasn’t played since.
advertise
“There will be conversations between (my agent) and the Bucks, him and his other players, him and other teams and other general managers and executives around the league,” Antetokounmpo said during a 24-minute media session. “It’s something you can’t control. But, at the end of the day, I haven’t had a conversation with the Bucks personally. I’m still focused on my teammates. Most importantly, focused on me coming back healthy.”
As the Bucks have struggled over the last month, speculation about Antetokounmpo’s future has begun to heat up. Milwaukee improved to 11-16 heading into Thursday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors. That includes a 2-8 record in games Antetokounmpo didn’t play.
Antetokounmpo missed four games last month with a left adductor strain and injured his calf in his fourth game back from injury. Antetokounmpo, who turns 31 on Dec. 6, believes his quick recovery from an adductor problem may have contributed to the calf issue.
“Maybe it was a mistake for me to come back early because once I came back, now you’re overcompensating,” Antetokounmpo said. “The only way to cause a soleus blowout is to overcompensate and then put an extreme load on it, or play a lot of games in a short period of time. Again, I think all the things I was thinking about and trying to recover from contributed to the accident with my soleus.”
advertise
This is a critical season for the Bucks as there are concerns about Antetokounmpo’s future.
ESPN reported before the season that the Bucks and New York Knicks held trade talks for Antetokounmpo in August but never reached an agreement on a potential deal. A day later, Antetokounmpo told reporters he had the Bucks “locked in” but admitted he might eventually change his mind.
The idea that Antetokounmpo might demand a trade has been the talk of the NBA ever since.
“This is the most talked about thing in my career,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m at home with my kids and I turn on the TV and it’s like, ‘Oh, Giannis is going to the Memphis Grizzlies,’ or ‘Giannis is going to the Detroit Pistons.'” Hey, man, I’m not going to lie, I’m the hottest chick in the game right now. No, I’m kidding. “
advertise
Antetokounmpo said all this speculation about his future is tough on his family and the team. Antetokounmpo said he has had informal conversations with teammates to offer encouragement and reassurance.
“I would never have a meeting with my teammates and have everybody sit down and talk, ‘Hey guys, hey, if we don’t win, I’m out of here,'” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s like, come on. We’ve grown up… men. This isn’t going to happen. They’ve grown up, too. I think they understand the deal. You’ve got to give the team a sense of urgency. Like, ‘Guys, this is serious. Who do we want to be? We’ve got to turn this around. We’ve got time to turn this around.’ And you’ve got to have a little sense of urgency.”
“I think I’ve discussed it with coaches. I think I’ve discussed it with individual players. Teammates have reached out to me about these rumors because it could impact their own lives and careers as well. Whatever the answer is, I’ve been honest with them about it.”
When Antetokounmpo spoke to reporters about his future in October, he expressed hope he wouldn’t have to address the issue for the rest of the season. Now he says he knows the topic will keep coming up because “when people see the cracks, they see the opportunity to move through those cracks.”
advertise
But the nine-time All-NBA forward said he wasn’t thinking about it. He’s more concerned with getting back on the court and getting the Bucks to start winning consistently again.
“At the end of the day, we’re fighting for our lives,” Antetokounmpo said. “Like, we have to win a game. So, rumors aren’t going to help us win a game. Or, you know, anything else. We just have to focus on basketball.”
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
