12/18/25 10:32:00
Printable Page
12/18 22:30 CST Bucks' Antetokounmpo says his focus is on his health rather
than rumors about his future
Bucks' Antetokounmpo says his focus is on his health rather than rumors about
his future
By STEVE MEGARGEE
AP Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) --- Giannis Antetokounmpo said Thursday he's focused on getting
healthy and helping the Milwaukee Bucks turn their season around, not on rumors
about his future plans.
Antetokounmpo spoke to reporters for the first time since a Dec. 3 ESPN report
indicated that he and his agent, Alex Saratsis, were talking with Bucks
officials about whether he's best suited to stay in Milwaukee or get traded.
Antetokounmpo strained his right calf in a victory over the Detroit Pistons
that night and hasn't played since.
"There's going to be conversations that are going to be made between (my agent)
and the Bucks, and him and his other players, and him and other teams and other
GMs, executives around the league," Antetokounmpo said during the 24-minute
media session. "It's something that you can't control. But, at the end of the
day, I personally have not had the conversation with the Bucks. I'm still
locked in, locked in on my teammates. Most importantly, locked in on me getting
back healthy."
The speculation regarding Antetokounmpo's future has picked up as the Bucks
have struggled through the last month. Milwaukee's 111-105 loss to the Toronto
Raptors on Thursday night dropped the Bucks' record to 11-17. That includes a
2-9 mark in games Antetokounmpo hasn't played.
Antetokounmpo missed four games with a left adductor strain last month and hurt
his calf in his fourth game back from that injury. Antetokounmpo, who turned 31
on Dec. 6, believes his rapid return from the adductor issue may have led to
the calf problem.
"Maybe it was a mistake of me coming back a little bit earlier, because once I
come back, now you're overcompensating," Antetokounmpo said. "The only way you
can pop your soleus is by overcompensating and then having an extreme amount of
load or play a lot of games in a short period of time. Again, I think all of
the things that I was thinking and trying to come back led to the incident that
I had with my soleus."
This is a critical season for the Bucks because of all the concerns about
Antetokounmpo's future.
ESPN reported before the season that the Bucks and New York Knicks engaged in
trade talks regarding Antetokounmpo in August but never gained traction on a
potential deal. Antetokounmpo spoke to reporters one day later and said he's
"locked in" with the Bucks but acknowledged the possibility he could eventually
change his mind.
The idea that Antetokounmpo could request a trade has been the talk of the NBA
ever since.
"This is the most I've been ever talked about in my career," Antetokounmpo
said. "I'm in my house with my kids and all that and I'm opening the TV and
it's like, ?Oh, Giannis is going to the Memphis Grizzlies,' or ?Giannis is
going to the Detroit Pistons.' Which, hey man, I'm not going to lie, I'm the
hottest chick in the game right now. No, I'm joking."
Antetokounmpo said all this conjecture about his future is tough on his family
and on the team. Antetokounmpo said he's had informal conversations with his
teammates to offer encouragement and reassurance.
"I'm never going to have a meeting with my teammates and sit everybody down and
talk about like, ?Hey guys, hey, if we don't win I'm going to get out of
here,'" Antetokounmpo said. "Like, come on. We're grown ... men. That's not
going to happen. They're grown, too. I think they understand the deal. You've
just got to give urgency to the team. Like, ?Guys, this is like serious. Who
are we trying to be? We've got to turn this around. We have time to turn this
around.' And you've got to have a little bit more urgency.
"I think I've had the conversation with the coach about it. I think I've had
the conversation with individual players about it. I've been approached by
teammates and asked about the rumors because it also might affect their own
life and their own career. I'm straight with them, whatever that answer might
be."
When he spoke to reporters about his future back in October, Antetokounmpo
expressed hope he wouldn't have to address the issue for the rest of the
season. Now he says he understands the topic is going to keep coming up because
"when people see cracks, they see opportunity to get in through those cracks."
But the nine-time All-NBA forward said he's not thinking about that issue. He's
more concerned with returning to the floor 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've got to win a game. So, rumors won't help us win a game. Or, you
know, anything else. We've just got to focus on basketball."
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
|
