Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors: Bucks star says he isn't directly discussing his future with team

Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn't want to speculate about his future with the Milwaukee Bucks. On Thursday, the two-time MVP addressed rumors that he and his agent were contemplating whether Milwaukee was still the right fit for him.

Antetokounmpo claimed he was unaware of a report earlier this month about conversations between his agent, Alex Saratsis, and the Bucks about whether his NBA future was best served by remaining in Milwaukee or heading elsewhere. The Bucks' star player said that his priority was getting healthy and that his agent is free to have his own conversations without Antetokounmpo's involvement.

"I didn't hear about the report," Antetokounmpo told reporters. "Again, if my agent is talking to the Bucks about it, he is his own person. He can have any conversation he wants about it. At the end of the day, I don't work for my agent; my agent works for me. And there's going to be conversations that are going to be made between him and the Bucks, and him and his other players, and him and other teams and other GMs, executives around the league. 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."

Antetokounmpo has been sidelined since straining his calf against the Detroit Pistons on Dec 3. The Bucks initially believed he'd be out for two to four weeks, but Antetokounmpo says his four to six weeks is a more realistic timetable. Antetokounmpo, 31, believes he may have returned too early from a left adductor strain last month, leading to the calf injury four games later.

"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 playing a lot of games in a short period of time."

In August, ESPN reported trade talks between the Bucks and the New York Knicks regarding Antetokounmpo. Nothing materialized as he recommitted himself to the Bucks, but talks of an eventual trade have only grown since.

"This is the most I've ever been 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." 

The Bucks have struggled to recreate the magic that led them to become 2021 NBA champions. The Bucks carry an 11-16 record heading into Thursday's game against the Toronto Raptors, including a 2-8 stretch without Antetokounmpo on the court. Antetokounmpo insists that he won't use his status on the team as leverage or a threat to demand results from his team.

"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 ... 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."