According to ESPN, Giannis Antetokounmpo is “ready for a new home.”
According to Giannis Antetokounmpo, he doesn’t want to go anywhere.
“What I want deep down in my heart is I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career and win here,” Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Tuesday.
Trade rumors have intensified surrounding the Greek Freak ahead of Thursday’s deadline, with the Knicks among the interested suitors.
Since the Bucks won an NBA championship in 2021, they were knocked out in the second round in 2022 and then bounced in the first round each of the last three postseasons.
Milwaukee entered Wednesday at 19-29, 3.5 games behind the Bulls for the final spot in the NBA play-in tournament.
At 31, few outside Milwaukee would blame Antetokounmpo for wanting out to try to chase another ring.
But Antetokounmpo, who says he has “zero” input on the Bucks’ trade talks about him, doesn’t sound like someone who wants to leave.
“I came here when I was 18. A human being, when is the time they have their earliest memories? Around the age of what, 4, 5, right? So from 5 to 18 is 13 years. From the time I could remember. I came here from 18 to 31, which is 13 years. I’ve spent more time in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, than in my country,” he told the Journal Sentinel.
“I’ve created more memories in this city than in my country. The only memory I knew from my country is sell stuff in the street, go to practice, live in fear, protect my brothers as much as I can and be a good kid, be a kind kid.
“So here, I’ll tell you what I’ve known here. I’ve known what it is to be an NBA player, what it is to make it to the NBA. I’ve learned what it is to be an all-star player. I’ve learned how to be a champion. I’ve learned how to be an MVP. I’ve learned how to be a father. I got married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And also, legally, from the courthouse. And also, I’ve had my kids here. My father is buried here. So tell me you, when I open the passport of my kids and it says born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, my dad is buried here, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“So people have the audacity to come tell me and say, ‘This guy really doesn’t love Milwaukee.’ I don’t love Milwaukee? Not the people that know. The people of the city know how much I love them. This city has let me be myself, let me be father, have let me [be] a husband, have let me be my own, true self.
“I’m walking in the street. People don’t bother me. But there’s gonna be the whole other people, because here’s 8 billion people in this world that have their own opinion. Opinions are cheap, that’s why everybody has one.
“They let me be myself in this city. And I ask for one thing. One. Thing. Only. To make, bring joy back. To. This. City. Because this city deserves it. We’ve been at the top and I know we can have down years but we have to continue to have the mindset. Period. OK. And if that’s not the case, then …
“I’ve seen the love of the people and what they wish for me. If it’s not the case, and people have different agendas within our own team, something gotta change. That’s all.”
If the Bucks aren’t going to be in a position to compete for a championship, however, then Antetokounmpo is open to playing elsewhere.
“If you ask me what do I really want, deep down in my heart? I want to be a Milwaukee Buck until I retire and win a championship here. End of sentence,” he said.
“If that is not possible to happen, and if then you realize maybe that’s not the case and maybe they’re looking elsewhere and that’s not what they’re trying to do, then automatically you have to be in the plans of what they’re trying to do or weigh the other options. It’s normal.”
The two-time MVP has missed the last four games with a calf injury. He’s averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 30 games this season.