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Even though much attention was paid this week to Giannis Antetokounmpo scrubbing his social media page of many Milwaukee Bucks items, it wasn’t necessarily an indication of him being planting the seeds for a potential trade.
On the Prime Video postgame show on Friday, NBA insider Chris Haynes explained a conversation he had with Antetokounmpo in which the two-time MVP said when he sees a wall, he wants “to run through the wall, and make things work.”
As for the social-media purge, Haynes noted Antetokounmpo deleted many items “three or four weeks ago” that included images of friends and family, in addition to Bucks posts.
Another thing Antetokounmpo pointed out was an interview Michael B. Jordan did earlier this year in which he referenced advice Denzel Washington gave him about managing his career and image.
“Why would they pay to see you on a weekend if they see you all week for free?” Jordan said of what Washington told him.
According to Haynes, Antetokounmpo said he started looking at things from that perspective and decided to get rid of most things from his social media.
Antetokounmpo’s Instagram currently has just 14 posts, with the top four being either advertisements or paid partnerships. He still has images from the Bucks’ win in the 2021 NBA Finals and their NBA Cup victory last season.
None of this addresses whether or not we are any closer to a resolution to where things stand with Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.
ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday that Antetokounmpo and his agent are having conversations with the Bucks to discuss whether his best fit is to stay in Milwaukee or go elsewhere.
Antetokounmpo, as far as anyone knows publicly, has not asked for a trade. Charania reported in October that Antetokounmpo’s camp did due diligence on other teams during the offseason, with the New York Knicks being the lone team he wanted to play for outside of the Bucks.
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on Friday that talks between the Knicks and Bucks over the summer did get to the point where Antetokounmpo told one of his Milwaukee teammates he believed a trade to New York “was quite close to materializing.”
It remains unclear what path Antetokounmpo is going to take. The nine-time All-Star has said in the past he would like to be among the legendary players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, but not if it comes at the expense of being able to consistently compete for championships.
The Bucks are in a rough spot trying to get back to that level. Their cap situation is a mess after using the stretch provision to waive Damian Lillard, who was owed $112.6 million over the final two years of his contract, to sign Myles Turner. They don’t have control of their own first-round draft pick until 2031.
Antetokounmpo is going to miss two to four weeks after suffering a calf strain in the first quarter of Wednesday’s win over the Detroit Pistons.
Milwaukee has lost nine of their last 11 games after an 8-5 start to the season, falling to 10th in the Eastern Conference.