Much noise has been made about the availability of Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason. With his contract expiring in the summer of 2021, he could force a trade before the start of next season if he told Milwaukee his intentions to leave.
After getting embarrassed in the Eastern Semis, many thought it was a guarantee that Antetokounmpo would be booking his ticket out within the next few months.
But, from the lips of Giannis himself minutes ago, he won’t be quitting on Milwaukee so soon. In a statement to Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes, he announced that he would not be requesting a trade:
“It’s not happening. That’s not happening,” Antetokounmpo said on Tuesday night.
“Some see a wall and go in [another direction]. I plow through it. We just have to get better as a team, individually and get right back at it next season.”
“If winning a championship was easy, everyone would have one,” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports. “We lost. Everyone saw that we lost. It’s disappointing, but what are we going to do? We’re going to keep working. I’ve got confidence in my teammates.”
A @YahooSports exclusive with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on teams waiting for him to request a trade in offseason: “That’s not happening. Some see a wall and go in [another direction]. I plow through it.” https://t.co/CBCBZUrMia
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) September 9, 2020
This is obviously huge news for Milwaukee. With Giannis locked in for another season, they can focus on building up their team for another run in 2021. What happens after that is still up in the air.
For the teams that were hoping to add Giannis, they’ll have to look elsewhere to find their guy. But with how big the trade market is expected to be this offseason, there will be plenty of opportunities for change.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
