Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo addresses trade rumors with 5-word message

Matthew Wadleigh

Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo addresses trade rumors with 5-word message image

The Milwaukee Bucks now face a long offseason full of tons of questions after their third-straight first-round playoff exit. This time, it came in five games against the Indiana Pacers, and Damian Lillard's torn Achilles made things even more challenging. 

This offseason, the biggest question will be the future of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. Do the Bucks trade him and rebuild? Do they reload around Giannis in hopes of another NBA Finals run? If he is made available, there should be no shortage of interested teams, although not everybody has the resources to make a run at Giannis. 

After the Game 5 loss, Giannis was asked if he thinks he can win another title in Milwaukee despite the early exit, and he didn't take the bait.

"I'm not gonna do this," Antetokounmpo said in the postgame press conference

"I know whatever I say, I know it's gonna translate. I don't know man. I wish I was still playing. I wish I was still competing and going back to Milwaukee," Antetokounmpo added. 

Giannis has spent his entire NBA career with the Bucks, so playing elsewhere would be a tough pill to swallow for the fan base. Still, there are some reasons why both sides parting ways makes sense, so these rumors should be picking up quickly with the season over for Milwaukee. 

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Matthew Wadleigh

Matthew Wadleigh is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He was born and raised in Southern California and grew up a San Diego sports fan (yes, it’s tough, except for Aztecs hoops). Matthew went to Fresno State as a journalism major and got to see Davante Adams, Derek Carr, Paul George and Aaron Judge in person. Matthew has written for publications including ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Fansided, Trojans Wire, UCLA Wire and Buffaloes Wire.