Giannis Addresses NBA Trade Rumors, 'I Want to Be a Milwaukee Buck for the Rest of My Career'

Giannis Antetokounmpo told The Athletic's Eric Nehm that he "deep down" wants to finish out his NBA career with Milwaukee Bucks.

Antetokounmpo also told Nehm, however, that he wants to play for a "consistent" team and compete for his first NBA title since 2021.

"Brother, if you ask me deep down what I want today, I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career," Antetokounmpo told Nehm. "I want to win here, another championship. And if you can tell me that's possible, let's just hang up the phone.

"You know basketball. You see basketball. You understand basketball. You've been around greatness. You've been around a championship team. You've been around a good culture. You've been around when the popcorn was popping. You were around; you saw it. If you tell me that that's possible, we can hang up the phone and keep on moving with our day."

Antetokounmpo continued, per Nehm: "I want to be here, but I want to be here to win, not fighting for my life to make the playoffs. I'm not used to inconsistent basketball. I've played so many years of consistent basketball, I am not used to it anymore."

The Bucks, who have been missing Antetokounmpo to a calf injury since Dec. 23, are currently sitting at No. 12 in the Eastern Conference with a 19-29 record.

Antetokounmpo has publicly expressed frustration with his team amid rumors that the Bucks are considering moving him ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.

The Bucks star gave a similar response about what he wanted for his future when speaking to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Jim Owczarski on Tuesday.

Antetokounmpo told Owczarski that he continued playing after suffering his calf injury on Jan. 23, despite the Bucks telling him to stop playing after the first quarter, because "I love my team."

"What does that show? Does that show a guy that's not gonna be here? Is that what my actions show?" Antetokounmpo asked Owczarski. "I could tell you whatever I want, but what does my actions show? That I want to be here. I want to be here with people that know what it takes to win."

He also reiterated to Owczarski how much he valued the chance to play for a competitive team.

"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," Antetokounmpo told Owczarski. "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."

Antetokounmpo had criticized his team for "not playing hard" and "being selfish" after a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 22, the day prior to his calf injury.

ESPN's Shams Charania then reported on Jan. 28 that Antetokounmpo "is ready for a new home" at the trade deadline, and that the Bucks were "starting to listen" to offers.

Charania also reported at the time that the Bucks had "tried to operate as a buyer in the trade market but has not moved forward with a transaction because of the uncertainty around Antetokounmpo's future and the team's limited mobility to make a major move."

Those trade talks had mainly involved Bobby Portis and Kyle Kuzma, with the Bucks keeping their lone tradable first-rounder out of talks not involving "a no-brainer superstar," according to Charania.

If the Bucks want to keep Antetokounmpo happy with the prospect of a long-term future in Milwaukee, the franchise could potentially still try to pivot and find a way to become buyers before the trade deadline closes Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.