'Tense,' 'toxic' vibe around Bucks points toward end of Giannis Antetokounmpo era in Milwaukee
Doc Rivers also made it sound like he was done as coach in Milwaukee, which was already expected.
How big a dumpster fire has the situation become between the Milwaukee Bucks and star Giannis Antetokounmpo? These three quotes from a story by Shams Charania and Jamal Collier at ESPN sum it up well: "This is as toxic of a team situation as any in the league. They waited until the very end on Giannis, and now everyone knows.
" When your best player is one foot in, one foot out, you're not going to win. " "The crux of the issue is feeling Giannis doesn't want to be here on any given day. " If it didn't already feel like a parting of the ways between the two-time MVP and the only NBA team he has ever known was inevitable already, the feud over Antetokounmpo returning to play at the tail end of this season — when the Bucks were already eliminated from the playoffs — seems to have thrown gasoline on the fire.
Antetokounmpo wanted trade From Antetokounmpo's perspective, he tried to quietly push for a trade, something that was amicable to both sides. According to the report, Antetokounmpo and his agent had a handshake agreement going back years with Bucks owners Jimmy Haslam and Wes Edens that if he told them it was time to part ways, they would work together to get it done. By January, Antetokounmpo felt it was time.
This arrangement allowed Antetokounmpo to save face and not be the guy who demanded a trade out of town, a perception he didn't want. Milwaukee head of basketball operations Jon Horst fielded calls and looked at offers. As the process dragged on and the deadline approached, some people in front offices got the impression that Horst was gauging the market but wasn't necessarily serious about making a deal.