Rivers: Giannis sought trade, avoided asking publicly — SkimNews
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- Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo was “yo-yoing” and kept his trade request private so GM Jon Horst and owner Wes Edens would announce the move instead of Antetokounmpo asking and being cast as the bad guy.
- Antetokounmpo publicly told multiple outlets, including ESPN, that he was committed to Milwaukee and would “never” demand a trade, while sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that he and agent Alex Saratsis had consistently wanted a trade since May 2025.
- Milwaukee Bucks traded Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and one second-round pick.
- Miami Heat stood at 3-6 through Thursday’s 120-100 loss to the Golden State Warriors, with Antetokounmpo leading the team in scoring at 27.3 points and rebounding at 12.7 per game.
- Rivers said Antetokounmpo needed to “give himself to the team” and improve his execution, criticizing his downhill, force-first approach and pointing to Erik Spoelstra as a model for practice and shootarounds.
- Rivers finished his Milwaukee tenure at 97-103 over three seasons with two first-round playoff exits; the Bucks then missed the postseason for the first time since 2015-16 and announced he would not return.
Why it matters: Milwaukee gave up the player who led the franchise to the 2021 NBA championship, receiving four players, three first-round picks, one pick swap and one second-rounder in return. The dispute over who had to request his exit also leaves Antetokounmpo’s repeated public commitments sitting uneasily beside reporting that his side sought a trade since May 2025.
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