Could Giannis Antetokounmpo's frustration lead to a change of scenery?
By Curt Bishop
Giannis Antetokounmpo has seen a lot of change over the past several months.
The Milwaukee Bucks have fired two coaches and changed ownership groups since last year's shocking playoff exit. They also traded for Damian Lillard.
Because of this constant change, Antetokounmpo has reportedly grown frustrated.
"It's been hard because so many changes, so many injuries, so, so many things," said the Bucks star. "A lot of things, up and down. Changes, as I said, game plan, structure, all of the BS."
The Bucks fired Adrian Griffin and replaced him with Doc Rivers, but since Rivers took over, the Bucks own a record of 3-7.
Could Giannis' frustration lead to a departure?
The trade deadline has come and gone, but it's fair to wonder if Antetokounmpo may ultimately leave Milwaukee behind if the Bucks don't live up to expectations.
The Bucks superstar cannot be a free agent until after the 2026-27 season, so if he does leave Milwaukee anytime soon, it would likely be via trade. That of course cannot happen until the offseason, as the trade deadline took place on February 8.
But Milwaukee has made a lot of changes.
"We can start from (expletive) ownership, changed. Coach, changed. Coach, changed again. Star players changed," said Antetokounmpo. "From Khris (Middleton) being and out. Like so much (expletive). It's just up and down. Up and down. So many things changing, man."
Clearly, Antetokounmpo is hoping for some stability with the Bucks organization. But he isn't about to start pointing fingers, nor make excuses for why the Bucks have not performed well recently.
"We have to stop feeling bad about ourselves. I'm tired of this. We have to stop doing that. Things are not going to be given to us. We have to go and take it."
We'll have to see if the Bucks can right the ship or if they are on a downward trend. Antetokounmpo is clearly frustrated, and this could potentially lead to some friction down the road.
If things continue this way, the star forward may ultimately decide to leave Milwaukee in 2027 and continue his career elsewhere, but he hopes that it won't come to that.