Sam Amick of The Athletic interviewed Giannis Antetokounmpo on Wednesday after the Bucks lost to the Golden State Warriors, and the 31-year-old superstar said that there "will never be a chance" that he will "come out" and request a trade (subscription required). He said that isn't in his nature.
What also isn't in Giannis' nature is losing, but Milwaukee's season has ended in the first round of the playoffs for three straight years. If the season ended today, the Bucks would miss the play-in tournament entirely, sitting No. 11 in the East with a 16-21 record. He has said that he wants to win a second title, whether that be with the only NBA team he's ever known or elsewhere.
Given Milwaukee's track record the past few seasons, Giannis would have a better shot at competing for another title with a different team. The issue is that the Bucks won't trade him unless he explicitly asks them to. He's not going anywhere unless he states otherwise, that is, unless he decides not to extend with the team on Oct. 1, whenever he becomes eligible (assuming he's still there).
The Warriors, along with just about every other team in the NBA, hoped that Giannis would be available before the Feb. 5 deadline. While that can still happen, as last year especially proved that truly anything is possible in this league, it seems like he will stay put, at least past the deadline.
Giannis says it's not in his nature to request a trade
Golden State is trying to win another title with Steph Curry and Draymond Green, which is why the trade for Jimmy Butler happened before last year's deadline. The Warriors looked like a contender in the second half of the season, but that hasn't been the case in 2025-26. The front office needs to pull off a magic trick by turning Jonathan Kuminga into a valuable rotation piece.
It'd take a whole lot more than magic to flip Kuminga in a deal for Giannis, though. Golden State could easily be outbid by the other teams impatiently waiting for him to ask out, but maybe the Warriors would have a real shot if he said he wants to go to the Bay.
It looks like that dream will have to wait until the summer, and maybe even longer than that, but Golden State doesn't have time on its side. Seeing Giannis play alongside Curry on the same team will go down in the 'what could've been' folder.