All has been quiet on the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade front for some time now. The rumors began the moment Damian Lillard tore his Achilles in Game 4 of Milwaukee’s first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks were eliminated in Game 5, and on May 12, Shams Charania reported that Antetokounmpo was “open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere.” Five days later, on May 17, Chris Haynes reported that the Bucks were expected to meet with Antetokounmpo to discuss the team’s plans within the next week.
Ever since then? Radio silence. There has been almost no substantive reporting on Antetokounmpo’s future, and it is not known if such a meeting ever took place. With the calendar flipping to June and the NBA Draft and the unofficial start of trade season looming, there is, according to insider Jake Fischer, a growing skepticism among rival teams that Antetokounmpo will become available through a trade this offseason. Fischer did not make any official declarations on Friday’s Bleacher Report livestream, but he shared the growing sentiment within the league that Antetokounmpo could stay put.
“Of late, I’d say that that confidence has been replaced with skepticism,” Fischer said. “To a man, from talking to agents, team executives, whoever, there is not a lot of belief right now at this juncture. It’s only June 5th — anything could happen — and I’ve been told all along that if there is a decision, a formal decision made to shut or open the door on trade conversations for Giannis this summer, that it would likely happen closer to the end of June and when the offseason really, really begins.
“But I’d say for now, for now, talking to people around the league, the assessment and the expectation is that they’re going to believe it when they see it — that someone who has valued being the franchise face, that the central lynchpin of the Bucks franchise, is going to want to play somewhere else.”
Again, this is not definitive reporting. It is the current sentiment among league…
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