While Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo claimed this week that he would never request a trade, a top NBA insider seemed to contradict that comment in a new report.

This has been an up-and-down season for the Bucks. After an awful start that created speculation that they could be sellers before this month’s trade deadline, they were able to catch fire and ended up winning the 2024 Emirates Cup. However, they have struggled heading into the All-Star break.

Despite adding talented Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma before the deadline, they start the post-All-Star break part of their schedule having lost seven of their last 11. This is not a vintage Milwaukee team and it has allowed the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculation to continue to churn. However, the nine-time All-Star tried to pour cold water on the topic this week.

“If I get a text from my general manager [Jon Horst], I will share the news with my family and I’ll go do my job. I’m getting paid good money to do this job. I would go anywhere I feel they need me,” Antetokounmpo said on COSMOTE TV this week [per a translation by Eurohoops]. “I’m not a guy who’s going to ask for a trade, they should kick me out.”

Well, on Thursday, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania seemed to contradict that statement during an appearance on “Get Up.”

• Giannis Antetokounmpo stats (2024-25): 31.8 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.3 SPG

NBA insider claims Giannis Antetokounmpo could eventually request Milwaukee Bucks trade him

“Everyone knows Giannis Antetokounmpo loves the Bucks. But I am here to tell you he loves winning more,” Charania said. “Everyone in that Bucks organization knows what’s at stake this season. They know the pressure. And every summer when Giannis looks around, and he looks at the Bucks’ current roster, and looks at sustained long-term winning, where will he be able to find that? He has said publicly on the record if he feels that’s not attainable in Milwaukee he will look elsewhere.

“Of course, he has always tried to make everything work in Milwaukee… In a lot of ways, this is championship or the Eastern Conference Finals. They haven’t reached that plateau ever since they won the championship in 2021. They do need to get back to that level to show Giannis they are building something sustainable.”

It would not be the first time that an NBA superstar changed their feelings about their current team. If the Milwaukee Bucks are ousted quickly in the NBA playoffs despite an expensive roster and coaching staff, it would be surprising if Antetokounmpo didn’t feel the organization is headed in the wrong direction.