Giannis Antetokounmpo played the New York Knicks for the 42nd time in his career as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, the second-most he’s faced a team behind division rivals Detroit and Indiana (44). But it was the first time he suited up against the Knicks after ESPN reported on Oct. 7 that the 30-year-old would like to play for them, which initiated a conversation between the teams regarding a potential trade of the two-time league MVP.
Antetokounmpo addressed that report in Milwaukee directly on Oct. 8, saying in part, “I think after this interview here, I’m not going to see it, you guys are going to see it, it’s going to have you guys’ names on there. Report from (the Journal Sentinel) and (The Athletic): ‘Giannis is committed to Milwaukee and committed to this team.’ And it’s going to end it.”
But with the traveling New York media in town for the game, that did not end it.
He was asked several questions after the game about the report by Knicks beat writers. Here is the exchange with two reporters:
Reporter: Going back to an ESPN report from earlier this month, part of it was that if you were traded you’d prefer to go to the Knicks…
Antetokounmpo: “Who said that?”
Reporter: “It was an ESPN report…”
Antetokounmpo: “I don’t read that.”
Reporter: “I was wondering if that was true, and if it is…”
Antetokounmpo shook his head.
Reporter: “Or it’s not? OK…”
Antetokounmpo: “I don’t remember that. Right now I’m here representing my team and that’s it. We beat the Knicks. So it doesn’t really matter. What matters right now is we have a game in two days against Golden State. Try to stay locked in and get two in a row. But I didn’t read that article. I try to stay away from all that rumors, how do you call it, speculations and trade and all this. That doesn’t concern me one bit. I try to involve myself and try to help my team win games.”
Reporter: Does that stuff become a distraction when you’re the focus of the NBA world for like a week with that report that you didn’t see?
Antetokounmpo: “If it becomes a distraction for me? I don’t have time. I’m not going to lie to you. I have four kids. I have a seven-month-old, two-year-old, four-year-old and five-year-old. So, brother, I don’t have time to be; even if I wanted to pay attention to stuff like that my life don’t let me. I have four little gremlins that are running around and I have my craft that I gotta improve and then I gotta lead a team and then I’ve got other things. I’ve got my wife, I’ve got my mother, I’ve got my brothers, I’ve got to go to church. Man, I ain’t got time for all that. So, I’m being very, very honest with you. I just love playing basketball and I try to speak on the court.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokounmpo talks Knicks trade report after Bucks win
Reporting by Jim Owczarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
