The tension surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee has been hard to ignore, and now it has spilled beyond the locker room.
The Milwaukee Bucks head coach, Doc Rivers, went on the "Run It Back" show recently and took a direct shot at ESPN reporter Shams Charania, calling his reporting on the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation flat-out wrong.
Rivers even used the moment to bring up former ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, making it clear where he stands on the two reporters.
"We have a great relationship. Shams wrote an article that was so inaccurate that I don't have the time to go into it," Rivers said. "He talked about a locker room thing and I was laughing like, 'Yeah, we had a tough locker room day.' We lost to the Chicago Bulls with a 20-point lead. I showed clips the next day of guys who were screwing up, that's what happens in a locker room. The first thing I thought? Where's Woj? I miss Woj so much."
The frustration from Rivers can be justified when one understands what Charania's report actually said. According to the story, Antetokounmpo had informed the Bucks front office months ago that he would be open to a trade. The report also indicated that his relationship with general manager Jon Horst had deteriorated and that Giannis believed the team's decision to keep him sidelined was tied to draft positioning rather than his health.
The Bucks have maintained throughout that Antetokounmpo is not medically cleared due to a bone bruise connected to the left knee hyperextension he suffered on March 17. Giannis, for his part, has been saying for over three weeks that he is ready to play. That disagreement between player and franchise has been simmering since mid-March and shows no signs of cooling down.
Rivers finds himself caught in the middle of all of it and has reportedly been frustrated by how the situation has unfolded.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo Ruled Out Vs. Nets Amid Growing Trade Buzz
The latest development came Friday when Antetokounmpo was officially ruled out against the Brooklyn Nets. That ruling landed harder than usual given the circumstances.
There had been genuine momentum toward a return for that game and reports suggested he was set to share the floor with his brothers Alex and Thanasis. None of that happened. Bobby Portis, Kevin Porter Jr. and Gary Trent Jr. were also ruled out for the same game.
What made the ruling out more significant was the timing. Antetokounmpo had recently spoken publicly about feeling healthy and criticized the organization for keeping him off the court. Those comments prompted the NBAto open a review into Milwaukee's handling of his situation under the league's participation policy.
Friday's game against Brooklyn was also being viewed by many as a potential final home appearance for Antetokounmpo in a Bucks uniform. Whether that ends up being the case remains to be seen but the belief that Milwaukee could explore trade conversations this offseason is growing.
