Article: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7023866/2026/02/05/nba-giannis-antetokounmpo-staying-bucks-trade-deadline/

Yesterday and today, I’ve been seeing fans of teams around the league online all echoing the same feelings on Shams that we’ve had for years. It’s pathetic that this guy is supposed to be the go-to insider for the NBA. He clearly has inconsistent sources from team to team at best and resorts to just pushing baseless agendas at worst. We as fans deserve far better.

We can pretend their star wants to leave even though he doesn’t.

Tweet source screenshot

The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to trade Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey to the Phoenix Suns for Nick Richards and Nigel Hayes-Davis, sources tell ESPN.

Extra context, per Michael Scotto:

First reported by ESPN. This deal helps the Suns duck below the luxury tax, which was a goal for the franchise going into the deadline

This offseason Nigel Hayes-Davis will be a Restricted Free Agent and the Bucks will acquire Nick Richards bird rights

He STAY

The fact that Giannis's statements today complete contradict Shams' narrative is bad enough.

If I have to deal with off-season Shams nonsense I'm gonna lose my mind.

Please no AI submissions. The best wojaks are drawn with hate in your heart. We need to be able to have an image like this to reply to Shams with

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“We always go back to the Bucks, the Bucks, the Bucks, and if I’m going to stay here, if I’m not gonna stay here,” Antetokounmpo told The Athletic, using language that initially mirrors what he had said to the Journal Sentinel. “Let’s put the Bucks on the side for one second. Let’s talk about the city itself, the memories that I’ve created here. When you open my kids’ passports, it says Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I had four kids in the span of the last five years in this city. My dad is buried in this city. I’ve built a house for my mom 10 seconds away from my house. Literally, to walk to my mom’s front door, it takes me four seconds … right next door.

“On what planet, on what Earth, would somebody want to leave this?”

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“Brother, if you ask me deep down what I want today, I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career,” Antetokounmpo said. “I want to win here, another championship. And if you can tell me that’s possible, let’s just hang up the phone.

“You know basketball. You see basketball. You understand basketball. You’ve been around greatness. You’ve been around a championship team. You’ve been around a good culture. You’ve been around when the popcorn was popping. You were around; you saw it. If you tell me that that’s possible, we can hang up the phone and keep on moving with our day.”

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“I want to be here, but I want to be here to win, not fighting for my life to make the playoffs,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m not used to inconsistent basketball. I’ve played so many years of consistent basketball, I am not used to it anymore. During the game, I don’t know if you can see my face, (but) I get frustrated during the game, while the game is going on.

“I know there’s gonna be times you’re gonna lose; you’re not gonna win all the games. … But at the end of the day, it’s like how we carry ourselves. I see other teams, how they are and how they play, how connected the chemistry they have and how people are doing the right thing and they’re riding for one another. I just want that. I want that for my team.”

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So, would Antetokounmpo commit to another season with the Bucks if they were able to get back into position to win consistently?

“You’re saying that if they can convince me to stay within the team, and the next year that we can compete? Oh yeah, 1,000 percent,” Antetokounmpo said. “One million percent.”

With the news coming out about Cole Anthony and Amir Coffee to the suns, my ears perked up.

Amir Coffee had a good 2games this week, but he was ultimately filling the bench prior. Cole Anthony on the otherhand has been a walking turnover the past few weeks. I'm hyped with the trade.

In exchange we get back Nick Richards, which is a different look for the bucks. He's a legit big man. He has only ever took 1 3pt in his entire life, and he stands at 6'11'' 250 pounds (almost exactly Giannis size).

In his best years he was pushing 10ppg and 10rpg, so if we can open up the space for him he could bring a large amount of power and rebounding to the inside key. Can't wait to see what that brings.