No smoke without fire? Giannis trade rumours fail to fade away
The trade rumours for Giannis refuse to go away, with teams reportedly keeping an eye on him.
With the NBA trade deadline looming, the chattering of teeth linking Giannis Antetokounmpo to a departure from the Milwaukee Bucks refuses to go cease.
What started as background murmurs a number of weeks ago has manage to hang on into January; a market ripe for blockbuster speculation has done its job.
Over the summer, Giannis hinted that he was looking to leave the Bucks. While on a livestream with someone called IShowSpeed, the player asked about staying in Milwaukee, to which he said: ‘Probably. Probably. We’ll see. We’ll see. Probably. I love Milwaukee.’
At the heart of the noise is the Bucks’ difficult season. Milwaukee sit outside the playoff picture with a losing record, and conversations about upgrades around their roster have been increasingly common. He then told the YouTube star that ‘a lot of people’ are trying to convince him to play in LA and New York.
All eyes on Giannis. pic.twitter.com/XZ2qQOv7ol
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 16, 2026
Milwaukee’s season has been far from smooth. After Giannis returned from injury late last year, the Bucks have hovered around mediocrity and slipped below expectations in the Eastern Conference standings. Moments of promise have been interspersed with disappointing losses and visible frustrations on and off the court.
That mix of on-court inconsistency and a general tension around the team has only intensified speculation about how Milwaukee handle the franchise star. Despite repeated assertions from almost everyone who would be involved in a deal that there is not one to be had, the idea of a seismic move refuses to evaporate.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, reported that the Heat appear reluctant to move Kel’el Ware as they still have their sights set on a potential move for Antetokounmpo: “Kel’el Ware has drawn interest from around the league...However, Miami and other teams around the league are monitoring the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Heat could try to hold onto Ware in a potentially bigger trade package for the Greek superstar.”
Get Giannis by any means necessary.
— Knicks Union 🗽 (@knicks_union) January 18, 2026
This is the duo we need to build around pic.twitter.com/7IVHnc8OEl
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During a 13-year career at the Bucks, Giannis has averaged 24.0 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists while also being named the league’s MVP twice, as well as winning the 2021 NBA title.
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