It was just a little more than two months ago that the Golden State Warriors were trying to find a way to trade for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, amid rumors that Milwaukee was listening to offers on a deal. Word then was that Antetokounmpo, if he were to leave Milwaukee, preferred to play for a contender with a younger core, and was not interested in landing with the Dubs.
Now, with Antetokounmpo embroiled in a new controversy in what has turned into a saga between him and the organization that drafted him 13 years ago, Warriors star Draymond Green–who might have been part of the outgoing package, had Golden State made the Antetokounmpo trade–is taking a shot at Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks have shut down Antetokounmpo for the season with a knee injury, a common move for a team out of playoff contention. Milwaukee is hoping to lose games to improve their draft position in June. That would have gone unnoticed, except that Antetokounmpo has now publicly declared that he is not hurt and should be playing, even inviting the NBA to investigate the franchise for blatant tanking–which it is doing.
Draymond Green Backs Former Warriors Wing Jonathan Kuminga
Oof. The Bucks are the only franchise that Antetokounmpo has known in his NBA career, and while the relationship has been publicly deteriorating all year, the public accusations are a new low for player and team. From a Warriors perspective, Green found it odd that former teammate Jonathan Kuminga was excoriated for having issues with the Warriors, but not so with Antetokounmpo.
(Which is a stretch–the Kuminga and Antetokounmpo situations are vastly different. But, still.)
Giannis Antetokounmpo ‘Headed for a Nasty Breakup’
On the Tuesday episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” the Warriors big man took a shot at Antetokounmpo for having so little gratitude toward an organization that did win a championship, and even tried to hard to make Antetokounmpo happy that it signed two of his brothers to roster spots:
“Giannis welcomes an investigation into the Bucks about him being held out, I love how Giannis treats the Milwaukee Bucks organization, he treats them like ‘Screw y’all and I don’t care what y’all gotta say’, meanwhile they’ve given all his brothers an opportunity to play NBA basketball. It’s the craziest thing I’ve seen. He is on the sidelines cheering and happy for his brother, meanwhile he is sitting in the back with two fingers in the air, telling the Milwaukee Bucks to get the hell out of his face, and I am going to get y’all investigated.
“I think this thing could be headed for a nasty breakup, if it don’t happen soon. It’s just getting worse and worse by the day. You have your franchise player getting the organization investigated, and saying, ‘Hey, by the way y’all go look.’ It’s not going to end well.”
Don’t Expect Warriors to Get Back in the Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade Market
Few would argue with that. The Bucks, no doubt, will need to trade Antetokounmpo this offseason, and begin a rebuild without him. The only question is how wide of a list Antetokounmpo will have of teams to which he’d accept a trade. He does have some leverage–he is eligible to sign an extension this offseason, and he could decline that extension if he is traded to a team he does not like.
Would he change his mind on the Warriors? Probably not. Certainly, it seems that if Green is still on the roster, he would not support the Warriors signing any of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s brothers.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Warriors’ Draymond Green Takes Swipe at Giannis Antetokounmpo Amid Controversy appeared first on Heavy Sports.