Giannis Antetokounmpo told NBA reporter Sam Amick of The Athletic that he had “no idea” the Milwaukee Bucks were working on a Damian Lillard trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. Antetokounmpo was lifting weights when he found out the Bucks traded Jrue Holiday to the Blazers for Lillard.
“No idea,” Antetokounmpo said. “No idea. But I understand why because Jrue Holiday is my guy. And I don’t want (to be part of that process). I don’t do this. I was lifting weights (at the practice facility) with the strength and conditioning coach (Suki Hobson), and Suki said, ‘Oh!’ (as she looked at the news on her phone). And I said, ‘What’s going on?’ And then she showed me.”
Antetokounmpo and Holiday are very close friends, which is why the Bucks didn’t want to keep Antetokounmpo in the loop. Antetokounmpo admitted to Amick that he likes to stay out of trade talks.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks Updates
“I’ve said many times that I don’t want to be aware of things that affect people’s lives,” Antetokounmpo said. “At the end of the day, if you trade somebody it affects his life, or if you fire somebody, it affects his life. For me, I cannot be a part of that. And I want to stay away.”
The Bucks now have a lethal Big 4 of Antetokounmpo, Lillard, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. Many NBA pundits believe Milwaukee will win the championship this season after acquiring Lillard, who averaged 32.2 points and 7.3 assists last season.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks Updates
“I feel very good about it. I think it’s going to pay off,” Antetokounmpo said with a smile about the Lillard trade. “But at the end of the day, we’ve got to be about it. We’ve got to play about it. We cannot talk about it.”
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