Bucks Have No Timetable for Giannis Antetokounmpo After New Calf Strain
SLUG: bucks-no-timetable-giannis-antetokounmpo-calf-strain
CONTENT:
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said Monday that Giannis Antetokounmpo has a right calf strain and the club has not set a return date.
“There’s really no timetable,” Rivers told reporters after tests confirmed the diagnosis.
The two-time MVP suffered the setback in Friday’s loss to Denver and later estimated he would miss four to six weeks. “I felt like I couldn’t explode,” Antetokounmpo said postgame. “I could jog. I couldn’t get on my toes, so I was kind of jogging on my heel the majority of the game. … At the end, when it popped, I had to get out. I couldn’t walk.”
Antetokounmpo previously strained his right soleus on Dec. 3, an injury that sidelined him eight games last month. He has also dealt with multiple left-calf strains, yet Rivers insisted the Bucks are not contemplating shutting down the 31-year-old star for the season. “There’s no thought to that,” the coach said.
Trade Talk Swirls
Before the latest injury, several rival clubs believed Milwaukee might consider offers for Antetokounmpo ahead of the Feb. trade deadline. ESPN’s Bobby Marks ranked all 29 potential suitors and listed the Pistons, Raptors and Trail Blazers as the teams best positioned to meet Milwaukee’s asking price.
The Knicks were viewed as the forward’s preferred destination last offseason. In a Substack post for The Third Apron, Yossi Gozlan wrote that New York would likely need a third team to facilitate a deal, identifying Portland as a logical partner because the Blazers hold Milwaukee’s 2028-30 first-round picks and are reportedly high on Mikal Bridges.
Henry Abbott of TrueHoop reported last week that multiple NBA sources expect Antetokounmpo and the Bucks to separate, either in the next 10 days or during the offseason. Abbott also relayed a rumor that the All-Star is considering replacing longtime agent Alex Saratsis, with Rich Paul monitoring the situation. Under current NBA rules, players can change representation after a seven-day waiting period; Saratsis remained listed as Antetokounmpo’s agent on Monday, Abbott noted.
The Bucks hold a 31-year-old franchise cornerstone without a clear return date, and league executives continue to monitor both his health and his future in Milwaukee.
Source: Hoops Rumors
