Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to return to the lineup against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night, per The Athletic. Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since Dec. 3, when he suffered a right calf strain against the Detroit Pistons, but will be back on the court in Chicago as long as he gets through pregame tests with the Bucks’ medical staff. Antetokounmpo was listed as questionable on the team’s Saturday afternoon injury report.
Antetokounmpo has missed eight games while dealing with the injury, and the Bucks went 2-6 in that span. As a result, Antetokounmpo — should he play Saturday as anticipated — rejoins a team that’s 12-19 and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. That should only reignite the trade rumors that swirled around Antetokounmpo right before his injury.
Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Antetokounmpo was eyeing a potential exit from Milwaukee. The two-time NBA MVP did his best to shift blame onto his representation but acknowledged that his agent ultimately works for him and not the other way around.
“If my agent is talking to the Bucks about it, he is his own person. He can have any conversation he wants about it,” Antetokounmpo said. “At the end of the day, I don’t work for my agent, my agent works for me. There’s going to be conversations that are going to be made between him and the Bucks and him and his other players and him and other teams and other GMs, executives around the league.”
Everybody in Milwaukee is mishandling the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade saga
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The situation could be headed toward a messy split with both parties making their fair share of mistakes throughout this saga. For now, Antetokounmpo remains a member of the Bucks, and he will try to help as Milwaukee claw its way back into the postseason picture.
Through 17 games this season, Antetokounmpo has been as productive as ever. He’s averaging 28.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. He’s also shooting 63.9% from the field, which is a career high.