Locked in Giannis says agent talk out of his hands

MILWAUKEE — Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said he was “locked in” on getting healthy and told reporters on Thursday afternoon that he can’t control reports about his future with the Bucks.

“If my agent is talking to the Bucks about it, he’s his own person. He can have any conversation he wants,” Antetokounmpo told reporters prior to Thursday’s game against the Toronto Raptors.

“At the end of the day, I personally have not had the conversation with the Bucks. I’m still locked in, locked in on my teammates, most importantly locked in on me getting back healthy.”

Thursday was the first time Antetokounmpo, who has been sidelined since Dec. 3 with a right calf strain, addressed an ESPN report from the same day that he is mulling his future with the Bucks. Sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that Antetokounmpo and his agent are discussing whether his best fit is in Milwaukee or elsewhere.

Antetokounmpo largely sidestepped questions about those desires, emphasizing that the Bucks entered the day in 11th place in the Eastern Conference with an 11-16 record, and saying he wasn’t worried about how reports about his future would affect his teammates.

“It doesn’t affect my work,” Antetokounmpo said. “It doesn’t affect my relationship with my teammates, it doesn’t affect my relationship with my coach. It doesn’t affect my relationship with the GM. So, it doesn’t really bother me because they know what I’m about … right now, we cannot be worrying about what the [reports] are.

“Talking about [reports] and headlines, but at the end of the day we’re fighting for our lives. We’ve got to win a game.”

Antetokounmpo said he did not need to meet with the entire team to address reports about his future, but he said he has been asked by some of his teammates individually.

“I think they understand the deal, but you’ve just got to give urgency to the team,” he said. “Like guys, this is serious … we’ve got to turn this around. We have time, but you’ve got to have a little bit more urgency.

“I’ve had the conversation with the coach about it. I’ve had conversations with individual players about it. I’ve been approached by teammates who asked me about the [reports] because it might affect their own life and their own career and I’m straight with them whatever that answer may be.”

Milwaukee has gone 1-3 without Antetokounmpo since his most recent injury, which carried an initial recovery timeline of two to four weeks. Yet, coach Doc Rivers said earlier this week that Antetokounmpo hasn’t made much progress past individual work on the court and isn’t close to returning. Following Thursday’s home game, the Bucks begin a five-game road trip.

Despite the Bucks’ fall in the standings, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are in alignment on him taking his time to make sure he makes a full recovery. He admitted Thursday that he believes a quick return from the groin injury he suffered in November helped lead to the calf injury.

“As a leader of this team, when we are competing you feel like if you’re not out there to help your team you’re not giving your team the best chance,” Antetokounmpo said. “You kind of feel like it’s your fault. And instead of taking the appropriate time you kind of get back and rush things.”