Giannis Antetokounmpo wishes he'd shut down trade rumors at deadline earlier

At the February trade deadline, Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors were everywhere. It was the talk of the league — and its fans.

Looking back on it, Antetokounmpo wishes he had more forcefully shut the talk down, he said on Gogi’s Garage YouTube show.

"One is that this was the first time that it was real. Yeah. You know, it was a lot. And I'm not saying that it was real that I wanted a trade. It was just, bro, everywhere I went, in the street, people would tell me, 'Don't leave. Don't do this. Please stay.' It was real. Back in the day, when I was younger, 25, 24, they would always say this stuff. But then maybe, like, a week later, it will turn off. They would talk about a different story. This year, every day — social media, turn the TV on, First Take, ESPN, blah, blah, blah — it was, 'Giannis, Giannis, Giannis, Giannis, Giannis'...

"If I'd ever been in that position, if I could change something, maybe I'd come out and shut it down, because I think people weren't listening to me. Like, 'Giannis, come out and ask for a trade. Giannis, come out and do this.' I'm like, first of all, people that I respect and people that I love, I would have conversations with them — my coach, my GM, people that matter [behind closed doors]."

"I kept saying, 'Guys, I'm here. I'm not going nowhere.' Oh yeah, whatever, whatever, blah, blah — Giannis is going to the Knicks. Okay. Two weeks later: 'I'm here, guys. I'm locked in. I got hurt, but I'm coming back to play here.' Oh, Giannis is going to Miami. They wasn't listening to what I was saying, right? So, if I could turn time back, I would maybe come out a little bit earlier and say, 'Hey, guys, this ends today. Look at me in the eyes. I'm staying with Milwaukee until further notice. It ends today. Stop making stories, and after stories, and after stories.'"

What played out in public was something everyone watching the saga feels — Antetokounmpo is torn between loyalty to the only NBA organization he has ever played for, a place he won a ring, a city he loves, and his competitve desire to win, something that is not happening with the Bucks (who finished 11 games out of the play-in and were just a .500 team when Antetokounmpo was healthy.

At the time, Antetokounmpo's agent, Alex Saratsis, reportedly had conversations with the Bucks about the star's future and if this was still the best fit for everyone. Antetokounmpo himself never asked for a trade, and said at the time of Saratsis, "He's his own person. He can have any conversation he wants." The Bucks tested the waters for an Antetokounmpo trade, but league sources told NBC Sports they didn't get the sense the Bucks were serious.

That's expected to change this summer. The drama at the end of the season about Antetokounmpo's return to play in meaningless games — he wanted to compete and play with his brothers, the Bucks both were thinking about their draft pick and didn't want to risk further injury to a player who had played just 36 games due to a variety of injuries — feels like it sealed the fate. Maybe not, maybe he tells the Bucks he will sign an extension with them when he can on Oct. 1, but that seems like a long shot at this point.