Carmelo Anthony Slams Giannis Antetokounmpo Trade Rumors

Nine-time All-Star Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been in the midst of an absolutely incredible tear to open the 2025 playoffs.

The 6-foot-11 superstar was in fine form through the first three games of the series.

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In fact, he was in historically fine form.

The two-time league MVP averaged 35.7 points on 67.7 percent shooting from the floor and 65.7 percent shooting from the foul line, along with 14.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.0 blocks a night. He became the first player ever to kick off his playoffs with three consecutive contests of 30 or more points on 60 percent field goal shooting plus 10 or more rebounds.

While Antetokounmpo has looked terrific, the same can't be said of his teammates.

Milwaukee's non-Antetokounmpo personnel struggled mightily to find its footing in the first two contests of the series, which the Pacers won by a combined 27 points.

The only other future Hall of Famer on the Bucks roster, nine-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, hasn't found his traditionally elite playoff rhythm. In fairness, the 34-year-old sharpshooter had been out for a month, including Game 1 — while dealing with a scary right calf deep vein thrombosis ailment. In his first two healthy games of the series, he averaged 10.5 points on .240/.188/.857 shooting splits, 6.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds.

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Understandably, the rest of the league is eyeballing the 30-year-old Antetokounmpo's situation in Milwaukee, the only NBA franchise he has ever known. Should the Bucks be dealt their third straight first-round playoff exit, is it possible Antetokounmpo would demand to be dealt out of town?

Now, a Hall of Fame former Lillard teammate has weighed in on the Antetokounmpo trade chatter, advocating against the move.

In a new episode of his podcast "7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony," the titular host unpacked why Antetokounmpo being traded could prove dangerous for his championship aspirations.

“You’d be starting all over," Anthony said. "Why would you start over? I’d rather ride out with a Dame... Get traded this season. You go from it being your situation again, and now you got to take two, three. four, steps backwards. And now that’s hard to adapt to and quick like that."

Anthony knows plenty about this, as he himself demanded — and got — a trade to the New York Knicks midway through the 2010-11 season from the Denver Nuggets, but it depleted the Knicks of all their best role players who could have helped Anthony win at a high level. He never made an NBA Finals.

"So he’s not going to be having spectacular games, and because you ain't part of the flow and you ain't part of this system that we created from the beginning of the season. We got to utilize and bank on your skill set to bring us something… that coincides with what already the plan is because you’re not part of the game.”

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