The Milwaukee Bucks approached the trade deadline by fielding inquiries on Giannis Antetokounmpo while also exploring smaller, peripheral roster moves rather than pursuing a blockbuster deal.

“They were engaged but they never progressed even really close with Giannis Antetokounmpo and any other team,” said Shams Charania during NBA Today’s Trade Deadline special. “I had one team tell me that the Bucks essentially told them ‘We want you to blow us away.’ But it was never given what that means from maybe four, five, six first round picks.

“So teams involved believe that the Bucks might truly actually feel that they can take this to the summer and try to build another contender around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Try to bring him back on board. That’s some of the feelings the Bucks were giving to some teams. This now pushes into the second half of the season, into the offseason. And on October 1, Giannis will be eligible for a four-year, $275 million extension.”

Once the deadline passed, Antetokounmpo appeared to signal his stance on social media by posting a clip of Leonardo DiCaprio’s iconic scene from The Wolf of Wall Street, repeatedly declaring “I’m not leaving,” accompanied by the caption, “Legends don’t chase. They attract.”

“I would say this just talking to teams: I don’t believe Milwaukee ever had any intention of trading Giannis at the deadline,” said Bobby Marks. “And that’s okay. That’s fine. I think the intention of Milwaukee was to see what was out there. Write it down and put it away until June and July. And let’s see what else they can top. But the teams I talked to, they just never felt there would be a deal that would materialize.”

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