The situation between Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks has become even messier.<\/p>\n
The team and player have been in a standoff over his current health, with the Bucks reportedly insisting he be shut down and Antetokounmpo claiming he is capable of playing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Antetokounmpo personally aired his grievances on Friday, insisting to reporters he is healthy and questioning his relationship with a team that has already seen multiple rounds of trade rumors.<\/p>\n From Eric Nehm of The Athletic<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cYou know who you are dealing with,\u201d Antetokounmpo said in an interview with local reporters one hour before Friday\u2019s game against the Boston Celtics. \u201cSo for somebody to come and tell me to not play or not to compete, it\u2019s like a slap in my face. So, I don\u2019t know where the relationship goes from there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m available to play today. Right now. I\u2019m available. Do I look like I\u2019m not available?\u201d<\/p>\n Antetokounmpo has appeared in only 36 games this season and hasn\u2019t played since March 15, when he sustained a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise<\/a>.<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania<\/a> reported the NBA is investigating the Bucks for their handling of the player participation policy and potential inconsistent statements about Antetokounmpo\u2019s health on Friday, something the league confirmed on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a case of a player saying, my caliber of player, that\u2019s like \u2014 I\u2019m saying it publicly \u2014 I want to f***ing play. You know what I\u2019m saying?\u201d Antetokounmpo said Friday. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve seen this. So, if there needs to be an investigation, great. There should be. I don\u2019t know. There should be. Until we figure something out.\u201d<\/p>\n Antetokounmpo added fuel to that fire by saying the team ghosted him when he rebuffed their approach about shutting him down for the season, via The Athletic:<\/p>\n \u201cI had an initial conversation with who I should be talking to, which is coach Doc [Rivers] \u2014 let\u2019s just keep it at coach Doc and [general manager] Jon [Horst] \u2014 and the initial conversation is that I want to play. And after that I\u2019ve never had a conversation again,\u201d Anteotkounmpo said. \u201cNobody has ever approached me [about] not playing or whatever the plan is.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n He then welcomed the NBA\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n The NBA confirmed on Saturday afternoon that the investigation \u201cis ongoing and certain facts remain in dispute.\u201d But the league did say that the Bucks had scheduled Antetokounmpo to participate in three-on-three scrimmages last week, and he declined.<\/p>\n \u201cThe investigation has found that the Bucks scheduled\u00a0Giannis to work out last week in three-on-three scrimmages as part of his return-to-play process, but he declined to participate,\u201d a league spokesperson said on Saturday, via Charania<\/a>. \u201cThere is a disagreement as to whether the team requested that Giannis participate in a group workout earlier this week, and the league is continuing to monitor the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Antetokounmpo declining to participate would appear to contradict his assertion that he is healthy enough to resume basketball activities and play.<\/p>\n