RealGM Basketball Wiretap

01 April 2023

• Giannis Antetokounmpo Admits He Cares About MVP But Priority Is Championship

  Although Giannis Antetokounmpo is widely regarded as the best player in the NBA and is having a historic season on the team with the best record in the league, he only placed third in ESPN's final MVP straw poll. It has been suggested that Antetokounmpo may not be as concerned about winning the MVP award this season since he has already won two MVP awards and a championship.

  "That's a lie," Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports recently. "I won't say I don't care. I want to compete. If you say I don't care, it's a lie. Do I think it's a priority for me? No. The priority for me is to get better, to help my team win a championship, to get that feeling again.

  "If God can bless me with an MVP again, I'll take it."

  Antetokounmpo knows the conversation revolves more around Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, to which he says, "That's OK."

  While Antetokounmpo is not apathetic about the MVP, winning another championship remains the priority.

  "I want a championship," Antetokounmpo said. "It's the truth. The truth is the only thing that exists. I want... to win... a championship. More."

• Brook Lopez Misses Game Due To Tweaked Ankle, Bucks Hope It's Not Serious

  Brook Lopez missed Thursday's loss to the Indiana Pacers with a sprained left ankle. Lopez was injured in the Bucks win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

  Milwaukee head coach Mike Budenholzer said "We're hopeful that it's not anything serious" when asked about Lopez. No indication has been given if the veteran center's absence would extend past Thursday's game.

  This season, Lopez has been one of the Bucks best players. He's averaged 15.5 points on 52/38/76 shooting splits. Lopez has also grabbed 6.7 rebounds and blocked 2.5 shots per game. Lopez's performance on the defensive end of the floor has him as one of the leading candidates for Defensive Player of the Year.

• Trey Lyles Suspended One Game, Brook Lopez Fined $25,000 For Altercation

  Trey Lyles has been suspended one game without pay and Brook Lopez has been fined $25,000 for their roles in an on-court altercation.

  The incident began when Lyles fouled and then pushed Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo in the back. Lopez escalated the situation by confronting Lyles. Lyles further escalated the situation by striking Lopez in the face and grabbing and holding Lopez around the neck area.

  The incident, for which Lyles was assessed two technical fouls and ejected and for which Lopez was assessed one technical foul and ejected, occurred with 15.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Bucks' 133-124 win over the Kings on Mar. 13 at Golden 1 Center.

  Lyles will serve his suspension on Wednesday, March 15 when the Kings play the Chicago Bulls at United Center.

• Meyers Leonard, Bucks Agree To Deal For Remainder Of Season

  Meyers Leonard has agreed to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks for the remainder of the season.

  Leonard's second 10-day deal with Bucks expired on Monday.

  Leonard has appeared in five games, averaging 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 6.9 minutes.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo Misses Thursday Game With Sore Hand

  Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Thursday's 118-113 win over the Brooklyn Nets with a sore right hand.

  Antetokounmpo had missed Tuesday's win against the Magic with a non-COVID illness.

  Antetokounmpo was listed as questionable for Thursday's game before getting downgraded with the hand injury.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo's Only NCAA Offer Was From Old Dominion

  In a wide-ranging interview about his involvement with an NIL program to honor walk-on college basketball players, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo said he wishes he had the chance to take part in college basketball. Antetokounmpo revealed he only got one college offer and it came from a mid-major school.

  "When I was 15, I was "highly recruited" by Old Dominion. That was my only offer," Antetokounmpo said.

  He added that he wished he had the chance to experience at least one season playing in college.

  "You see all these college players when they make it to the league, they talk about their experience and how fun it was, and how different the environment was for them," Antetokounmpo said. "I came to the NBA when I was 18. I didn't have the opportunity to experience being around classmates: Lift weights in the morning, go to class, then go to practice, and see all the fans at the game. I did not have the chance to experience that. I came immediately here. So I would definitely have wanted to go to college and have that experience."

  When asked what school he would have liked to play for, Antetokounmpo picked one of college basketball's bluebloods.

  "Definitely Duke," Antetokounmpo said. "I like Duke because of the players that came out of that program. You usually see a lot of four men that don't fit the mold. I think I'm one of those guys. I'm 6'11" and I can handle the ball and pass the ball and get in the paint. You see a lot of people like that who came out of that program: Zion Williamson, Jabari Parker, Jayson Tatum, and Brandon Ingram. Not only are they very good basketball-wise but academically it's also a great school."

• Lindell Wigginton, Bucks Sign Two-Way Contract

  The Milwaukee Bucks have signed Lindell Wigginton to a Two-Way contract.

  A 6-1 guard, Wigginton has played in 35 games (18 starts) with the Wisconsin Herd this season and is averaging 18.6 points, 5.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 33.5 minutes per game. This is Wigginton's second stint with the Bucks after he appeared in 19 games with the team last season while on a Two-Way contract. In those 19 games, the Iowa State product averaged 4.2 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 10.5 minutes of action.

  After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft, Wigginton has played in 117 NBA G League games over the last four seasons, including 60 games (36 starts) with the Herd since 2020. The 24-year-old also played professionally in both Israel and Canada.

  Milwaukee's roster is now at 17 players.

• NBA Rescinds Rebound To Deny Giannis Antetokounmpo Triple-Double

  The NBA rescinded Giannis Antetokounmpo's last second rebound against the Washington Wizards on Sunday night, denying him his fourth triple-double of the season.

  With the clock running out, Antetokounmpo dribbled to the hoop the Bucks were shooting at and intentionally threw the ball against the bottom rim before catching the ball.

  "Kind of stole one," said Antetokounmpo after the game.

  The NBA removed the rebound, citing league rules that a player has to shoot "with intent to score a field goal."

• Goran Dragic To Sign With Bucks

  Goran Dragic is set to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks for the rest of the season, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

  Dragic was bought out by the Bulls earlier this week.

• Mike Brown, Mike Budenholzer Named NBA's Coaches Of The Month For February

  Mike Brown and Mike Budenholzer have been named the NBA's Coaches of the Month for February.

  Brown's Kings finished with a 8-4 record last month.

  Budenholzer lead the Bucks to a perfect 10-0 record.