Giannis Antetokounmpo's frustration with the Milwaukee Bucks has been palpable all season, and even with some twists and turns in regard to his future with the team this season, he's been trying his best to keep his faith with the organization he's spent his entire career with. 

The Bucks are 23-30 this season and 12th in the Eastern Conference, so the playoffs are all but guaranteed to be beyond their reach this season. Their struggles throughout the season has clearly weighed heavily on Antetokounmpo, who's made frequent cryptic comments about possibly leaving the team in various interviews. 

His frustration with the team fueled rumors that the Greek star would be traded at the deadline, but once it arrived he stayed in Milwaukee, even making posts on X affirming his loyalty to the Bucks. 

Antetokounmpo is signed with the Bucks through the 2026-27 season and he has a player option for 2027-28 that he could pick up to extend his future in Milwaukee.

But, despite staying put this season, Antetokounmpo has made it clear that his priority is to win championships, and he's still open to moving to another team if that won't happen anytime soon in Milwaukee. 

"I want to win, but most importantly I want to win a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks," Antetokounmpo said in an interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews." If that's not on the table or in the plans, that's when you kind of, like, talking maybe I've got to pivot."

The cloud of a potential Antetokounmpo trade hung over the entire first half of the Bucks' season and avoiding that kind of speculation to help with locker room moods and chemistry will be crucial for the Bucks next season. 

Considering Antetokoumpo's increasingly direct statements, the pressure is on for the Bucks to not only start playing winning basketball, but to make major acquisitions either in free agency of through trades as a show of faith to Antetokounmpo that they're serious about making a change. 

The Eastern Conference is relatively open at this point, but teams like the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons only got better at the deadline, while the Bucks didn't make all that many significant moves of their own. That means that the clock is ticking for the Bucks to make major moves quickly and catch up to their competition. 

Antetokounmpo says he wants things to work in Milwaukee, but he's not being shy about not being happy, and takes every interview he can to express that. 

The Bucks appear to be in limbo with their biggest star, and time is running out to repair the relationship.