Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, Bucks reporter Owczarski on split
Bucks beat reporter details Giannis split
Jim Owczarski, Bucks beat reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, joined the Wisconsin Live Desk to discuss his story that chronicled the split between Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Bucks agreed to end the franchise-defining Giannis Antetokounmpo era, according to reports, with a trade that sends the superstar to the Miami Heat.
The Bucks beat
Big picture view:
The deal shifts the landscape of Milwaukee's sports culture, and in many ways, the community as a whole. Jim Owczarski, Bucks beat reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, joined the Wisconsin Live Desk to discuss his report – How the Giannis Antetokounmpo era in Milwaukee came to a bitter end – which chronicled the years-long deterioration of the relationship between superstar and franchise.
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As a beat reporter, Owczarski has a different level of access to the team and its players. For example, when a television station covers Bucks games, we hear from the head coach and perhaps a player or two in a post-game news conference – whoever the team brings out. But beat reporters are brought into the locker room for more candid conversations.
Giannis Antetokounmpo sits by the court before a game against the Brooklyn Nets at Fiserv Forum on April 10, 2026. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
What happened between Bucks, Giannis?
What they're saying:
Below is a transcript of some highlights from his conversation with FOX6's Sam Kraemer, lightly edited for clarity. You can watch the full interview above and read Owzcarski's full report online.
Kraemer: What are the key takeaways as to how this Giannis era, which has really flourished in Milwaukee, suddenly just came to an end?
Owczarski: I think the key thing is it wasn't one thing, right? In any relationship – professional, personal – there's not a singular moment people can kind of look to ‘where did this go wrong?’ It was a years-long process. I had someone equate it to paper cuts, right? The first one hurts, and the next one hurt, and maybe you forget about those two and then a third one shows up – and then you remember those first two. It was just sort of this process, and also what's important to know is, at any moment in the last few years, it could have went the other way. We might not be having this conversation. A relationship could have been salvaged, or other things could have been done to say, ‘Hey, Giannis is about to sign a fourth extension in Milwaukee in October.’ That's really the takeaway is that there wasn't one thing, it was a lot of little things over a long period of time that led to the trade – the agreed upon trade – on June 22.
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Kraemer: It's not like it's just ownership. It's not just the general manager, Jon Horst, or whoever's head coach. Giannis has a hand in this, too. And you guys had some honest conversations over the last several years … What did you find from him in those conversations as far as his role in this?
Owczarski: Credit to Giannis, he was always willing to speak to me and my colleague, Lori Nickel, at the Journal Sentinel about a lot of these things and answering questions that people wanted to know. Particularly this year – his manners in some way, for lack of a better word, the way he acted on the court, a lot of his post-game messaging – honestly welcoming a league investigation into his employer about how he's being handled at the end of the year. Maybe he was right to do that as a frustrated employee, but that's also going to make people feel a certain way. He definitely had a hand in just the hurt feelings. Maybe there was no coming back after a certain point because of, 'I just don't feel good about our relationship because of the things you have said and done.' This was not a – if blame is the word – it definitely can be spread around. It is not a one person, one entity type of thing. Everyone had their hands in this end result, which is the trading of the greatest player in franchise history.
Kraemer: Until this trade is official, we won't necessarily hear on the record from Horst, maybe from [co-owner Jimmy] Haslam as well. What's the one question that you just cannot wait to ask either one of them about this ending and how we got here?
Owczarski: John Horst, they just conducted the draft, and he has said multiple times, 'I can't speak about this per league rules.' So yes, after. Publicly, ownership – Jimmy Haslam, Wes Edens and John Horst – had said, well, there were two paths: Giannis can extend, Giannis can trade. Obviously, Giannis may have communicated an unwillingness to extend. We don't know for sure, because it's not October yet. I'd be curious to know when they – as the team – decided that there was only one path? Was it a couple days ago, a couple weeks ago, months ago? When it was determined, in their mind, it was time to move on. It would just be interesting to know when they were kind of done with the partnership and were ready to reset the franchise.
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Dig deeper:
As Milwaukee reacts to the superstar shake-up of the trade, which has not yet become official, FOX6 News has spoke to fans, organizations, community leaders and others about the impact Antetokounmpo – and Portis – have had on the city. Read and watch more below.
Giannis trade: Bucks get players, picks in reported Heat blockbuster
The Bucks sent Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Heat in a reported trade. Here's a look at what Milwaukee received.
The Source: FOX6 News interviewed Owczarski about his report on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, and referenced prior coverage of trade report.