During a TV appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” Bobby Portis went on record to say Giannis Antetokounmpo will no longer be playing the final eight games of the regular season.

His two reasons were this: Milwaukee is mathematically eliminated from the postseason and taking it from a broader perspective surrounding a potential trade in the offseason.

“I don’t think he’ll play another game this year, for sure,” Portis said. “Just being smart as a pro, right now, I don’t think it’s smart for him to play.”

Due to a list of injuries concerning his calf and knee, Antetokounmpo has only been able to appear in 36 games this season. It has been a very shaky season as an organization and for individual players. The overarching topic clouding this team has been the future of the 31-year-old.

Will he be traded or will he remain with the Bucks for another season? This has been a question asked by the media, members of the NBA internally, and fans across the league. Him potentially leaving Milwaukee has been discussed at length for almost a year now. This is despite him publicly saying he loves the organization and does not want to leave.

While it’s expected a trade to go through, Portis did not shy away from answering questions and offering his perspective on things.

“If y’all talking about trading him, you don’t want any injury to knock value off or whatever,” Portis said. “That’s just business-wise, and then player-wise, obviously, you gotta look at just the total picture of what’s going on. We’re 10 games behind for the 10th seed and (with) nine games left, we can’t even make up ground.”

The Bucks are 11th in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 29-45. They are 9.5 games out from 10th, and ten games out from ninth. It is statistically impossible for them to be able to get back into the playoff hunt.

According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, should the Milwaukee Bucks decide to blow it up and go into a complete rebuild, the Los Angeles Lakers will be setting their sights on targeting/acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Reportedly, Los Angeles views the 31-year-old as their primary offseason target. That is why the organization held back from having legitimate, extensive conversations with the Bucks surrounding Antetokounmpo before February’s trade deadline.

If the Lakers decide to go all-out in trading for him this offseason, then they can center the package around three first-round picks (2026, 2031, 2033). Not including any other draft capital they’ll be willing to part with, and any players they would be willing to trade to get the two-time MVP and one-time champion.

Despite the up-and-down nature of this past offseason and current season, Antetokounmpo remains faithful to the Bucks, as Milwaukee continues to push teams away from taking their superstar athlete. Both sides remain positive that their relationship can be saved and turned into something that leads them to another championship.

Something to worth note, per the sources of ESPN, Luka Doncic has not asked the front office to make any aggressive trades or be that guy. In fact, he’s trusting Rob Pelinka and the rest of the higher ups in their disciplined vision for the future of this organization.

Doncic will not pressure the organization to do any bold moves, or any moves that they are uncomfortable with. This includes the current situation surrounding Antetokounmpo.

According to the Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, franchise superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is “getting close” from his calf injury. Plus, with him getting close, they have no intentions of shutting him down for the remainder of the season.

“He’s going to play when he’s healthy,” Rivers said on Friday. “We just got to make sure he’s healthy. He’s getting close. He’s working out. He looks good. So I would say hopefully sooner than later.”

While Rivers did not provide a timetable for Antetokounmpo’s return, the 31-year-old did complete an on-court workout on Friday.

Milwaukee is 21-29 on the season, 6-14 without Giannis, and are currently twelfth place in the Eastern Conference. There are 32 games left before the postseason begins.