Why Charles Barkley gets 'annoyed' with people saying Giannis Antetokounmpo needs to leave the Milwaukee Bucks

Charles Barkley hates that mindset. The never-afraid-to-speak-his-mind Hall of Fame basketball player-turned-TV-personality got brutally honest about how his contemporaries are representing Antetokounmpo and his future.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - APRIL 22: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks looks on in the third quarter against the Indiana Pacers in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on April 22, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

"I get annoyed at people on television and they're like, 'It's time for Giannis to leave Milwaukee,'" Barkley said May 13 during NBA playoff coverage on TNT.

Antetokounmpo's future has been one of the main storylines around the league in the aftermath of the Bucks bowing out in the playoffs in the first round for a third straight season last month.

Antetokounmpo, according to Journal Sentinel sources, is dissatisfied with the level of play of the Bucks in the last two seasons. The Bucks have dropped in the standings each season after being the top seed in 2022-23 and their championship from 2021 continues to get further in the rear-view mirror. Antetokounmpo's stated goal is to be part of a team that can compete for championships.

The two-time NBA MVP is signed to the Bucks for the next two seasons before having a player option in 2027-28. But could he request a trade and want out from the only team that he's played for?

Antetokounmpo, 30, hasn't said he wants to leave, but many in the national media feel there's a greater chance of it happening with the Bucks at a crossroads with their roster. Barkley, at least on May 13, said folks should pump their brakes.

"I'm like, wait, y'all never said because they're not winning, y'all didn't say that about me, y'all didn't say that about Patrick Ewing (with the New York Knicks)," Barkley surmised about opinions that a player needs to leave.

Barkley wondered why NBA analysts feel that "all of a sudden" with today's players, "we have to help them win a championship."

"When I was playing in Philly, I don't remember guys on TV saying, 'They're wasting Charles Barkley's prime,'" Barkley said. "'I'm like, 'No, I'm going to keep battling.' That's my job. I wanted to spend my whole career in Philly."

Barkley spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers before he was eventually traded to the Phoenix Suns in 1992. In his first season in Phoenix, Barkley was the NBA's MVP and led the Suns to the best record in the league. After four seasons and one NBA Finals appearance, Phoenix traded him to the Houston Rockets. He spent the final four years of his career in Houston.

Barkley said he admires players like Reggie Miller (of the Indiana Pacers) and Dirk Nowitzki (of the Dallas Mavericks) who played their whole careers with one team.

"This notion that when a great player, whether he's won it or they're not winning, he's got to move, he don't have to move," Barkley said. "I would love to see him spend his entire career in Milwaukee.

"Do they win a championship? They won it one time. I hope they win it again, for his sake. But if they don't, this notion that 'OK, we're not winning here. I got to go.' I hate that and I've always hated that."

Cooper Flagg to the Bucks? Charles Barkley says the Bucks and Mavericks could be trade partners

That was May 13. On May 14, Barkley had a slight change in his tune when he put on his general manager hat.

If Antetokounmpo does want out, Barkley said that, if he was in Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst's shoes, the "first call I make is to Dallas."

Why? To see if the Mavericks, who shockingly won the draft lottery this week and have the No. 1 overall pick, would trade it.

The Bucks could then select Duke star Cooper Flagg, the sure-fire No. 1 pick this year, to start their rebuild while the Mavericks can become contenders again with Antetokounmpo. Barkley said if the Mavericks keep the No. 1 pick and take Flagg, that doesn't make them contenders next season despite a roster with Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving, though Irving will be out for a large portion of the year with a torn ACL.

And with long-term uncertainty around Damian Lillard after he tore his Achilles in the playoffs and the Bucks roster, it could be the right time, Barkley says, to start fresh in Milwaukee.

"Dame's out all next year, too, basically," Barkley said. "Dame's going to be out, we get Cooper Flagg, now you can start your rebuild.

"What's the greatest way to start your rebuild with Cooper Flagg and some draft picks?"

Would the Bucks and Mavericks pull off such a move? Well, anything is possible. Mavs GM Nico Harrison, after all, traded All-NBA guard and franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic just a few months ago.

Dwight Howard on Giannis Antetokounmpo

Former eight-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard, who was on TNT's "Inside the NBA" panel with Barkley earlier this week, also took to X to give his opinion on Antetokounmpo.

"Don't leave Giannis coming from someone who been there," said Howard, who retired from the NBA after the 2021-22 season.

Howard was the No. 1 overall pick by the Orlando Magic in 2004 and spent eight successful years there. He won three defensive player of the year awards and led the Magic to an NBA Finals appearance before requesting a trade after the 2011-12 season.

Howard went on to play 10 more seasons in the NBA, bouncing around between several organizations, but did eventually win that elusive NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. But it sounds like Howard had some regret over his path.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why Charles Barkley gets 'annoyed' with people saying Giannis Antetokounmpo needs to leave the Milwaukee Bucks