For Milwaukee, the fear isn’t just losing games, it’s the looming possibility of losing a franchise icon. And now, a surprising new perspective has pushed the Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors back into the spotlight.

It all started this week after reports emerged of the two-time league MVP and his agent having conversations with the Milwaukee Bucks regarding his future. Although that was later on overshadowed by the news of him getting injured against the Detroit Pistons, now a new update has emerged from a source close to head coach Doc Rivers.

“He’s okay to be able to move on. I don’t think anybody in Milwaukee has any ill will, either. Anytime these rumors come out, people are more sad, like he’s leaving, not mad. There’s a difference,” Doc Rivers’ son, Austin Rivers, stated on the latest episode of his podcast Off Guard with Austin Rivers while discussing Antetokounmpo’s future in Wisconsin.

“There’s a difference between your star player leaving and the fan base is like you versus ‘gosh damn it, Giannis is leaving.’ They’re sad because they know how great he is and what he’s meant to the community, and they’re sad that it’s over,” the former NBA player turned analyst further emphasized.

He shared his interpretation of how the franchise and its fanbase feel about these trade rumors. While many believe that the Bucks are holding the Greek Freak hostage, that might not actually be the case. That’s because even with the limited resources they had, the franchise tried to do enough business to build something around their star player.

Of course, that might not have been enough, as the Bucks currently sit 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 10-13 record, but still, they did try. This situation is further complicated by the fact that they exhausted their remaining picks to acquire Damian Lillard, a move that has drawn heavy criticism in hindsight. Nonetheless, Rivers believes that if Giannis Antetokounmpo were to leave, Milwaukee and its people wouldn’t hate him for it.

Moreover, Rivers believes the Bucks would respect Giannis’ wishes if a trade ever became necessary, though no such discussions have been reported. Of course, before that could happen, a lot will need to be sorted out. More so, if what Austin Rivers revealed while talking about the 31-year-old’s future in Wisconsin turns out to be true.

Austin Rivers feels something is ‘weird’ about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s latest calf injury

Although the Milwaukee Bucks secured their second win in the last three games, that too, against a competitive Detroit Pistons team, there was no major celebration inside the Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night. That’s because early in the game, Giannis Antetokounmpo fell to the floor and was helped off the court by his teammates after suffering a calf injury, only to not return for the rest of the game.

While the Bucks believe that they have avoided the worst-case scenario, which could’ve been an Achilles injury similar to the one Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton suffered last season, that might not be the case. It is because the franchise will have to wait for the MRI results to see the exact extent of the injury. Austin Rivers suggested that something about the injury “looked weird,” while stressing he has no confirmed medical information.

“His injury. We don’t know what’s going on with that yet. I had a late call from my brother, who’s on staff. I missed it. I had texted him asking what happened. He didn’t respond. They’re keeping it tight. So, I don’t have any information on that. I had calls, ‘he tore it.’ I’m like, ‘he didn’t tear it.’ But clearly, something with definitely something that people are afraid of these days more than ever,” he said.

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“It scared people because the way he was shaking his head on the ground was like, ‘This didn’t feel right,’ but I don’t know for sure. So I don’t even know if I could say he didn’t. I don’t know what the hell he did. It was a non-contact injury, and it looked weird,” Rivers further suggested on the latest episode of his podcast.

The former NBA player pointed out that while Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injury didn’t look like an Achilles tear, the way he went down was unsettling, to say the least. Well, that should ring alarm bells in Milwaukee, as the two-time MVP has already missed several games this season because of a groin injury and now is expected to miss around two to four weeks because of this alleged calf strain.

Now, with several sources, including ESPN’s Shams Charania, indicating it’s a calf strain and nothing more, Rivers’ comments add uncertainty, though he made clear he doesn’t have concrete medical information. That’s because if true, then trading him to another franchise might become tricky for the Bucks.