Failed trade departure! Giannis nearly fired his agent; Rich Paul interested in recruiting the Greek Freak

On January 27 Beijing time, NBA insider Henry Abbott reported that Giannis almost fired his longtime agent Salazis after failing to secure a trade to leave the Bucks. Below is Abbott’s report —

Last week, a highly influential individual in the sports agency circle told me a surprising piece of news regarding the Bucks player.

In the public eye, Giannis has always been seen as a good person, thoughtful and one of the rare kind-hearted figures in the NBA community. Since being drafted as a rookie in 2013, he has exclusively played for the Bucks and signed with only one agent.

Because of this, hearing such a dramatic rumor was even more shocking:Giannis nearly fired his longtime agent Alex Salazis because the agent failed to help him achieve a trade away from the Bucks.

This is quite a sensitive topic with many underlying reasons. One is that both the Bucks and Giannis are maintaining a facade of peace. Even after leaving a game due to injury and expecting to be sidelined for 4 to 6 weeks, Giannis stated in media interviews his intention to lead the Bucks into the playoffs this season. (Yet just hours ago, insider Shams tweeted that "Giannis and the Bucks’ relationship is over," which is now an accepted fact.)

Moreover, for an agent, having a client like Giannis means huge earnings, so rumors about conflicts between players and their agents often arise—these gossip can create opportunities for other agents to step in.

In this current situation, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports has not only mentioned Giannis frequently in public, but multiple sources confirm he has recently been in contact with Giannis’s brother Thanasis.All signs point to Rich Paul intending to sign Giannis, and despite his client Anthony Davis’s less-than-ideal situation in Dallas, Paul has publicly claimed he is the one who can help players achieve their trade wishes.

Two veteran NBA insiders said that these behind-the-scenes battles between agents are common in the NBA and nothing unusual. However,two insiders believe Giannis is very likely to change agents soon..

The players’ union has confirmed that Alex Salazis remains Giannis’s agent at present. Teams interested in acquiring Giannis via trade are still maintaining contact with Salazis.

It is worth noting that the rules regarding players changing agents were updated last year. Previously, if a player sent a termination letter to an agent, they had to wait 15 days before signing a new one; now, this waiting period has been reduced to 7 days. This means,under current regulations, Giannis could finalize a new agent before the February 6 trade deadline.If Giannis intends to switch agents, he still has a few days to decide.

However, at the heart of all this turmoil is the issue of “leaving Milwaukee.” Everyone I’ve spoken to in the industry agrees on one point:whether this matter is resolved next week or waits until this summer, both the Bucks and their franchise star know this partnership will soon come to an end.This situation sounds surprising because, like Damian Lillard during his time with the Trail Blazers, neither Giannis nor the Bucks want to play the villain publicly. So, even though a split is inevitable, both sides are still pretending to be harmonious.