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Giannis Antetokounmpo is reportedly staying with the Milwaukee Bucks — at least for the remainder of the season.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Bucks will keep Antetokounmpo with hours to go before Thursday's deadline and focus on other deals.

Milwaukee is expected to also field offers for Antetokounmpo in the offseason, when teams have more clarity on their draft pick compensation and the market potentially widens as some contenders fall short in the playoffs.

"They were never serious," one team executive told Substack's Jake Fischer regarding an Antetokounmpo deal.

The reported news ends months of speculation that the two-time MVP and franchise stalwart wouldn't finish the season with the Bucks team that drafted him. The Bucks are in the midst of a losing season and are not on pace to make the playoffs.

Antetokounmpo has twice missed time this season with significant calf injuries. He sustained his second injury on Jan. 23 in a 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Antetokounmpo said after that game that he expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the injury, and head coach Doc Rivers said there's no timetable for his return. It's unclear if or when he'll be able to return this season to the Bucks, who would benefit by improving their odds for the draft lottery.

Speculation of Antetokounmpo eventually leaving the Bucks started before the season began. As the losses piled up, so did the tension in Milwaukee. After home fans booed the Bucks during a blowout loss to the Timberwolves on Jan 13, Antetokounmpo pointed two thumbs down and booed them back. He played four more games for the Bucks after that incident.

Yet, the franchise isn't quite ready to end its most successful era since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson led Milwaukee to two Finals appearances and an NBA championship in the early 1970s.

The Bucks selected Antetokounmpo with the No. 15 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft as a raw, high-upside prospect with an enormous physical tool set. He's delivered on that upside and more.

Antetokounmpo spent his rookie season developing off the bench as a 19-year-old before joining the starting lineup full time in his second NBA season. He made his first All-Star team in his fourth season in Milwaukee and has been an All-Star in eight seasons since as a dominant two-way force.

Antetokounmpo won the first of his two consecutive NBA MVP awards after the 2018-19 season. He also won Defensive Player of the Year alongside his second MVP award the following season.

In 2020-21, Antetokounmpo completed his NBA resumé. Playing alongside Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to the franchise's second NBA championship. The only major accomplishment now missing from his career as a pro is entry into the Hall of Fame, which is a certainty as soon as he's put on the ballot.

But he likely won't complete his career having played for just the Bucks. Milwaukee didn't maintain its contender status after winning the 2021 championship and hasn't advanced past the second round of the playoffs since. It's suffered first-round playoff exits in each of the past three postseasons.

Middleton and Holiday are both gone, and Milwaukee's attempts to rebuild another contender around Antetokounmpo fizzled with Damian Lillard's Achilles tendon tear last season.

The Bucks exceeded expectations early this season with a 6-3 start. They have since faded out of playoff contention with a losing record. A full-blown rebuild, however, will have to wait until the offseason.

Antetokounmpo is playing on a three-year, $186 million contract extension he signed in 2023 in the aftermath of Milwaukee's trade to acquire Lillard. That extension includes a player option for the 2027-28 season.

Nothing's certain. But there's a chance that Draymond Green played his last game for the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night. 

Green's name has been bandied about in trade rumors as the Warriors are believed to be seeking a high-level player (Giannis Antetokounmpo, perhaps?) to pair with Stephen Curry for a run at another championship at the end of Curry's prime.

If Green's 13 1/2-season run with the Warriors is over, he's at peace with it. He spoke about the possibility of this being the end following Golden State's 113-94 loss to the 76ers Tuesday night. 

Be warned, the language is not safe for work. This is Draymond, after all.

"I think a lot of people want to know how I feel about it, like am I upset about it" Green said. "I'm not at all. If that's what's best for this organization, that's what's best for the organization. 

"I'm not, like, 'ah, man, they f***ed me over," or something like that. I don't really feel that way."

Green paused, then offered some perspective that's likely to draw a few tears from the Golden State fan base if Green, indeed, gets dealt before Thursday's trade deadline. 

"If you would've told me 13 1/2 years ago like, 'yo, I'm gonna hand you this sheet of paper and you can sign it to be in a place for 13 1/2 years, would you sign it?' And I would've signed it faster than you can blink.

"What do I have to sit and worry about? What do I have to, like, be upset about? Like I've been here for 13 1/2 years. That's longer than probably 98% of NBA players have been in one place. And this guy from Saginaw has been in a place for 13 1/2 years. 

"I don't know that it ends at 13 1/2, but if it does, what a f***ing run it's been."

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If it's over, Green is right. It's been a hell of a run. 

Green joined the Warriors as a second-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. In the 13 1/2 seasons since then, Green has been a lynchpin of one of the NBA's great dynasties while winning four championships alongside Curry, Klay Thompson and coach Steve Kerr.

He's been one of the great defenders of his generation. And despite being the third- or fourth-best player on those championship teams, Green's career will likely conclude with enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame. 

"I'm blessed," Green said. "I'm lucky. I'm grateful."

The Los Angeles Clippers reportedly dealt James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Darius Garland Tuesday in the biggest trade so far of what's already been an active NBA trade-deadline week. 

Not long after the deal, Harden spoke about it with ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. He denied requesting a trade, per Shelburne. But he's "excited" to make the move to Cleveland. 

Harden, who's one of two top-10 all-time NBA scorers without a championship alongside Karl Malone, believes he'll have a better chance to secure that elusive NBA title with the Cavaliers than with the Clippers. 

"In Cleveland I see an opportunity to win in the East," Harden told Shelburne. "They got a very good team, coaching staff, all of the above. 

"So as much as I wanted to stay in LA and give it a go, I’ve never won one before. As a basketball mind I think we have a bit better chance.”

Will Harden make the Cavaliers contenders?

Harden's right. He joins a Cavaliers team that finished 68-14 last season for the best record in the Eastern Conference. They've already exceeded that loss total this season in a campaign in which Garland missed nearly half of Cleveland's games with injury before being traded.

But they've still been competitive at 30-21, which was good for fifth place in the East as of Tuesday night. And the East is wide open. Swapping in a healthy Harden for a hobbled Garland has the potential to propel the Cavaliers toward the top of conference. 

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Is there a better backcourt in basketball?

In pairing 10-time All-Star Harden with six-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell, the Cavaliers have assembled arguably the best backcourt in the NBA. Both players are capable of dropping 50-plus points on any night. Mitchell's an elite scorer in his prime. Harden's a former 3-time scoring champ and and a high-level playmaker who's twice led the league in assists. 

Good luck to opposing teams in deciding who to double in crunch time. 

The Clippers, meanwhile, have returned to competitiveness at 23-26 following a brutal 6-21 start. But even if they'd retained Harden, this was not a team that was going to compete with the Thunder, Nuggets, Spurs or Rockets to get out of the Western Conference. The addition of Garland doesn't change that equation. 

The Cavaliers are going all in to compete for a title in Mitchell's prime, and they might not be done making moves with nearly two full days remaining before Thursday's trade deadline. The Clippers, meanwhile, remain in limbo.

“We had a hell of a two and a half years," Harden said of his time with the Clippers. "We didn't reach the goals that we all wanted to reach, but I think we built some great memories, had some great wins and fun moments for all of us.  

"At the end of the day, it is a business, and I think both sides got what they wanted, are in a great place and are very happy."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The NFL expressed on Tuesday that it's "confident" that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents won't be at the Super Bowl on Sunday, in conflict with previous statements from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials. 

The NFL's chief security officer, Cathy Lanier, addressed the topic during a security briefing with reporters ahead of Sunday's game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

"There's no planned ICE enforcement activities," Lanier said. "We are confident of that."

Lanier's claim stands in conflict with repeated statements from DHS officials that ICE will have a presence at the Super Bowl amid a nationwide campaign targeting immigrants for deportation under President Donald Trump.

DHS: Super Bowl not a 'safe haven'

DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski said on a podcast in October that the Super Bowl would not be a "safe haven" for targets of ICE activities.

“There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally," Lewandowski said. "Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you. We will apprehend you. We will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem echoed Lewandowski's statement, saying on the same podcast that ICE will be "all over" the Super Bowl.

Lewandowski and Noem made their statements shortly after the NFL announced that Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny would headline the Super Bowl halftime show. Noem said this of the NFL when asked what message she wanted send the league in response to its decision to feature Bad Bunny:

"They suck, and we'll win," Noem said. "They won't be able to sleep at night because they don't know what they believe. And they're so weak, we'll fix it."

Bad Bunny pushes back

Bad Bunny is a vocal critic of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement campaign and reiterated his stance during an acceptance speech at the Grammy awards Sunday night. 

“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” he said. “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans ... The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. 

"So please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love.”

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated the league's support for Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime performer in a news conference on Monday. 

ICE, DHS plans for Super Bowl remain murky

DHS has not confirmed in recent days whether or not it has plans for ICE enforcement at and around the Super Bowl. Per the Associated Press, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin refused to say whether federal immigration agents will be present around the game.

AP reports that DHS official Jeff Brannigan indicated in private calls with local law enforcement and the the NFL that ICE does not plan to conduct enforcement activities around the Super Bowl. DHS has not publicly confirmed that stance, and concerns remain among critics that a Trump administration prone to changing its mind could do so if that is the plan. 

ICE and its tactics are under increased nationwide scrutiny in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by agents. 

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The Seattle Mariners are closing in on a deal to acquire All-Star infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-team trade that also involves the Tampa Bay Rays, ESPN's Jeff Passan reports. 

Other terms of the pending deal were not initially reported. 

Donovan is a former Gold Glove winner who can play multiple positions in the infield and outfield. A four-year MLB pro, he's played his entire career with the Cardinals and made his first All-Star team last season.

This story will be updated.

LeBron James will walk away with a loss from what could be his final NBA game at Madison Square Garden. 

Buoyed by an 18-point first half from Luka Dončić, the Los Angeles Lakers opened up a 56-52 halftime lead over the host New York Knicks Sunday night. But a 13-5 Knicks run to close the third quarter turned a tie game into a 90-82 lead that New York never relinquished en route to a 112-100 win. 

Knicks bounce back from January swoon

The Knicks rode an 18-of-42 (43%) night from 3 and a balanced offensive effort in which six players scored in double figures and three players scored 20-plus to secure the win. The victory was New York's sixth straight following a 2-9 stretch that raised alarms in New York and reportedly prompted a players-only meeting spearheaded by team captain Jalen Brunson.

The Knicks are now 31-18 and in a second-place tie in East with the Boston Celtics behind the first-place Detroit Pistons. And the noise surrounding their January swoon has dissipated.

The win for the Knicks spoiled would might have been James' final game in one the basketball's most iconic arenas. If so, James put up a strong effort with 22-point, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. He posted one of the highlights of his season with an alley-oop dunk in traffic to extend a Lakers lead early in the third quarter.

But it wasn't enough to fend off a Knicks team that's returned to form from an 11-game slump.

Will James play another game at MSG?

James, 41, hasn't announced whether or not he'll retire at the conclusion of this season. But there's speculation that this might be his last. If so, he's in the midst of an Eastern Conference swing that could represent his final game in opposing arenas. 

He wiped away tears last week amidst a standing ovation and tribute video in Cleveland from a Cavaliers team with which he played 11 seasons and led to its first and only NBA championship in 2016.

There was no such tribute from the longtime rival Knicks on Sunday. 

But the sense that this could be James' final moment on one of basketball's biggest stages was unavoidable. The game was scheduled for one of the biggest time slots of the regular season as NBC reclaimed its longtime Sunday territory for the first time since returning to NBA coverage this season. And tickets were in high demand for James' potential final game at MSG.

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Balanced Knicks effort tops big games from Luka, LeBron

If so, Knicks fans got their money's worth. They got a good show from James, but a better one from their Knicks in victory. OG Anunonby (25 points, 8 rebounds), Josh Hart (20 points, 4 rebounds) and Landry Shamet (23 points, 6 of 10 from 3) each scored 20 points or more.

All-Star Jalen Brunson made up for a cold shooting night (4 of 15) with one of his best nights of the season as a distributor while tally 12 points and 13 assists. Karl-Anthony Towns, who learned before tip that he's also an All-Star, likewise found other ways to contribute on an off scoring night with 11 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. 

Dončić led the Lakers with 30 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists while shooting 5 of 14 from 3. But he was the only Laker to hit more than 2 3s on a night when they shot 12 of 42 (29%), failing to keep up with New York's hot shooting. 

The Knicks also controlled the boards with a 47-36 rebounding advantage. New York will visit the Washington Wizards Tuesday before returning home for another high-profile Western Conference matchup against the Denver Nuggets Wednesday. 

The Lakers will conclude an eight-game road swing with a Tuesday game against the Brooklyn Nets before returning home to host the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.