Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t directly threatening to leave the Bucks, but he hinted at that option this week during an appearance on the 48 Minutes podcast (YouTube video link). The two-time MVP said he enjoys playing in Milwaukee, but his priority is winning another championship and he’s willing to go elsewhere if he decides it’s necessary.
“I’m a Milwaukee Buck, but most importantly I’m a winner,” Antetokounmpo said. “… If there is a better situation for me to win the Larry O’Brien (trophy), I have to take that better situation.”
Antetokounmpo made similar comments last month, saying he would like to play 20 years with the same team, but “being a winner” is more important to him.
Antetokounmpo will become eligible for a five-year extension next summer that could be worth up to $334MM, which would be the largest contract in NBA history. He also holds a $51.9MM player option for 2025/26, so he’ll have the equivalent of an expiring contract for the following season if he doesn’t accept the extension.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Appearing on Tidal League’s “Run Your Race” podcast with Theo Pinson, Myles Turner expressed regret that he wasn’t ready to assume the role of team leader after the Pacers traded Paul George in 2017 (hat tip to FanSided). “The beginning of that year, I got hurt. I got a concussion,” Turner recalled. “I was out for like two and a half weeks. So I missed the first two and a half weeks of the season, (and) Vic (Victor Oladipo) was going crazy. Hitting game-winners. Averaging like 20 a game. Domas (Domantas Sabonis) was like 20 and 10.” Turner added that he’s grateful to get another chance to be a leader with the current version of the team.
- The Pacers‘ G League affiliate has acquired returning player rights for guard Craig Sword. The Fort Wayne Mad Ants announced a deal with Capital City to land the rights to Sword, who played for the Warriors during Summer League.
- Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic are considered stars under the NBA’s new Player Participation Policy, but the guidelines shouldn’t affect the Bulls very much, observes Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. She notes that the team doesn’t rely much on load management, with Vucevic and Patrick Williams both appearing in all 82 games last season, while LaVine played in 70 of the last 71 after working his way back from offseason knee surgery.
DeM DeR >>>>>>> to NYK
I get where Giannis is coming from but I also think he’s being a bit harsh. His team literally did win a championship. There’s like 25 teams that haven’t done that in ages, and lots of other good players around the league that wish they were in a position to even win once.
He’s just justifying why he’s going to leave Milwaukee for a larger market team in a few years.
Agreed. He could’ve left it at wanting to play on a contender (as most of those in his situation do), but he went one step further by saying if there’s any situation better than the one there he’ll take it. And let’s face it: even if the Bucks do manage to keep themselves afloat contention-wise, there will likely be better options out there. Just unnecessary on his part.
Giannis should be commended for not signing an extension at this point, when he’s not 100% committed to staying with his current team beyond his current contract. He didn’t demand or request a trade. He didn’t say he’s not signing an extension at some future point. He’s just saying that this time around, he’s not sure he wants to commit that far into the future (a period which covers the last years of his prime). Implicit is that if he did commit, he would honor it. The rest of the rhetoric is just responses to inane questions as to why; which should be obvious, but in the current environment simply isn’t.
This. He’s following the LeBron model. Commit full-bore to whatever team you’re with, and if you want to change teams, do it on your own recognizance and without trapping the team into a corner.
I agree with this. How he’s handling it is very good. I’m just not sure his expectations are realistic if he thinks the championship team from 2 years ago is not trying hard enough to win championships.
I’m not really sure why he wouldn’t think that way. A lot of work around the margins goes into maintaining a contender, and the Bucks have kind of spun their wheels the last few seasons. A high-octane backup point who can take over when Jrue starts missing every shot he takes would be a good start.
I love Jrue, but every time his shot isn’t falling, he’s a total liability on offense. He’s either great or terrible on that end.
29 teams spin their wheels every season. That’s the nature of the business. Bucks have proven they know how to build a winning team and that is more than can be said about a lot of the teams he might end up signing with or traded to.
I remember when the Suns were seen as a real contender trying to win. And then the Clippers before that. And then the Heat before that. There’s also the Nets and the Sixers. People requested trades to each of these teams recently. Zero championships between them.
My point is just that the grass is often not as green as it looks.
I’m not talking about making big moves. Look at the Warriors instead. Or the 2010s Heat before them. Plenty of work around the margins went into making those teams sustainable, even when missing key players, over multiple seasons. It wasn’t just Steph/Klay/Draymond, or LeBron/Wade/Bosh. They did a lot of minor stuff like adding complementary backups or trying to develop undrafted or late-round picks.
The Bucks haven’t done much of anything. Grayson Allen and Malik Beasley are solid players who fill a role, but they have more needs than just that. Even quality minimum signings (instead of, idk, signing the corpse of Serge Ibaka) or trying to develop undrafted guys could have paid dividends for them, the way it has for teams like the Heat, Cavs, and Lakers. It’s not about making the big splash, or finding another star, but instead how much they seem to ignore glaringly obvious needs in favor of just keeping the band together and hoping for better luck/health. Which is much the same as what the Suns and Nets have been doing, and why they had to rely on big moves or health luck. Not getting another quality backup for their frontcourt being the obvious one, but also the lack of secondary or tertiary playmakers off the bench, instead of only 3-and-D guys. A team does not win on 3-and-D alone.
I don’t think that’s his expectation. More that he doesn’t know; which he doesn’t. Nor does anyone else. Even if he believes MIL will try everything possible to stay on top, trying isn’t succeeding. Considering the challenges faced by long term taxpayers beyond $$, it’s prudent to wait.
Remember this extension wouldn’t be about the next 2 seasons. It’s about the 2025-26 season through the 2028-29 season. Those are the last seasons of his prime (he’ll be 35 when the period is over). Shouldn’t he have as much information as possible about his potential suitors (MIL and others) before deciding how to spend those seasons?
More Jokic, less others plz
Giannis is going to be offered a SUPER SUPER contract by Greece in an effort to build a super, super team around him.
Enjoy him while you can.
For Greece to pay Giannis more than he’d make in the NBA, the nation would go bankrupt.