This is a disaster situation for the Bucks if they lose Giannis. The Milwaukee Bucks are facing a franchise-breaking mess as face of the franchise Giannis Antetokounmpo has made it clear he WILL NOT RESIGN if the team isn’t contending in the future.
So, we know all know the Bucks are going to be all in for the next 5-7 years if they want to keep Giannis.
Face of the Bucks franchise and one of the most gifted players the NBA has ever seen, Giannis Antetokounmpo has made it known that he will move on from Milwaukee and reject all contract extension talks if the team is not willing to compete for a championship every season he’s there. And, even though it seems quite obvious what the Bucks should do, this is honestly a much more complicated situation than what it might seem like.
Okay, I know the obvious answer most people are going to say to this ultimatum by Giannis is to just pay him what he wants and ensure the team around him will always be able to compete for championships.
I mean, it would be utterly asinine to let a player who’s not only a 7X All-Star, 7X All-NBA recipient, 5X All-Defensive Team recipient, the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year, a 2X MVP, who brought an NBA championship to the franchise (2021), and was the NBA Finals MVP (2021), but who’s also only 28 years old and still in his prime.
The Bucks haven’t been as relevant as they are now since the days Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was suiting up for the franchise in the early 1970’s and winning the 1971 NBA title, and we all saw how the Bucks collapsed after he left for the Lakers in 1975. So, the Bucks MUST give Giannis everything he wants and then some as he demanded in his comments or else risk losing the greatest player this franchise has ever seen (Kareem was at his best in a Lakers uniform).
Right? Well, I really don’t think so as I actually believe the Bucks SHOULD MOVE ON FROM GIANNIS after he finishes out his contract…if the team can’t compete anymore.
First off, the Bucks are in completely different situations with Giannis’ contract issues than with Kareem’s as Cap demanded out of Milwaukee because the city did not meet his “cultural needs” in the mid 1970’s and he wanted a more marketable, elevated platform to speak/perform from in LA and the LA Lakers.
Is it kind of a dick move to demand out of Milwaukee for that reason, I’d say so as the city of Milwaukee may not be LA, but it’s certainly not some back-end dump as Abdul-Jabbar’s trade demand insinuates. Still, I understand what Cap wanted from the NBA and his message/goals were never going to be accomplished if he stayed in Milwaukee and didn’t move to LA and form the 1980’s Showtime Lakers.
Nevertheless, the Bucks are not in that horrible position as The Greek Freak is not demanding out of Milwaukee, but rather demanding better players around him so he can continue contending for an NBA championship beyond the end of his contract in 2026 (which is a player option). That’s completely different than wanting out as he actually wants to stay…with certain conditions about the shape of the team.
But, since the current core roster of championship-winning Bucks players, such as Jrue Holiday, Brooks Lopez, and Khris Middleton, are all getting older, injury-prone, and worn down, it’s going to be hard to move on these guys for quality, championship-worthy players in return as they’re massive contracts just simply don’t hold up anymore.
Moreover, Giannis himself is getting more injury prone as he not only missed the vast majority of games this past postseason that saw his 1st-seeded Bucks have one of the most epic upset defeats in NBA history at the hands of the 8th seeded Miami Heat, but he’s also not played more than 67 games in the last four seasons (he managed to play AT LEAST 72 games in his first 6 years in Milwaukee).
He’s obviously still a fantastic player and can lead teams to championships pretty much on his own, but the team around him is aging and decaying faster than Bucks fans probably could have guessed since their championship victory just two years ago. And his own Greek Freak days may be coming to an end if his game logs/season keep falling.
I’m not saying that the Bucks should just blow up this roster completely and trade Giannis before his contract expires (he’s still under contract for another two guaranteed years and a third optional year), but I’d definitely wait and see how the Bucks perform in the postseason next year before cowing to Giannis’ demands.
As it just might not be feasible for the Bucks to build another championship contender around Giannis when he’s going to be 31 going on 32 and potentially facing more injury woes, while the rest of the roster is either washed up, shells of the championship winning players they once were, or players who lack a winning mentality.
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