A couple of seasons ago, people speculated whether Giannis Antetokounmpo would force his way out of the Milwaukee Bucks. Mock trades and photoshops flooded social media, with him allegedly set to join the Lakers, Warriors, and even the Raptors.
Giannis immediately shut down all speculation by signing a massive contract extension with the Bucks. If that wasn’t enough, he wound up going the distance and leading them to an NBA championship.
Butas loyal as Giannis has been to the team, and as successful as his tenure in Wisconsin has been, he’s still got plenty of years left in this league. And according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, he may not be ready to commit to the Bucks again.
ESPN: Giannis Antetokounmpo May Not Extend His Contract Right Now
“Khris Middleton is out, Pat Connaughton is out. This is a low-key important year for the Bucks because their ownership group has gone as far as they can go,” Windhorst said. “They’re deep in the tax, they gave Bobby Portis a contract, they gave Connaughton a contract. They didn’t extend Khris Middleton, who’s headed for free agency next year with a player option, we’ll see how that goes.”
“I hate to bring this up, next summer is the first time Giannis can extend his contract for the Supermax,” Windhorst added. “We are coming to a point of evaluation for Giannis on the Bucks next year. If Middleton was healthy, they beat the Celtics in the second round, it was a 7-game series without him. I think they might have beat the Heat and go the Finals where who knows what happens. This team could very well be having a ring night. I’m not sounding the alarm but just pointing out that this is who they are and next year, Giannis gets to make a referendum on where the team are.”
Of course, Giannis has proven not to be like most modern stars. He’s loyal and would rather go ringless for the remainder of his career than turn his back on the Bucks. But hey, we’ve seen crazier things happen in this league.
