Milwaukee Bucks are lucky Giannis Antetokounmpo is drama free
By Ti Windisch
While other NBA teams might have to worry about placating their star players, Giannis Antetokounmpo has yet to make the Milwaukee Bucks fret.
The Milwaukee Bucks are having a pretty quiet offseason thus far. Giannis Antetokounmpo is out and about with his family, and by all accounts is having a great time before (and during) his offseason work.
Phew, are things different in New York. The Knicks franchise continues to crumble further into dust, with the latest tectonic activity coming after franchise cornerstone Kristaps Porzingis tweeted something about the Los Angeles Clippers.
Porzingis would later claim to be hacked (right) although Knicks fans are worried regardless, especially since Porzingis skipped his exit interview and is apparently spending his summer in Latvia, not New York.
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It’s not just the bright lights of the Big Apple that cause tension between franchise player and franchise, though. Paul George is reportedly quite fond of the Los Angeles Lakers, and with Larry Bird stepping down there are a whole host of rumors surrounding the Indiana Pacers.
Will PG-13 be traded? Will the Pacers be sold, as Bill Simmons alluded to on his latest BS Pod? It’s slightly too early to tell at this point, but Pacers fans are rightfully concerned about the prospect of losing their star player.
There’s also the Chicago Bulls, who could go from having all of Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler to having none of them quite quickly, depending on how committed the Bulls are to their needed rebuild.
Don’t forget the Toronto Raptors, the team unceremoniously swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers who beat the Bucks just a round earlier. Kyle Lowry is apparently sick of losing to LeBron James, and he may be looking westward to escape the King in Cleveland.
Late-season rumbles that Kyle Lowry will give legit thought to a free-agent switch to the West are sure to rise in volume after this series
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 7, 2017
It may be tough to be a Bucks fan sometimes, but Milwaukee should be thankful to have no worries about Giannis Antetokounmpo being unhappy. Giannis is a literally huge bundle of joy, and he quickly signed a contract extension for less than the max last summer to stay with Milwaukee for four more years.
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- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
Giannis’ stock was a lot lower a year ago, but he could’ve likely negotiated for more than he took anyway. What was the organization going to do, say no? Whatever the Greek Freak wants, he’s going to get.
The nice thing for the Bucks is that Giannis hasn’t exactly been demanding thus far. There have been no reports of how badly he’d like to test free agency, or rumblings of him not getting enough shots.
Contract negotiations have the potential of becoming contentious again, as Jabari Parker will be eligible for an extension this summer just as Giannis was in 2016. Jabari hasn’t spoken much about the extension, but he seems committed to getting healthy and coming back better than ever to the Bucks.
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Almost two years ago, Giannis wrote that he wanted to “play for the Milwaukee Bucks forever.” It doesn’t seem like he’s changed his mind, based on everything Bucks fans have seen and heard from their All-Star.