The Milwaukee Bucks signed Alex Antetokounmpo to a two-way contract for one obvious reason: his last name. The front office has shown that it will do just about anything to keep Giannis happy, and adding another Antetokounmpo to the organization leans about as far into that motive as possible. In fact, this particular move goes so far above and beyond the expectations for a normal NBA franchise that calling it desperate might be an understatement.
Bucks all-in on Antetokounmpos
That, anyway, is how Zach Lowe views the latest Antetokounmpo signing, which he touched on during the Zach Lowe Show podcast earlier this week.
"If you don't think this is a sign of total desperation on the part of the Bucks, I'm sorry to say, you are kidding yourself. They know this is a big season, they know that Gianns has a wandering eye. … They made a desperate move with Damian Lillard to Myles Turner, which I think will work out for them, but they're running out of big bullets to change this team."
It's not like Jamaree Bouyea, the two-way player waived to make room, was going to play a big part on this team. A two-way spot is what it is, a placeholder for young players who may or may not have an NBA future, who probably won't factor into the rotation. Giving Alex Antetokounmpo the last spot doesn't change much, if anything, about the Bucks' 2025-26 season, something Lowe acknowledged.
But still. It's another explicitly Giannis-minded gesture, the most blatant one yet. The Bucks didn't sign Alex Antetokounmpo because of his talent. They aren't asking him to match whatever limited contributions Bouyea could provide. From the Bucks' perspective, that's ok. Giannis loves having Thanasis around, so why not his younger brother, too? It's just that, in terms of good faith roster construction, moves like this one stick out like a sore thumb amid escalating trade drama. Please, Giannis, stay!
As much as people made fun of the Bucks for re-signing Thanasis, not all Antetokounmpo signings are created equal. Thanasis has logged actual NBA minutes and shared in the fabric of the 2021 championship team. He won't contribute much in the way of rotation minutes, but he has established himself as a sideline sparkplug, a lifter of spirits, and a locker room leader.
While Alex has carved out a basketball career both overseas, more recently, and in the G League previously, where he played for the Wisconsin Herd from 2022-24, he hasn't made an NBA 15-man roster and probably won't. He doesn't have a clear role other than, well, existing as Giannis' brother.
It's also worth noting that although a team's last two-way spot isn't likely to pay lucrative dividends, those players can become unexpected assets. Take Ryan Rollins, a two-way player for most of last season who is now a key member of the Bucks' point guard rotation. The Bucks certainly hope that Pete Nance and Mark Sears, their other players on two-way deals, can turn into more than G-League insurance.
As the latest in the ever-growing list of appeals to Giannis' perceived wishes, it would be hard not to see the Alex Antetokounmpo signing as anything but a last resort. The Bucks' front office is truly pulling out all the stops to try and extend the Giannis era for as long as humanly possible.