Giannis Antetokounmpo says he plans to stay with Bucks, but do they have what he needs to win?
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo shouts from the bench in the second half of an NBA conference semifinal playoff game against the Miami Heat on Sept. 8, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Credit: AP/Mark J. Terrill
Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted to be on the court Tuesday night as the Milwaukee Bucks faced elimination. He went on the court before the game and shot around, but ultimately, calmer voices told him that even on this night when the team needed him, he had to sit and watch.
And maybe that was a good thing, providing Antetokoumpo with the chance to sit on the sidelines in a mask, watching his teammates and rooting them on as they ultimately fell, and weighing his future at the same time.
Antetokounmpo, the potential biggest prize of the 2021 free-agent market - and maybe the 2020 trade market, saw his team knocked out of the playoffs by the Miami Heat after posting the best regular-season record for the second straight season. He’d done his part, already winning the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award and soon he almost certainly will capture his second straight MVP Award. But the exit left the question that he could watch and assess - does he have the help to win in Milwaukee?
“Looking back to the bubble nobody is going to be happy for the outcome we had in that playoff run,” Antetokounmpo said afterward. “But you’ve got to learn from everything that goes on in your life, as a career. Hopefully, we can learn from this, get better as a team, come back and hopefully we can build a culture in Milwaukee for many years that we can come out and compete every single year for the championship.”
There have been plenty of players who have said similar things and then, when the allure of another star or another city beckoned, opted to take the easier path to a championship. All he would have to do is look at the player who he is competing with for the MVP — LeBron James — and chart his path as an example of leaving behind a town and a team to get the hardware.
But Antetokounmpo always has seemed different, and maybe he is. While teams have been positioning themselves for his potential free-agent chase for years, assembling players and coaches, friends and acquaintances to lure him, he has never hinted that he would be open to the pursuit.
He has one year left on his contract that will pay him $27.5 million and is eligible for a super-max extension that would pay him approximately $221.5 million over five years (based on current salary cap projections). That’s more money than he could get anywhere else. where he would be limited to four years and $140 million. While they have a two-time coach of the year in Mike Budenholzer and a former executive of the year in Jon Horst, the Bucks didn’t have enough on the court to help him even before he sprained his ankle.
With his potential deal sending them into luxury tax territory, will they be able to get that star he needs beside him? Could they assemble the pieces — and swallow the contract — to bring in Chris Paul as Oklahoma City seems intent on starting a rebuild now?
For his part, Antetokounmpo sounds set on being a part of it.
“It’s not happening. That’s not happening,” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo! Sports when asked about leaving. “Some see a wall and go in [another direction]. I plow through it. We just have to get better as a team, individually and get right back at it next season.”
Aging well
LeBron James, unlike Antetokounmpo, already has shifted from city to city as he chases titles and is now paired with Anthony Davis for another run at a ring. But he certainly didn’t show signs of age Tuesday as he poured in 36 points — 29 in the first half — to help the Lakers to a 2-1 series lead over the Houston Rockets. The win gave him the most postseason wins in NBA history.
But it wasn’t just his scoring that will be remembered. James blocked four shots in the third quarter, soaring to defend the rim against the high-powered Houston offense and rekindling memories of his NBA Finals block of Andre Iguodala.
“One, we don’t know how many opportunities we’re going to get at this level,” James said. “Two, our league kind of tries to leave guys like us in our later years out of the league. And you see it a lot. Guys in their 30s, mid-30s, they kind of try to stray away from the vets, things of that nature. So that’s a little pride as well. And then three, some people are built for this moment and some people are not. I just think that when you’ve been in the process and you’ve been building your mind, your body and your soul for the postseason no matter the circumstances, then you’re able to rise.
“Now that doesn’t always mean you’re gonna play well, that doesn’t mean you’re gonna win. But you can leave the game and sleep OK at night if you lose.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
