2023-09-14 10:33:00
Double MVP and NBA champion with the Bucks in 2021, Giannis Antetokounmpo is not satisfied. On the contrary, the title won two years ago has increased his motivation tenfold, he who only thinks regarding getting back to the top of the Great League. He even seems ready to leave his lifelong franchise to get there.
At the end of August, the Greek Freak sent a first message to the leaders of the Bucks, declaring that he wanted solid guarantees before extending his contract with Milwaukee. Yesterday, Giannis put pressure on his franchise once more, just to make sure this message got across.
During an appearance on the podcast 48 minutesAntetokounmpo has made it clear that he will consider leaving if he feels that the Bucks are not going in the right direction, namely that of the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
“As long as we approach the game the right way, as long as everyone makes sacrifices to achieve a common goal, I see myself staying with the Milwaukee Bucks for the rest of my career. But the moment I feel like people aren’t as invested in winning the trophy as I am, that won’t be the case anymore.
I’m a Milwaukee Buck, but more importantly I’m a winner. I want to win, and I have to do whatever it takes to get there. If there is a better situation for me to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy, I have to take it.”
If Giannis’ attachment to the Bucks and the city of Milwaukee is real, his desire to win other rings is just as real, if not more so. Antetokounmpo has not forgotten the terrible failure in the first round of the Playoffs once morest the Heat a few months ago. He knows that his Bucks – for various reasons – have still not returned to the Conference Finals since the 2021 title. And that, obviously, bothers him a lot.
“I’m a Milwaukee Buck, but most importantly I’m a winner. … If there is a better situation for me to win the Larry O’Brien I have to take that better situation.”
Giannis on his future with the Bucks. pic.twitter.com/XzucRXtmOv
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 13, 2023
What perhaps also bothers him is to see that Milwaukee’s squad is seriously starting to age. Certainly, the Bucks did what was necessary this summer to extend executives like Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, but we are talking respectively regarding a player of 32 and 35 years old who have experienced injury concerns in turn these two last years. Jrue Holiday, the other important piece of the project, also has 33 brooms and seems to be considering retirement at the end of his current contract in 2025. You add to that a change of coach with the departure of the experienced Mike Budenholzer in favor of ‘a rookie coach named Adrian Griffin, and you get a situation with quite a bit of uncertainty.
As a reminder, Giannis Antetokounmpo reaches the end of his contract in 2025 (he has a player option of 52 million for the 2025-26 season), and is eligible for an extension with the Bucks from the end of September. However, the Freak does not intend to extend in Milwaukee for the moment, for financial reasons but also because he does not have the guarantees he expects.
It’s up to the Bucks to do what is necessary to convince him to stay, under penalty of losing their status as a heavyweight in the Eastern Conference.
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Source texte : podcast 48 minutes
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