Giannis Antetokounmpo finally defined his future in the league after re-signing with the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis will earn the largest contract in NBA history, making $228 million over five years with the franchise. The Greek player was surrounded by plenty of rumors that placed him with different franchises, signing another type of contract but he finally made up his mind and decided to stay in Wisconsin.
He was a coveted player before signing his new deal and now that the Bucks have secured his services, Giannis is off the table for the rest of the teams in the league. Even though he was expected to be heavily pursued next season, Antetokounmpo was already drawing attention this season, with some players trying to recruit him in the offseason. Brian Windhorst and Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN revealed that Giannis showed text messages from other NBA players trying to lure him away from Milwaukee.
When his NBA season finished in the bubble, he met with the team’s management to discuss their future. Giannis made sure to show them what other teams were doing to get his attention, something that must have set the alarms within the organization.
Over that three-hour lunch, Lasry had some of the more significant conversations about team-building he has shared with Antetokounmpo. They talked about current Bucks players. They talked about current Bucks coaches. They talked about free agents who were entering the market. They talked about players on other teams ones Antetokounmpo thought would be right to acquire. And they discussed the other things, such as how Antetokounmpo had begun feeling the early stages of recruiting from other players in the league. At one point, sources said, Antetokounmpo even showed the Bucks’ management text messages from stars on rival teams who appeared to be beginning their pitch.
Even though he’s committed to the Bucks, nobody is ruling out a possible exit of Giannis from Milwaukee. He is young and one of the best players in the league. Antetokounmpo keeps improving his game season after season and if he’s unable to win with his current team, perhaps we’ll see him go before his contract expires.
