- Giannis Antetokounmpo did not commit to re-signing with the Bucks
- Giannis wants to see the same level of commitment he has from his teammates and the organization
- Former NBA head coach Sam Mitchell was not a fan of those comments
Giannis Antetokounmpo caused quite a stir with his recent comments regarding his future. Giannis stated he won’t re-sign with the Milwaukee Bucks if everyone’s not on the same page, and former NBA head coach Sam Mitchell took issue with his comments.
“This is the second time in a playoff loss that people are questioning why you weren’t guarding the other team’s best player,” Mitchell said on Sirius XM NBA Radio. “And you sit there with the same answer, ‘Well, the coach didn’t put me on him.'”
Mitchell is referring to Giannis’ comments on not guarding Jimmy Butler in the first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat this past season.
“But yet you can come to the press conference and make all these demands,” Mitchell continued. “And say, ‘If this don’t happen.’ Well, what about in the series? When you could have done something about the game. When you could have said, ‘Hey coach, I got Jimmy.’ Where was all that then?”
Mitchell felt Giannis came up short when it was time to deliver.
“I don’t want to hear all that,” Mitchell added. “In the time to step up to be a star, you got quiet. What you talking for now?”
Giannis Antetokounmpo says he won’t re-sign in Milwaukee unless ‘everybody is on the same page’.@SamMitchellNBA tells @BGeltzNBA he’s tired of superstars not taking accountability for playoff failures. pic.twitter.com/k6o033gUDk
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) August 26, 2023
To be fair to Giannis, he had injured his back in that playoff series against the Heat, which also caused him to miss Games 2 and 3. Expecting him to guard Butler and take on a heavy load on offense in that situation might be a bit much.
Giannis played fairly well, all things considered, on his return too, averaging 32.0 points, 15.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 0.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in the last two games of that series.
Butler just proved to be too much to handle, and the Bucks were eliminated in five games.
Were These Comments By Giannis Out Of Bounds?
You never really like to see a player openly say things along these lines in public, but I don’t think Giannis was out of bounds here.
The 28-year-old hasn’t stated that he won’t re-sign under any circumstances, and just wants to hold the organization to a higher standard. When you’re as great as Giannis, the goal every season is to win, and if he sees some slippage behind the scenes in that regard, it’s not surprising he wouldn’t be happy.
Antetokounmpo also delivered a championship to Milwaukee in 2021, so the seven-time All-Star’s situation isn’t similar to that of other stars that we have seen over the years.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
