Friday marks a crucial date in the Giannis Antetokounmpo contract situation with the Milwaukee Bucks. That is the first day the 28-year-old Greek superstar can sign his supermax extension with his current team and pledge himself to the organization going forward. And whatever Antetokounmpo does on Friday or in the coming days and weeks, there will be several NBA franchises watching closely, including the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors.
Ahead of the Giannis Antetokounmpo contract day, ESPN’s NBA insiders put together a long piece asking and answering all the pertinent questions about the Antetokounmpo’s contract situation, the long-term viability of the Bucks of a championship contender, and what could happen if the star decides he wants out of Wisconsin?
That last question is the most interesting for the rest of the NBA and something Zach Lowe and Ramona Shelburne discussed during a recent episode of the Lowe Post podcast.
“A few preliminary teams, who at the very least, will be watching this situation closely, could include the New Orleans Pelicans, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors,” the pair discussed, according to the ESPN piece. “Each of those teams have a combination of intriguing young players and valuable draft picks available that could be packaged in the kind of trade it would theoretically take to land Antetokounmpo.”
While Friday marks the first day Antetokounmpo can sign his supermax extension, it is also worth noting that it makes more sense — both from a basketball and money perspective — to wait and sign the deal next summer.
Doing this allows Antetokounmpo to get a better sense of where the organization is heading on the court and will also allow him to sign for $234 million to $258 million (depending on the salary cap increase) as opposed to $169 million to $186 million this year.
No matter what “The Greek Freak” decides to do on Friday, though, the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes countdown clock is officially on.
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