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Giannis Antetokounmpo made one thing clear to the Milwaukee Bucks brass if they wanted him to stay with the team for the long haul: show him that they're invested in winning another championship. That's exactly what the Bucks did when they made the difficult decision of trading away fan favorite Jrue Holiday, along with other assets, for Damian Lillard. And Antetokounmpo, surely enough, was a man of his word. Despite being lukewarm in his intention to sign an extension with the Bucks, he ended up inking a three-year, $186 million deal to stay with the team until at least 2027.
This assures the Bucks that they would have both Antetokounmpo and Lillard for the foreseeable future; barring any unforeseen disaster, this figures to put Milwaukee into title contention for the next few seasons. That is a big win for the Bucks, as they should have at least few more years before they sweat out another extension for their franchise star.
However, Brian Windhorst of ESPN didn't seem to like the deal too much from Giannis Antetokounmpo's perspective. Windhorst wondered why the Bucks star decided to put his signature on the dotted line now when he could have signed a similar deal at season's end.
“It's questionable. He didn't have to do this. He came out, went on the record when they made the Lillard trade and said, ‘I'm gonna sign in a year.' Nobody was upset. Nobody was worried in Milwaukee,” Windhorst said on ESPN's First Take. “But he could have signed the same deal at the end of the season.”
"It's questionable… He didn't have to do this… He could have signed the same deal at the end of the season."@WindhorstESPN on Giannis agreeing to a 3-year, $186 million contract extension with the Bucks 🗣
(via @FirstTake)pic.twitter.com/w1OHzoSkAJ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 24, 2023
While Brian Windhorst is bullish on the Bucks' chances of competing for a title and that he understands the merit of getting financial security, Giannis Antetokounmpo could have protected himself against a bit of risk if he decided to delay his contract extension signing.
“They got an unproven coach. Khris Middleton is coming off an injury. They had a disappointing season last year,” Windhorst added. “Now, he gets in a position, if they have a down year […], now he's locked in for four more years. And he's in the same boat as Dame was last year. Giannis gave up a marginal amount of leverage.”
But it's definitely in Giannis Antetokounmpo's character to be loyal, and his decision to sign an early extension with the Bucks is just a sign that he's ready to commit to the team for the long haul, for better or for worse.
