The Milwaukee Bucks are “motivated” to keep starting point guard Eric Bledsoe once he becomes a free agent in the upcoming summer, according to ESPN's Malika Andrews.

The Bucks traded for Bledsoe early last season, giving them a versatile and athletic floor general with excellence defensive capabilities and the unique chops to initiate his own offense and create for others equally well.

General manager Jon Horst traded away John Henson and Matthew Dellavedova in December, which has now put the franchise in position to retain Bledsoe and shooting guard Khris Middleton, who is also set to hit free agency in 2019.

Playing a bigger part in all of this is the franchise's desire to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay in Milwaukee — and to do so, they will need to keep a strong supporting cast around him in Bledsoe and Middleton.

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A Birmingham, Alabama native, Bledsoe has grown accustomed to the slow pace of a city like Milwaukee, something that has made the city feel like home in his short stay.

“It's slow,” Bledsoe said in his slight southern twang. “There ain't much to do. It feels just like home. I like it because I don't want life to pass me by. In big cities, things go by too fast.”

Gone are the days of Bledsoe scoring at a 20-point clip, but the 6-foot-1 point man has traded his scoring chops for a well-rounded support play as one of the team's best perimeter defenders and a steady source of points, rebounds, assists and steals.

His 15.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.4 steals are exactly with this Bucks team, powered by The Greek Freak has needed from him to reach the top spot in the East, now more than halfway into 2018-19.