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We can all now put the endless Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors to rest after he confirmed his commitment to the Milwaukee Bucks for the next five years. The two-time NBA MVP announced on Tuesday that he will be signing a gargantuan $228.2 million extension – the most lucrative deal recorded in NBA history.
While the Bucks brass and its fans can now let out a huge sigh of relief, there’s still a lot more work to be done. Milwaukee still needs more talent alongside the Greek Freak to finally get over that mountain they failed to climb for the past two seasons.
As much as re-building from within sounds nice in theory, the Bucks know that recruiting another All-Star caliber player would be the move that takes them to the next level. Giannis Antetokounmpo certainly understands the role he has to play for this to happen. He has to be a vocal recruiter for other superstars to actually consider taking their talents to Wisconsin.
When you think about it, Giannis appears like he is now on the same boat as LeBron James several seasons ago. It’s not hard to see the similarities between the two MVPs. Both are practically freaks of nature and pretty much unstoppable in the open court.Before LeBron found a home in Los Angeles, he too, carried the burden of playing in a small market team in the East.
James played two stints for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, which isn’t exactly a prime free-agent destination. Let’s get real here, Cleveland is not the first place young kids think about when they dream of making it to the NBA. It was LeBron who practically put Cleveland on the basketball map, especially his small home town of Akron.
The King has long been open about the struggles of trying to convince other players to join him, simply because of the location.
“I've got rejected a lot. But I also have not got rejected a lot,” James once said in an ESPN report.
“A lot of people didn't wanna come to Cleveland, let me just throw that out there.”
Even to this day, most players would kill to team up with a superstar as unselfish as James. However, playing in Ohio, as opposed to the more inviting big market locations, certainly set him back. Is location truly a major factor in terms of landing big-time players? The 4-time MVP believes so.
“It wasn't hard getting guys in Miami, I'll tell you that,” James added.
Now, let’s get back to Giannis. He has said all the right things so far in terms of inviting more talent to Milwaukee.
The 26-year-old megastar, who was been hailed the most valuable player in the league for the last two years, claimed he doesn’t mind taking a back seat with the Bucks if it meant playing alongside two more All-Stars. He even name-dropped the likes of LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Kevin Durant.
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While those three stars are pretty much out of reach at the moment, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks can chase for other significant talents that are on the market in the coming years. Will he face the same dilemma that James endured years ago? That’s very likely to happen.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's emergence as a top player made Milwaukee a lot more enticing to play in the past couple of years. Last year, they edged out other contenders for highly-coveted center Brook Lopez. However, it’s pretty clear that superstar-caliber free agents will likely be harder to persuade and would have demands of their own before committing to Milwaukee.
Apart from a big payday, players want to join a franchise with an established winning culture. It doesn’t help that the Bucks have failed to even get out of the East, despite owning the best record in the league for the last two seasons. If Giannis can’t sell other players on how great it is to live in Milwaukee, he’ll likely have a harder time using their recent track record as a bargaining chip.
The 2020-21 campaign will indeed be critical for Antetokounmpo’s bid to lure more talent in the coming years. They made a few significant upgrades with their roster this offseason, but it’s still pretty up in the air whether or not they could finally shake the monkey off their back.
LeBron James understood this challenge years ago, which is why he only accepted short-term contracts in his second stint with the Cavs. Or maybe he just wanted an escape route each time, in the event that his team was unable to get more talent.
Giannis, however, won’t have the same luxury since he agreed on the max-deal. This could also play to the Bucks’ favor since possible free agents can relish in the fact that the 4-time All-Star won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Antetokounmpo did have his options, with big market teams Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat reportedly preparing huge offers to sign him next season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has all the makings of a Bucks lifer. Sure, he'll probably even have a harder time than James in terms of recruiting players. But at the end of the day, it looks like he's up for the challenge.
