The rumors will be heard from now until Milwaukee wraps up an extension with Giannis. As of right now he is steamrolling the Eastern Conference and I have been absolutely shocked by how good the Bucks have been this season. They stand at the top of the Eastern Conference and most would
say both Giannis Antetokoumpo and Mike Budenholzer are coming into this season with an approach of learning from the mistakes made last year against the Kawhi Leonard led Toronto Raptors. The Raptors were able to game plan for Giannis after falling in a 2-0 hole and clogged the paint with Marc Gasol,Serge Ibaka,Pascal Siakam, and Kawhi Leonard which ultimately made it impossible for Giannis to finish at the rim forcing him to become as shooter which he was not last season. This season Giannis Antetokoumpo is shooting 32% from 3 point and has been attempting 5 3 pointers a night the most in his career but looking at the rest of the roster I just don’t think they have enough shot creators.
I don’t consider Eric Bledsoe and Khris MIddleton go to scorers, Giannis? Not so much either, he is a freight train coming down the court but I do think they won’t be hard to game plan for these coming playoffs because Malcolm Brogdon is not longer around. Yes, Malcolm Brogdon signed a 4 year deal with the Indiana Pacers which the Bucks refused to match and he is the exact type of player they need on that roster this season. Malcolm Brogdon is enjoying a breakout season on the Pacers helping Domantas Sabonis carry the team until Victor Oladipo returns January 29th. Malcolm was arguably the Bucks’ second best player behind Giannis last season and I believe Jon Horst made a mistake not matching the offer sheet set out by the Pacers. Malcolm Brogdon wasn’t just regular throw in on the Bucks last season, he helped take away play-making duties from Giannis and made it possible for Giannis to roam off the ball while Malcolm attacked defenses with his penetration and mid-range jumpers. Malcolm was a 6’5 combo guard with a high basketball IQ and also a floor general with a consistent jumper, Giannis will miss that come playoff time.
I remember despite Kawhi Leonard losing trust in the San Antonio Spurs after rumors got out Manu Ginobili,Tony Parker, and Gregg Poppovich lowkey felt he should’ve suited up. They were willing to offer him the super-max but he left them with no choice but to trade him away so money won’t factor much into keeping Giannis in Milwaukee. The money will be there, I am sure the Bucks will offer upwards of $250 milion if needed but if you are Giannis Antetokoumpo do you really want to play out the next 5 years of your career on this team? Brook Lopez is not getting any younger, Khris Middleton won’t get any better and at this point I am not expecting Eric Bledsoe to blossom into a floor-spacer. I like the young talent, Donte DiVincenzo and DJ Wilson have played well but in a best case scenario he wins 1 title over the next 5 years with that team and it will take a ton of luck. Ever since LeBron James left the Cavaliers for the Heat in pursuit of titles LeBron James got a lot of backlash but at that point in his career no one cared about his accolades and All-Star appearances they wanted to see him hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy which he could not do with the teams Cleveland put around him.
Just compare Giannis’s tenure with the Bucks a lot like LeBron’s with the Cavaliers early on, we know Giannis is a MVP level player as he won an MVP last season but lost to Kawhi Leonard in the Conference Finals so no one gave a crap that he won the MVP trophy because he did not cap it off with a title. So let’s say Giannis wins his second consective MVP this season and loses in the Conference Finals or Finals this season what will the chatter be come this summer? How optimistic will Giannis be about the Bucks going into next season if they don’t make changes over the off-season? It’s a new era of Basketball and Giannis is one of the top stars in the game, I am sure he knows he will never be looked at as a legend if he does not win a title.
To conclude just looking around the league where will he go? Will he go West to play with Curry and Klay? I can’t see it, why would he want to take the same path Kevin Durant took? Speaking of Kevin Durant he will be back next season so good luck to Giannis taking down Kyrie and KD next season with the Bucks. If I was Giannis I would sign with the Hawks to play with Trae Young and John Collins, I think with Giannis on the Hawks he would put them on the map and Trae Young is the perfect complimentary piece, an elite shooter and play-maker who will help make his game easier. Give me your thoughts on what you think Giannis’s future will be.
D-NBA 