A Sigh of Relief
By: Joey Handel
Tags: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee, NBA, Basketball, Nba Preview

Milwaukee secured their superstar. Questions remain, but the biggest has been answered.

It is not an exaggeration to say that every single move the Milwaukee Bucks have made in the last few years has probably had the same qualifier: will this improve Giannis’ chances of re-singing? After acquiring Mike Budenholzer in 2018, things were suddenly looking up for Milwaukee. And then, they exceeded most peoples’ expectations when they won 60 games and claimed the top spot in the Eastern Conference. In the conference finals, they jumped out to a 2–0 lead before losing the next four games in heart breaking fashion to the eventual NBA champions in Toronto. However, Kawhi left for the Western Conference and suddenly nobody was standing in Milwaukee’s way for the Eastern Conference crown. In theory, at least. If you’re reading this, you probably know that after a surprisingly tough five game series against the Magic, the top-seeded Bucks got stomped by the Miami Heat in the second round of the playoffs. All things considered, this was probably the worst outcome Milwaukee could have imagined. They were going into their first season where Giannis was eligible to sign the supermax, and they wanted to show that they could build a championship winning team around him. Two years in a row, they came up short.

Bucks General Manager Jon Horst knew that he had to do something to retool the team after a disappointing second round exit, so he gambled. He got Jrue Holiday from the Pelicans for Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and five (!!!) first round picks if you include pick swaps. There was then, of course, the Bogdan Bogdanavić trade that was supposedly finalized and then nixed due to tampering concerns. While the entire fiasco reflected badly on Milwaukee, the more concerning aspect is that Bogdanavić was reportedly a player that Giannis specifically wanted. Missing out on a player that Giannis wanted in such embarrassing fashion was worrying to Bucks fans hoping that Giannis would sign his supermax extension a year early. Even if he still signed the extension but merely waited until next offseason, there would be an aura of fear over the entire franchise for the whole year. With their entire future belonging to the New Orleans Pelicans and the possibility of Giannis leaving, an early playoff exit could have doomed the franchise to indefinite mediocrity, or worse.

But then, something crazy happened: Giannis signed a supermax extension, the biggest in NBA history, with a year remaining on his contract. Every move the Bucks made up to this point was completely vindicated because Giannis Antetokounmpo will be a Milwaukee Buck for at least five more years. There are still looming questions about Milwaukee’s championship prospects. Is acquiring Jrue Holiday really going to give them the spark they need in the playoffs? Will Mike Budenholzer finally try to adjust and adapt when faced with adversity? Will Giannis diversify his game when defenses inevitably show him the wall? All of these questions still plague Milwaukee and ultimately will continue to be asked until they finally get that championship that has been eluding them since 1971, but for now the Bucks and their fans can be relieved that the Greek Freak’s future with the franchise is not among them.