The Bucks are not out of the woods yet with Giannis Antetokounmpo

admin_news admin_news
Jul 1, 2025 - 00:00
0 0
The Bucks are not out of the woods yet with Giannis Antetokounmpo

Like every great romantic comedy, there's only one question when it comes to Giannis Antetokounmpo's future with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Will they or won't they?

By all accounts, it seems like Antetokounmpo would love to stay in Milwaukee. He's spent 12 years of his life with the Bucks. He became a perennial MVP-caliber player with them. He delivered them the 2021 NBA championship. He put his family's roots down in the city. This tracks, to me, in his desire to be a "one team" legend in the mold of Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, or Steph Curry. While I'm certain Antetokounmpo is still conducting his due diligence about landing spots outside of Milwaukee, there's a good reason we haven't heard many notable murmurs that say he wants to leave.

Antetokounmpo has too much respect for the Bucks and has a desire to do right by them. That's regardless of whether the remainder of his prime happens in their jersey or not.

This should be music to the Bucks' ears. Antetokounmpo is an all-time NBA player. His career resume is already worthy of a top-15 spot. A remarkable talent like him electing to stay in Milwaukee, even amid roster transition, is the biggest boon possible.

Antetokounmpo alone keeps the Bucks viable, relevant, and worth paying attention to. Full stop.

But the Bucks aren't out of the woods here. No, no, no. Until this summer ends with Antetokounmpo making a firm commitment to Milwaukee's future, they would be silly to sit back and relax as if they have nothing to worry about. To the surprise of no one, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, Antetokounmpo is keeping close tabs on how the Bucks keep their train on track this offseason.

That doesn't sound like a guy who has made a decision yet:

Antetokounmpo isn't naive.

Part of the reason his potentially leaving the Bucks in the first place is such a huge simmering storyline in the first place is because their roster is stuck in neutral. Damian Lillard is recovering from a torn Achilles. He'll be 36 by the time he plays his next meaningful NBA game. Remnants of Milwaukee's title team, like Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, are in Washington and Portland, respectively. Brook Lopez remains a competent player, but he's also long in the tooth and might be on his way out. Kyle Kuzma is ... yeah, I got nothing. Can't even fake it. I'm sorry.

So I'm not entirely sure what Antetokounmpo wants the Bucks to do this offseason to convince him to stay. They don't have many options.

Realistically, all the Bucks can really do is retain their free agents (Lopez, Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince) while striking gold on more veteran minimum contract additions. Even then, their ceiling for 2025 is quite limited in the absence of Lillard. Even if Antetokounmpo returns, this team likely won't be a title contender again at the earliest until 2026.

Perhaps that's why it feels like Antetokounmpo doesn't need much reassurance in the first place. In effect, he's giving his incumbent team a "hometown discount" in the form of additional grace with their roster machinations. Antetokounmpo isn't asking the Bucks to do much to keep him around. He wants them to figure it out because they have so much history together.

It's on them not to screw it up.

Neither are the Nuggets with Nikola Jokić

May 18, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) watches Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoot free throws in the second half of game seven of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Similarly to Antetokounmpo, there is no indication Jokić is unhappy with the Nuggets.

For my money, this summer, the Serbian superstar has probably spent countless hours tending to his horses and sitting by a pool enjoying adult beverages before he's even looked at any information on his phone that doesn't involve loved ones. He may well only discover the Nuggets have two executive vice presidents running the show now ... on media day in late September.

It's said in jest, but truly: no one disconnects like Jokić.

However, while Denver's roster is healthier than Milwaukee's, a fresh-faced front office has a lot of work to do to build a viable bench. You know, so Jokić doesn't have to carry the franchise largely on his own for the length of the regular season. Especially as he gets older.

That's what makes Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke's comments about Jokić's pending contract decision in July so fascinating. After Kroenke made an inelegant analogy about trading one of the only nine NBA players ever to win at least three MVPs, he alluded to the possibility that Jokić could elect not to sign a three-year extension worth over $200 million.

Mhm. Mhmm. Huh?

The "or not" in Kroenke's explanation is easy to clarify. It doesn't sound like he's communicated much with Jokić in weeks. Which is normal. Who knows where his headspace is? Additionally, Kroenke partly phrased it this way because Jokić could decline the early extension and set himself up for the Nuggets to offer him more term and more cash next summer.

To be clear, even if Jokić plans to finish his NBA career in Denver, that's a reasonable position for one of the faces of the league to take.

Nonetheless, I can't tell you how damaging it would be to the Nuggets' organizational psyche if Jokić didn't sign on the dotted line now. What happens if Denver's internal development/veteran minimum addition plan blows up in its face? What happens if the Nuggets take a massive step back next season? What happens if Jokić spends the entire season openly sulking over how much babysitting he still has to do for a good, not great team?

Then, he's in a place where he only has one more year left on his deal before a player option comes up in the summer of 2027. Oh.

All of a sudden, Jokić simply signing for more years and more money next year doesn't seem like a guarantee. And in this scenario, the Nuggets likely engage in full-blown panic over their talisman's murky future that permeates throughout the entire franchise, not unlike the Cold War between former leaders Michael Malone and Calvin Booth.

Jokić has never been one to rock the boat. He has the power to capsize the Nuggets' whole voyage if he doesn't pick up a pen in a few weeks.

Shootaround

This was Layup Lines, For the Win's basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Bucks still in danger of losing Giannis Antetokounmpo thanks to NBA free agency

Read More