No crew within the league is below extra stress this season than the Milwaukee Bucks.. They lead Giannis Antetokounmpo, the previous MVP and one of many three finest gamers on the planet, however he is surrounded by an getting old, injury-prone core, and so they play in a convention with youthful, older groups. deep (beginning with Boston).
If issues do not go nicely in Milwaukee this season, adjustments might come — and Antetokounmpo thinks he might be considered one of them. The Athletic’s Sam Amick requested Antetokounmpo spoke about this stress and his response was fascinating.
As a Bucks employees member walks by, Antetokounmpo grabs the person by the shoulder and asks a remarkably pointed query.
“If we don’t win this yr, would you be fired?” » asks Antetokounmpo with a wry smile to his colleague. “Do you’ve gotten that thought in your head, like, ‘(What) if this yr would not go nicely?’ Yeah, if we do not win a championship, I’d get traded Yeah, that is the job we stay in. That is everybody.
“Critically, it is our job. It is the job we do. Sooner or later, for those who do not succeed, it may be over for us. It was the identical with the teaching employees earlier yr, and the yr earlier than that, the gamers earlier than that… For those who do not do a adequate job, you are out.
Milwaukee would not commerce Antetokounmpo until they demanded it. The query is: would he?
Following the Bucks’ commerce for Damian Lillard a yr in the past, Antetokounmpo signed a three-year, $175.4 million contract extension that takes impact subsequent season (he’ll make $48.8 million {dollars} this season below his earlier contract). Milwaukee has Antetokounmpo below contract for 3 seasons earlier than a participant choice is available in for 2027-28 – the Bucks are below no stress to commerce him.
It is no secret that different entrance places of work have their eyes on Antetokounmpo because the celebrity probably to ask out (we reported this right here at NBC Sports activities, listening to it from league sources , and others across the league have additionally reported it, together with Amick). ). These groups’ hope is that the ultra-competitive Antetokounmpo will get annoyed that the Bucks do not seem like a contender within the East and calls for a commerce. It is not a certain factor, and even when it occurs, the Bucks would have leverage, due to his contract extension, and will decelerate any effort to discover a commerce, whereas they attempt to reorganize round of him.
Nevertheless, adjustments will likely be coming to an older Bucks roster within the coming years. Someway they need to grow to be youthful and extra athletic. Milwaukee desires this to occur round Antetokounmpo and retains him in Wisconsin till he retires — and stalwart Antetokounmpo can be OK with that. However he additionally desires to combat.
Because of this there may be a lot stress on Doc Rivers and Milwaukee this season.
