The decision was up in the air after the Golden State Warriors decided to go for Kristaps Porzingis, but now it’s also final: the Milwaukee Bucks have decided to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo in this transfer deadlinethus postponing any discussion on his future until the summer. After listening to all the offers made by the other teams over the last week, the Bucks found it more convenient to wait until the off-seasonso to have greater certainty both on one’s choice in the Draft after the May Lottery, both because several teams have made it known that they can make more advantageous offers on the table in the summerthus suggesting that we wait. Speculation about the future of the two-time MVP they will continue like this for several months.
The real loser of the deadline is Giannis
Paradoxically, the one who loses most from this situation is Giannis Antetokounmpo himself. First of all, why he “wastes” a season of his prime physical and athleticgiven that in all likelihood the Bucks will remain out of the playoffs and perhaps even the play-in tournament, thus postponing for a year the first chance to win the second title they are chasing. As he also recently stated in two interviews with the local Milwaukee newspaper and with The Athletic, He doesn’t have many opportunities left to play the playoffs as a protagonist. The other aspect from which he emerges defeated is the economic one: by being traded now, he could have signed a contract extension six months after the exchange, therefore at the beginning of August, with the new team. Instead like this the only extension he will be able to sign this summer is the $275 million one the Bucks could offer him in October: if it is put on the table, what Antetokounmpo will do — who is already 31 years old, has a non-trivial injury history and above all, as he himself said, “in my heart I would like to stay in Milwaukee for life”? We’ll find out in the next few months, seeing as that the saga is still far from its conclusionit is.
