GIANNIS SIGNS EXTENSION!!

[HiAndTight]

I know this is probably in the Bucks thread, but the most important player in franchise history CHOOSING to stick around through his 20's and play for the Bucks when most other superstars his age in small markets have opted to leave....is worthy of it's own thread(IMO).

 

 

Christmas came early in Milwaukee!

[wildcat83]

I honestly don't see what this changes. With 38 million extra or whatever it was on a supermax deal with the Bucks, I never thought there was a chance he didn't sign. He's not going to pass up that money. If he decides he wants to leave, he's still going to leave. The NBA has proven over the past couple years that stars will get their way when they demand to be moved somewhere. I still think the Bucks have a year or two at the most to win a championship, if not, he will demand out. I honestly looked at him signing the deal as a formality really with that much extra money on the line.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I honestly don't see what this changes. With 38 million extra or whatever it was on a supermax deal with the Bucks, I never thought there was a chance he didn't sign. He's not going to pass up that money. If he decides he wants to leave, he's still going to leave. The NBA has proven over the past couple years that stars will get their way when they demand to be moved somewhere. I still think the Bucks have a year or two at the most to win a championship, if not, he will demand out. I honestly looked at him signing the deal as a formality really with that much extra money on the line.

 

I don't think $38 million made him stay. He could make that up easily with endorsements in any of like 8 huge NBA cities. He's a rare guy that wanted to stay here because he liked it, and because it seems to mean more to him to win a title here vs. with Steph Curry or Kevin Durant some place else. 99% of the time I'm the person calling this naive, but with Giannis I actually believe it. He's been very consistent on it for years. Another player who wanted out would have done so, $38 million of contract or not.

[RobDeer 45]

I'm not playing in any what ifs at this point. I'm just going to celebrate this signing and hope it leads to a NBA tile in Milwaukee. So pumped!

[GAME05]

Kevin Durant's shoe deal alone is worth about 30% more than his basketball contract. How much more could Giannis have gotten in shoes and local ads if he were in NY or Miami?

 

Plus if he really wanted to leave, I'm sure whatever team he chose would have done a sign-and-trade with Milwaukee so that they'd be able to tack on that 5th year.

[jerichoholicninja]

I barely follow the NBA but I never understood why the Bucks had "show they wanted to win" to get him to sign (not to mention don't they have the best record in the NBA the last two years, what more can they do?). If he wanted the most money the Bucks were his only option. And if he truly wanted to go somewhere else for whatever reason he could just force the Bucks to trade him and still can at any point like pretty much every superstar player does.

[PinaMadness]

Giannis is the anti-Lebron. He wants to actually earn a championship instead of taking the path of least resistance and join or recruit a superteam to gravy train his way there.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Giannis is the anti-Lebron. He wants to actually earn a championship instead of taking the path of least resistance and join or recruit a superteam to gravy train his way there.

 

Kinda hard to call LeBron that when his "super team" lost their first attempt and he disbanded it to go play in Cleveland and beat the Warriors once.

 

Lebron's first teams in Cleveland were a joke. It's not shameful that he left, it was the right thing to do. They were trying to get him over the hump with Mo Williams. They didn't deserve to have him.

 

I dunno why people still act like James was the first guy to do it. What was Kobe and Shaq exactly? And their pile-on attempt with Payton and Malone? And KG-Allen-Pierce?

[MrTPlush]

How do we know Giannis wouldn't prefer to build a super team in Milwaukee? Is it he doesn't want to or is it actually the fact no player wants to come play in Milwaukee? Any player looking to join a super team will go pick to be in a better market in all honesty.

[homer]

Kobe was an 18 year old rookie when Shaq signed with LA. I'm not even sure he had been drafted when Shaq signed.

[patrickgpe]

I barely follow the NBA but I never understood why the Bucks had "show they wanted to win" to get him to sign (not to mention don't they have the best record in the NBA the last two years, what more can they do?). If he wanted the most money the Bucks were his only option. And if he truly wanted to go somewhere else for whatever reason he could just force the Bucks to trade him and still can at any point like pretty much every superstar player does.

It’s a players league. He told the bucks the players he wants to play with. Bucks gave away the farm for holiday. If the bucks didn’t, someone else would have. When you are a 2x MVP you can call the shots.

[FVBrewerFan]

I also thought it was always a formality, and he's not turning down the $38MM. Yes, he could get more in endorsements elsewhere, but he already has a big shoe deal, and there's no way he gets close to $38MM more in shoes playing in NY. The international market is massive, and people in China or Germany really don't care if a star plays for the Bucks or Nets or Heat.

 

I do wonder why the delay. Maybe Giannis just needed time to make a commitment. There was nothing to negotiate, or was there? I really wonder if Giannis wanted the owners to invest in any cause he felt strongly about. Maybe something as simple as wanting the workers at Fiserv to be paid more, have full benefits, etc. I could totally see him trying to get that done.

[nodakfan17]

Giannis is the anti-Lebron. He wants to actually earn a championship instead of taking the path of least resistance and join or recruit a superteam to gravy train his way there.

This is why I can’t stand LeBron. He’s taken the path of least resistance to all of his titles. Do you think he goes back to Cleveland if the Cavaliers didn’t have 3 of the last 4 #1 overall picks? How about the Lakers if they didn’t have 3 consecutive #2 overall picks? He’s like the aliens in Independence Day. He consumes all of a teams resources in pursuit of a championship and then moves on.

 

Here’s to Giannis winning one in Milwaukee as a true alpha.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I also thought it was always a formality, and he's not turning down the $38MM. Yes, he could get more in endorsements elsewhere, but he already has a big shoe deal, and there's no way he gets close to $38MM more in shoes playing in NY. The international market is massive, and people in China or Germany really don't care if a star plays for the Bucks or Nets or Heat.

 

I do wonder why the delay. Maybe Giannis just needed time to make a commitment. There was nothing to negotiate, or was there? I really wonder if Giannis wanted the owners to invest in any cause he felt strongly about. Maybe something as simple as wanting the workers at Fiserv to be paid more, have full benefits, etc. I could totally see him trying to get that done.

 

I found this to be a pretty good rundown of all your questions. It's behind The Athletic's paywall, but worth the read if you subscribe https://theathletic.com/2263457/2020/12/15/giannis-antetokounmpo-largest-contract-in-nba-history/

[FVBrewerFan]

Giannis is the anti-Lebron. He wants to actually earn a championship instead of taking the path of least resistance and join or recruit a superteam to gravy train his way there.

This is why I can’t stand LeBron. He’s taken the path of least resistance to all of his titles. Do you think he goes back to Cleveland if the Cavaliers didn’t have 3 of the last 4 #1 overall picks? How about the Lakers if they didn’t have 3 consecutive #2 overall picks? He’s like the aliens in Independence Day. He consumes all of a teams resources in pursuit of a championship and then moves on.

 

Here’s to Giannis winning one in Milwaukee as a true alpha.

 

Meh, they're not that different. They both want to win. Nothing wrong with using your status and the system to get that done. Giannis would have moved on if he didnt believe he could win a ring here. And just like LeBron he has and will be recruiting.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Kobe was an 18 year old rookie when Shaq signed with LA. I'm not even sure he had been drafted when Shaq signed.

 

You're right, I think I mixed Shaq and Wade with the pile-on LA team that lost to Detroit, I think it was.

[jerichoholicninja]

Giannis is the anti-Lebron. He wants to actually earn a championship instead of taking the path of least resistance and join or recruit a superteam to gravy train his way there.

This is why I can’t stand LeBron. He’s taken the path of least resistance to all of his titles. Do you think he goes back to Cleveland if the Cavaliers didn’t have 3 of the last 4 #1 overall picks? How about the Lakers if they didn’t have 3 consecutive #2 overall picks? He’s like the aliens in Independence Day. He consumes all of a teams resources in pursuit of a championship and then moves on.

 

Here’s to Giannis winning one in Milwaukee as a true alpha.

 

I don't understand the hatred for players building a "superteam" to win a title. Isn't that what we want out of our athletes, to win? Unless they're cheating why does it matter how they do it? It's a lot better than when in MLB when the top free agents sign a ridiculously huge contract with a crap team after talking about how much they want to play for a winner.

[reillymcshane]

This is great for Milwaukee.

 

With this roster, we are championship caliber for this year, and - assuming Holiday extends (Milwaukee will be very motivated to keeping him around) - for the next few years after that. No one is guaranteed a title, but - with a little luck - I think we will be amongst the league's best teams for a few years.

 

However, stuff can go wrong - in particular injuries. And with Giannis under contract, it offers us some protection. If Giannis wants out of Milwaukee at some point, we'll be able to get a huge haul for him, which would help make up for all the draft picks we have dealt.

 

The worst case scenario would have been Giannis leaving after next season without compensation. If that had happened, there would have been a good chance Holiday bolted as well - and the franchise would have been gutted for the next five years (due to all the traded draft picks). By locking up Giannis, we have likely avoided that scenario.

 

So, let's enjoy Giannis and hope we can bring a championship to town. Excited to see next year's club in action. I liked Bledsoe, but he was frustrating at times with his inconsistencies. I think Holiday will help a lot there. I'll miss Hill as well, but he's not mission critical. No matter - should be fun.

[HiAndTight]

I honestly don't see what this changes. With 38 million extra or whatever it was on a supermax deal with the Bucks, I never thought there was a chance he didn't sign. He's not going to pass up that money. If he decides he wants to leave, he's still going to leave. The NBA has proven over the past couple years that stars will get their way when they demand to be moved somewhere. I still think the Bucks have a year or two at the most to win a championship, if not, he will demand out. I honestly looked at him signing the deal as a formality really with that much extra money on the line.

 

 

You really don't see what this changes? With him signing an extension to stay in Milwaukee for 6 more years?

 

Who was the last star that was on Giannis level that stayed and actually signed the SuperMax? LeBron didn't, Kawhi, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis....

 

He CLEARLY did not stay for the extra money. He could have waited until the next off-season and signed with the Mavericks with Luka and Porzingas and not state tax...or the Heat with Bam and Butler..and no state tax. And he could have signed WITH another max player in New York and paid more in taxes, but his contract probably would have been 1/3rd of his total income.

As for the idea that he can just force his way out if/when things don't go well...what's the logic behind that? Him signing a full YEAR early just so he can demand to be traded in a year or two?

 

Giannis signing for another 5 years is one of the most important things to happen to the Bucks in their history. It was NEVER a formality. If anything, it was considered a given by most that he'd wait until next year to decide to sign because...why not? The SuperMax would likely be worth more and there was no reason for him to sign early. But he committed to the Bucks because he wanted to be here.

 

That's a very big deal.

[HiAndTight]

Giannis is the anti-Lebron. He wants to actually earn a championship instead of taking the path of least resistance and join or recruit a superteam to gravy train his way there.

This is why I can’t stand LeBron. He’s taken the path of least resistance to all of his titles. Do you think he goes back to Cleveland if the Cavaliers didn’t have 3 of the last 4 #1 overall picks? How about the Lakers if they didn’t have 3 consecutive #2 overall picks? He’s like the aliens in Independence Day. He consumes all of a teams resources in pursuit of a championship and then moves on.

 

Here’s to Giannis winning one in Milwaukee as a true alpha.

 

I don't understand the hatred for players building a "superteam" to win a title. Isn't that what we want out of our athletes, to win? Unless they're cheating why does it matter how they do it? It's a lot better than when in MLB when the top free agents sign a ridiculously huge contract with a crap team after talking about how much they want to play for a winner.

 

 

There's no salary cap in baseball and one player has a FAR smaller impact on the game and the teams success than they do in the NBA.

 

And no, that's not what most people want out of their athletes. Most people like to see a team rewarded for building a team the right way and developing their talent, not for being in the nicest market and buying free agents. It's why GS was a fan favorite with Steph and Klay and not so much when KD joined.

[HiAndTight]

This is great for Milwaukee.

 

With this roster, we are championship caliber for this year, and - assuming Holiday extends (Milwaukee will be very motivated to keeping him around) - for the next few years after that. No one is guaranteed a title, but - with a little luck - I think we will be amongst the league's best teams for a few years.

 

However, stuff can go wrong - in particular injuries. And with Giannis under contract, it offers us some protection. If Giannis wants out of Milwaukee at some point, we'll be able to get a huge haul for him, which would help make up for all the draft picks we have dealt.

 

The worst case scenario would have been Giannis leaving after next season without compensation. If that had happened, there would have been a good chance Holiday bolted as well - and the franchise would have been gutted for the next five years (due to all the traded draft picks). By locking up Giannis, we have likely avoided that scenario.

 

So, let's enjoy Giannis and hope we can bring a championship to town. Excited to see next year's club in action. I liked Bledsoe, but he was frustrating at times with his inconsistencies. I think Holiday will help a lot there. I'll miss Hill as well, but he's not mission critical. No matter - should be fun.

 

 

Agreed. I'm kinda shocked at the number of people who believe this was just a formality. You had half the league positioning themselves to enter the Giannis sweepstakes next year. The biggest star in Milwaukee history since Kareem just went against the grain and actually signed the Super Max. I suspect fans aren't surprised because Giannis is a different type of guy.

 

With regard to this current team...not sure what to think. Can Donte take the next step? Can Forbes run the point and be that spark plug as a 6th man? Will Portis be more productive in this system?

 

I too will miss Bledsoe. He played hard and he was an elite defender...but he had three chances. His talent didn't translate to the post-season for whatever reason. Jrue's played better in the post-season and is a more complete player.

 

Just have to hope this team fits together...but a common theme among the guy we picked up is most of them seem to be good leaders and most of them can shoot.

 

Great time to be a Bucks fan!

[thebruce44]

I honestly don't see what this changes. With 38 million extra or whatever it was on a supermax deal with the Bucks, I never thought there was a chance he didn't sign. He's not going to pass up that money. If he decides he wants to leave, he's still going to leave. The NBA has proven over the past couple years that stars will get their way when they demand to be moved somewhere. I still think the Bucks have a year or two at the most to win a championship, if not, he will demand out. I honestly looked at him signing the deal as a formality really with that much extra money on the line.

 

 

You really don't see what this changes? With him signing an extension to stay in Milwaukee for 6 more years?

 

Who was the last star that was on Giannis level that stayed and actually signed the SuperMax? LeBron didn't, Kawhi, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis....

 

Duncan, no? Not only did we land a generational talent in the draft, but we also landed the rare superstar who is loyal to his team and not swayed by the bright lights on NY or LA. The odds on that are amazingly small. While the Bucks will never be the Packers in the state of WI, this has to be one of the most unique and rare events that we will see in, I don't know, our lifetimes? Am I exaggerating here- in the moment I don't think so.

[homer]

(Pretty sure this is correct)

 

Supermax signees:

 

Damian Lillard

Giannis

Steph Curry

John Wall

Russell Westbrook

James Harden

[HiAndTight]

 

Duncan, no? Not only did we land a generational talent in the draft, but we also landed the rare superstar who is loyal to his team and not swayed by the bright lights on NY or LA. The odds on that are amazingly small. While the Bucks will never be the Packers in the state of WI, this has to be one of the most unique and rare events that we will see in, I don't know, our lifetimes? Am I exaggerating here- in the moment I don't think so.

 

 

Duncan, Garnett, and Dirk are the three that come to mind since 2000 who choose to stay where they were drafted...and really KG's the closest comparison as he had to play in Minnesota in the cold...and they were terrible.

 

 

And no, I don't think you're exaggerating. I think Giannis could be one of the top 5-10 best to ever play and he didn't even entertain going to Miami or Dallas next year. Objectively speaking...either situation would have been sooo much better for Giannis. But he wanted to stay here and that's a real big deal.

[homer]

Supermax has only been since 2017. Before that it was the Larry Bird rights...or something like that.