One of the storylines of this NBA offseason is whether or not Giannis Antetokounmpo will sign an extension with the Milwaukee Bucks. If the reigning NBA MVP doesn’t ink a deal in the next two weeks, he’ll be a free agent next year and can walk away from the Bucks for nothing.
As expected, questions about an extension are the focus of every media appearance of the 26-year-old Antetokounmpo, but for now, he isn’t keen on answering them.
During a chat with reporters on Wednesday, Antetokounmpo told the media that he’s “not focused” on the extension at the moment and instead is trying to focus on himself.
“I’m not focused on that,” said Antetokounmpo. “I’m just trying to focus on myself — how I can get better, how I can help my teammates get better, how can we be ready Saturday to play our first preseason game?”
Antetokounmpo added that he prefers to leave contract discussions to his agent Alex Saratsis and Milwaukee’s brass led by general manager Jon Horst.
Time is running out on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s decision, as he and Bucks have until December 21st to agree to a new deal.
If Antetokounmpo remains in Milwaukee, he will be eligible for a five-year, $228 million supermax extension. In case he opts to go somewhere else in 2021, the maximum that the new team can offer him is four years and around $160 million.
At the beginning of the offseason, the word around the league was that the Bucks are confident they’ll manage to keep Antetokounmpo after orchestrating the trades for veteran guard Jrue Holiday and Serbian sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic. However, the sign-and-trade for Bogdanovic ended up falling apart and now Milwaukee reportedly is not so sure what will the “Greek Freak’s” decision be.
