The Golden State Warriors are playing the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, which suggests it’s time for the “Giannis Antetokounmpo will leave Milwaukee for the Bay Area” babble to kick into overdrive.
The intrigue largely started right before the season when ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne mentioned that the Warriors were a “looming danger” to draw Antetokounmpo out of Milwaukee; the Greek Freak will be an unlimited freelance in 2021 however has the opportunity to authorize an extension over the summer.
Over the past 24 hr, a variety of media electrical outlets have examined why this opportunity isn’t as crazy as it may appear. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole wrote that the Warriors are “fantasizing” and “plotting for” a chance to land the ruling NBA MVP, highlighting the truth that Golden State seemingly appeared of nowhere in its pursuit of Kevin Durant in 2016.
The Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau took it a step further by laying out the 3 means the Warriors could obtain Giannis: Signing him as a straight-out freelance in 2021, executing a sign-and-trade with Milwaukee in 2021, or making a trade with Milwaukee if Giannis refuses an expansion. Every scenario entails losing a good deal of income– which needs moving on from 2 out of 3 players: D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson as well as Draymond Green. While parting with Thompson and/or Eco-friendly would be an intestine punch for Warriors fans, both players transform 31 in 2021, while Antetokounmpo would be 26, most likely enabling the Warriors to maintain their title window open for the following years.
However why is this also a possibility? What leads individuals to believe Giannis would want to flee to the Warriors to begin with? Below’s the proof that’s leading individuals to believe the Antetokounmpo-to-the-Warriors possibility is extremely actual.
Both Lee and Antetokounmpo are stood for by Alex Saratsis, which is not trivial. Of this connection, NBC Sports’ Monte Poole creates, “Notification how lately the Warriors have been so vocal in their need to keep Lee, still technically running under a two-way contract, as a part of their future? … It’s reasonable to guess whether this is coincidental or by design. It needs to be recognized, however, that most whatever the Warriors do is part of a plan.”
The Greek Freak is eligible to sign a supermax agreement expansion this offseason that might pay him near to $250 million, and while he’s specified in the past he prefers to remain in Milwaukee, a couple of apparently contradictory things happened over the course of 2019.
After the Bucks were eliminated by the Toronto Raptors in the Easter Seminar Finals, ESPN’s Malika Andrews reported “a source near to Antetokounmpo claimed that getting to the NBA Finals is not simply an ambition, it might tip the scales as he weighs his legal future. And if they can reach the NBA Finals next season, the Bucks can improve their possibilities of authorizing Antetokounmpo to the supermax in the summertime of 2020.