Giannis Antetokounmpo has settled his future for the medium-term as he appears settle on giving the Milwaukee Bucks an opportunity to upgrade the roster around him this offseason.
“His future is not going to be tied to the draft,” said Shams Charania on Monday’s Pat McAfee Show. “His future is not going to be tied to free agency. This is a player who is at the peak of his powers. He is in the prime of his career. He is going to be able to dictate when and where, if there is movement in his career, when he wants that to be.
“My understanding is giving the Bucks every opportunity in this offseason. We have this draft period here. We have free agency period coming up next week. We have trade period coming up during all of that. We have summer league coming up. What can the Bucks do to elevate this team and surround Giannis Antetokounmpo with the players. He’s been there 12 years. I think he owes them that. They owe him that. I expect that’s all will be the focus for the next several weeks.
“Then after that, after let’s say two or three weeks into July, Giannis Antetokounmpo will then have to figure out what is it-do I feel like this team I’m on right now-is it a championship contender? Because that’s what I want out of my future. That’s what I’ve been on record of wanting. Or is it just too comfortable for him? And potentially, loyalty is the factor and the key of what the Bucks are potentially playing on.”
Charania added that Antetokounmpo has a reputation for keeping things quiet such as his two previous contract extension that were not reported until they were already signed.
“One thing I do know what’s going on is Giannis Antetokounmpo is open-minded. And he has been since I reported that during draft combine week. He is open-minded about exploring what is the best fit for him. Is it in Milwaukee? Is it outside Milwaukee? The process also includes seeing what that team does. What Milwaukee does.”