Giannis Antetokounmpo spoke about his future with the Milwaukee Bucks during a YouTube livestream with iShowSpeed in which he was non-committal either way, which supports the reporting from ESPN’s Shams Charania that the superstar is evaluating his options this offseason. The Bucks gambled on a future that continues to include Antetokounmpo when they decided to use the waive-and-stretch provision on Damian Lillard in order to sign Myles Turner in free agency.
“So you staying in Milwaukee?” asked iShowSpeed of Antetokounmpo.
“Uh, probably,” replied Antetokounmpo. “We’ll see. I love Milwaukee.”
The statement was analyzed by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on Thursday’s episode of Get Up.
“The thing about it is, is that he didn’t give a definitive answer,” said Windhorst. “And I’m certainly not going to analyze something he said seaside in Greece. But what I will say is the ‘we’ll see.’ That is essentially what there’s about five or six NBA teams banking on: the ‘we’ll see.’
“And I know it sounds trivial, but for years Giannis was completely, completely locked in. Him saying “we’ll see” backs up what Shams has been saying this entire summer, which is that he might be more open-minded than he was in the past. And I would say the same thing probably in Milwaukee, but we’ll see. And now I can quote Giannis on that. Thank you very much.”
Antetokounmpo also said on the stream that he has been recruited to the Knicks.
“A lot of people tried to convince me-try to convince me to go and play there and stuff,” said Antetokounmpo.
The way Antetokounmpo has responded privately and now publicly to the possibility of him leaving the Bucks has led teams to continue to monitor the situation.
“While on one hand it’s not Giannis saying he wants to do anything but be in Milwaukee, it is-it does explain why teams are keeping a very close eye on this situation,” said Windhorst on First Take. “And I would say that Giannis provided no clarity on his future with those remarks, and no clarity is what’s been driving the speculation around Giannis.”
Charania still anticipates Antetokounmpo will have serious discussions about his future with his represenatives.
“It wasn’t the draft,” said Charania on NBA Today. “Clearly wasn’t free agency, not going to be Summer League. The next two months is when Giannis Antetokounmpo, his inner circle, they’re going to have to have some real conversations.”