Milwaukee Bucks of America star, Giannis Adetokunbo (Antetokounmpo) has until December 21 to decide if he will sign a contract extension with the National Basketball Association (NBA) club or seek a trade deal that will take him elsewhere ahead of next season.
Megasportsarena.com gathered that this is sequel to widespread reports, linking Antetokounmpo with a move to Miami Heat, where he would join fellow-Nigerian-born duo of Bam Adebayo and Andre Iguodala, but the Greece national team star is staying noncommittal over his next plan of action.
Amidst growing speculation over his decision during the off-season, ‘The Greek Freak’ admitted he would one day love to play alongside his brothers, Thanasis and Kostas Antetokounmpo, but then went on to acknowledge that he would also love to team up with another NBA superstar.
This comes in the wake of reports indicating that Antetokounmpo is set to team up with LeBron James at Los Angeles Lakers, where his younger sibling, Kostas, won a ring earlier this year, but there is also talk about a super-max contract extension dangling before him to stay with The Bucks.
What Antetokounmpo’s decision would be is now regarded as the biggest story in the NBA and he now has until December 21 to decide, especially as he could get the exact same contract from The Bucks next off-season, but not signing now would break the dam on speculation about his next port of call.
The Bucks would not want to trade him and highly credible sources have told NBC Sports that it is quite likely that Antetokounmpo will renew his contract in Milwaukee either now or next summer and officials at his current team are confident he will extend his stay.
However, Antetokounmpo has been described as quite a singular talent that other teams are keeping space open for and waiting to see what he decides to do, while many others have set themselves up for trades to land him in case he opts to jump ship.
In effect, Antetokounmpo’s decision to stay with The Bucks or join The Lakers is already being regarded as the first domino that would determine a lot of other moves, but the Nigerian-born star declared that, for now, all he wants to talk about is keeping in shape ahead of next season.
Antetokounmpo told COSMOTE TV while on vacation in Greece: “This is a statement that I have never made before: If LeBron and Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis came to Milwaukee; I would have been good with that.
“I am not interested if I am the top, second or third name, okay? Because I want to win. For sure when I was 18 or 19 years old, maybe I didn’t understand what you need to do to win. But right now, I am 25 and I want to win because when I retire, that’s what people will remember.
“And if I got LeBron, KD, Davis, if all those came, I wouldn’t mind at all. I don’t care if I am the top (player) on the team. Be sure to note he said if LeBron or Davis came to Milwaukee/ Those who say: “Kostas won a title before Giannis.
“Guys, that thing does not exist. We were all sleeping together in a small room. And Thanasis is a two-time Greek champion, Kostas is an NBA champion and I am a two-time MVP. We are one family. Imagine what my mother is feeling.”
