A few weeks back, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks issued what appeared to be a warning to the franchise. Simply put, he wants to win more championships and will begin to look elsewhere if it doesn’t look like it will happen in Milwaukee.
Giannis intimated that he wouldn’t sign a contract extension unless “The whole team is on the same page”. And you can’t blame the two-time MVP either.
Since their championship run in 2021, the Bucks haven’t enjoyed the same level of postseason success. They’ve gone as far as the East semifinals in 2022 before eventually losing to the Boston Celtics.
Last year, the Bucks finished with the best record in the NBA (58-24) only to lose in the first round of the playoffs to a team that needed to go through the play-in tournament. While Antetokounmpo reiterated his loyalty towards the Bucks during the 2023 offseason, many believe time isn’t on the Bucks’ side as their star player becomes eligible to sign a new contract extension with two seasons left on his current pact.
If the former NBA champion truly wants the whole team on the same page, then there’s one player who’s likely to play a key role in Milwaukee’s championship aspirations: Jrue Holiday.
Jrue Holiday’s Importance to Milwaukee
Jrue Holiday is also eligible for a new contract extension with two seasons left on his four-year deal. He currently has a player option he can pick up for the 2024-2025 campaign, or he can test free agency in the 2024 offseason.
If the Bucks can get Jrue Holiday to sign a new extension as early as the upcoming NBA season, it would likely go a long way towards convincing Giannis that the organization is serious about keeping their championship window open.
Holiday, 33, remains one of the most effective two way point guards in the NBA today. In his 14th season, Holiday averaged 19.3 points, 7.4 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals, on 38.4% shooting from the three-point line. As impressive as he is on offense, what makes Holiday effective and valuable is his defense.
Holiday played a vital role for the Bucks last season- being Antetokounmpo’s wingman in the absence of Khris Middleton who missed a huge chunk of the year due to injury.
As ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne explained on NBA Today, “What happens with Jrue Holiday’s extension greatly affects what happens with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s decision about whether he stays in Milwaukee and whether he wants to do that this summer.”
Getting Holiday to sign on the dotted line is the first domino that needs to fall if the club wants to show Giannis some good faith. However, insiders also believe Antetokounmpo’s recent pronouncements will put added pressure on the Bucks to return to the NBA Finals under new head coach Adrian Griffin.
With the contracts of longtime Bucks players Middleton and Brook Lopez, worked out for the next couple of seasons, all eyes will now be on Jrue Holiday’s impending deal. If he performs well in the 2023-2024 campaign and gets a contract extension from Milwaukee, we could see Giannis Antetokounmpo putting pen to paper sooner rather than later.
If however negotiations drag on, and Milwaukee fails to round out their roster with other impact players, then murmurs about the Greek Freak leaving Wisconsin will only intensify as the season progresses.
-Iggy Gonzales
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