According to reports, the Milwaukee Bucks did not ask for Giannis Antetokounmpo’s blessing on the Damian Lillard trade. The reason behind this rather unexpected move is that the front office reportedly did not want to burden their cornerstone superstar with the dilemma of having to green-light the departure of Jrue Holiday.
As it turns out, however, what the Bucks did was offer Antetokounmpo a whole lot of money before making their move on Lillard.
Milwaukee Bucks Offered Giannis Max Extension
According to NBA insiders Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Bucks offered Antetokounmpo as much money as they could in an attempt to secure him to a more long-term deal before they finalized the Lillard trade:
“Now, Antetokounmpo is eligible for a three-year, $186.6 million extension with the Bucks before the start of the regular season or a commitment for up to four years and $260 million next offseason. The Bucks delivered the max, three-year extension to Antetokounmpo in recent days, league sources say, and it is immediately unclear how he and his representatives will reconsider a potential deal now versus waiting to evaluate after the season,” Charania and Amick wrote.
While Antetokounmpo already indicated earlier this summer that he had no intention of signing a new contract now, Milwaukee probably still went through with the formality.
Will Giannis Sign Extension Now?
Giannis has not put pen to paper on a new deal just yet, which means that he turned down Milwaukee’s offer. However, this could all change now that Lillard is in the mix.
Antetokounmpo did not sign his extension this summer because he wanted to keep his options open. He’s made it clear that he will leave Milwaukee if he isn’t able to win a championship with the team in the near future. Well, the Bucks have given him a ton of motivation to stay now that they pulled off a landscape-shifting blockbuster trade for Lillard. The ball is now in Giannis’ court.
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