Antetokounmpo ‘ll find sticking with bucks ‘a lot more difficult’ if they underperform

The stakes are high in Milwaukee this year. This isn’t just because the Bucks viewed as a favorite to win the NBA title during the 2019-20 campaign, but immediately after the team was eliminated from last year’s postseason, a report surfaced that indicated Milwaukee might lose Giannis Antetokounmpo in free agency if they do not make the Finals this season, reports uproxx.com.

Seeing as how the Bucks have built their franchise around him, calling that a hard pill to swallow is an understatement.

The team’s general manager, Jon Horst, has already made it clear that the front office will offer Antetokounmpo a supermax extension the moment he is eligible next summer, while Antetokounmpo does not want to discuss free agency out of respect to the organization. This still looms large over the franchise, and thanks to a quote Antetokounmpo gave to an unlikely source, it’s becoming more and more clear that his future is tied to Milwaukee succeeding on the floor.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a case study on the Bucks done by Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse included a quote from Antetokounmpo about his future. While he loves what the franchise has done so far, the reigning league MVP revealed that he might have to look around if the team underperforms.

“I want the Bucks to build a winning culture,” Antetokounmpo said in the case study. “So far, we have been doing great, and, if this lasts, there’s no other place I want to be. But if we’re underperforming in the NBA next year, deciding whether to sign becomes a lot more difficult.”

This obviously makes it sound like the report from after they were eliminated by the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals might end up being prescient. The good news for Milwaukee is they’re in excellent shape to compete for a championship this season, even after losing Malcolm Brogdon in free agency. But having said that, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Antetokounmpo has an expectation for what the team has to do to keep him from looking around when the time comes, making this season one that could change the course of the league depending on what goes down in Milwaukee.