Giannis Antetokounmpo extension a win for small market franchises
In committing to the Milwaukee Bucks for the next five years, Giannis Antetokounmpo has given hope to all smaller market teams in the NBA.
In the end there was no long and drawn out process. No failure to report to training camp ahead of a new season. As reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, Giannis Antetokounmpo has agreed to what is the biggest contract extension in league history at $256 million over six years to remain with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The numbers are staggering, but do you know the cost of making Milwaukee relevant not only league-wide but worldwide? Priceless. Don’t believe me? Giannis jerseys are on sale everywhere, throughout mainland Europe it is the jersey you see most when on any beach for example, and there are not a lot of NBA jerseys on display to begin with.
But today is not just a great day for the Bucks, although it is most certainly that. No, it is a great day for small market franchises across the league, for a number of reasons. Antetokounmpo could have forced his way to sunnier climates and the Miami Heat, or formed a superteam of his own with the Philadelphia 76ers. If a bigger market was what he wanted then he could have gone to the New York Knicks, I guess.
But in staying with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo has shown that other organizations can draft potentially transcendent players, and then build around them over the course of a decade. That’s what the Bucks will be doing, and the security of knowing this is huge as they go in search of a championship.
LeBron James is another superstar, the superstar, who on two occasions was coy about his future before leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers high and dry. We’re not here to bash LeBron, he helped usher in the player empowerment era and the Cavaliers did a poor job the first time round on putting a contender around him.
But the main negative of operating in that way, both for player and team, was always the uncertainty that he could bolt at any moment. Which he did do, twice. Front offices are smarter than they used to be. First-round draft picks actually mean something now. Nobody is mortgaging their future if they think their present is going to walk out the door.
It looked like the LA Clippers, who are in the biggest market in the league, had done just that in all they gave up last season for Paul George on what was a potentially a two-year rental. His commitment to the franchise last week means it was all worth it, and likely indicates that the Clippers knew this was going to happen all along. Despite what you may think of George the player.
The league has shifted dramatically in recent years, but now teams like the Memphis Grizzlies for example can truly believe that a title winner can be built around Ja Morant. That he won’t be lured by the brighter lights of a bigger market and superstar teammates to win it all. That’s only half the battle though, the franchise has to hold up their end of the bargain and make the right moves.
That’s what the Phoenix Suns have attempted to do, in giving Devin Booker Chris Paul and a whole host of other reliable players in a bid to just make it back to the playoffs. Of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo staying doesn’t fix everything, players are still going to force their way out of situations they don’t like. The James Harden issue remains unresolved.
Giannis’s extension is a win for the Bucks and the NBA’s small markets
But if he can go on to win a title or two in Milwaukee, and go down a true icon there (which he probably already is), what impression will that leave on the next generation of guys coming into the league? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it’s why everybody these days tries to shoot it like Stephen Curry from the time they’re in high school.
Those youngsters watching on now have the chance to see a true superstar be a one franchise guy (getting ahead of ourselves here but it is possible) and to win big while doing so would leave a lasting impression. That’s what legends like Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki did, and it has been lost because of the ease at which stars switch teams these days.
Even the worst-case scenario here, that Antetokounmpo gets fed up in two or three years and forces a way out, comes with a silver lining. The return for him would be monstrous, unlike anything the league has seen before. Already this has happened with Anthony Davis, his forced move to the Los Angeles Lakers setting his previous employers, the New Orleans Pelicans, seemingly up for the next decade-plus. They are overflowing with young talent.
What about looking at it the other way though? Other stars will now want to come and play in Milwaukee, something that would not be possible if not for Giannis. It is not exactly a top destination for players otherwise. The same goes for veterans looking for a ring, which the Bucks have already taken advantage of over the last couple of years to fill out their roster.
In not walking away from Milwaukee, at a time when franchises that are underperforming can always move cities and Seattle is still Seattle, the Bucks at the very worst, will one day get a huge return on trading him in his prime. That’s as bad as it can get for now. The alternative, though, one that the Orlando Magics and Charlotte Hornets and Grizzlies of the NBA will be focused on, is how smaller markets can have their day, and they can stand up to the big hitters.