The Milwaukee Bucks re-signing a participant who did not play within the NBA final season and averaged 2.4 factors and 1.6 rebounds throughout his earlier five-year stint with the crew won’t appear to be vital information.
Nevertheless, the participant in query is Thanasis Antetokounmpo. And including him again to the roster seems to point that Giannis Antetokounmpo intends to stick with the Bucks, fairly than push for a commerce.
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Thanasis Antetokounmpo will signal a one-year, $2.9 million contract to return to Milwaukee, ESPN’s Shams Charania experiences. The veteran confirmed the information on social media.
Antetokounmpo, 32, didn’t play final season whereas recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. He sustained the harm throughout a exercise in Could 2024, in line with The Athletic. That additionally prevented him from enjoying for Greece in final summer time’s Paris Olympics.
Previous to his harm, Antetokounmpo performed 5 seasons with the Bucks from 2019-24. His greatest efficiency was through the 2021-22 marketing campaign, throughout which he averaged 3.6 factors and a couple of.1 rebounds in 48 video games. Earlier than signing with Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo performed 5 seasons internationally for Andorra in Spain’s Liga ACB and Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Bucks has been unsure for the reason that finish of final season when Milwaukee was eradicated within the first spherical of the NBA playoffs by the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks went down in 5 video games due partly to Damian Lillard struggling a torn Achilles tendon throughout Recreation 4 of the sequence.
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Following the season, Milwaukee waived Lillard and stretched the remaining two years and $113 million of his contract throughout a five-year span to cut back its wage cap hit. That allowed the Bucks to signal heart Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million deal, indicating to Antetokounmpo that the crew meant to construct round him and keep in playoff competition.
The Bucks re-signed Bobby Portis, however misplaced Brook Lopez in free company and traded Pat Connaughton, elevating questions as to how a lot of a contender may very well be constructed round Antetokounmpo. Many felt that the two-time NBA MVP may need the identical issues and push for a commerce with another yr (at $58.5 million) remaining on his contract along with a $63 million participant possibility for 2026-27.
Milwaukee administration reportedly met with Antetokounmpo to debate the longer term route of the crew, which was seen because the crew’s final likelihood to persuade their star to remain. The outcomes of that assembly have not been reported, however signing his brother seems to point that Antetokounmpo intends to remain for not less than another season earlier than deciding whether or not or to not vest his participant possibility.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo has performed all 12 of his NBA seasons with the Bucks, successful an NBA championship in 2021 and two MVP awards, along with Most Improved Participant and Defensive Participant of the Yr honors.
The Antetokounmpo brothers are at present enjoying for Greece within the FIBA EuroBasket event, main the nationwide crew to a 3-0 report in group play. Giannis is averaging 29 factors and seven.5 rebounds per recreation, whereas Thanasis is averaging 3.3 factors. Kostas Antetokounmpo can be on the crew, averaging 0.7 factors per recreation.