Milwaukee Bucks small forward Khris Middleton doesn’t sound worried about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the team. During an interview with Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Middleton talked about Antetokounmpo, who recently admitted that he would leave the Bucks if there’s a better situation to win an NBA championship.
“I think it’s kind of business as usual either way,” Middleton told ESPN in a phone interview. “It doesn’t affect me personally. I don’t think it affects us as a team. I think this is something he said almost every year he’s come up in contract extension talks.
“We always want him back for sure. Let’s be for sure and let everyone know that. We want this guy to come back because he’s one of the best players in the world. He’s one of the best players in franchise history. So when he says things like that, I think he just wants to challenge the team, the organization, to keep putting us in position to win championships.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks Updates
Antetokounmpo told Tania Ganguli of The New York Times that he will not sign an extension with the Bucks this year. The two-time MVP became eligible for a contract extension in September.
“The real question’s not going to be this year — numbers-wise it doesn’t make sense,” Antetokounmpo said. “But next year, next summer it would make more sense for both parties. Even then, I don’t know.”
Antetokounmpo added: “I would not be the best version of myself if I don’t know that everybody’s on the same page, everybody’s going for a championship, everybody’s going to sacrifice time away from their family like I do. And if I don’t feel that, I’m not signing.”
The Bucks signed Antetokounmpo to a five-year, $228.2 million designated maximum contract extension in December 2020. The future Hall of Famer will make $45.6 million next season.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks Updates
“But I think it’s just something that he just wants to keep putting pressure on everybody,” Middleton said. “And that’s himself also. He’s not just pointing a finger at everybody else saying, ‘You guys have to do this for me.’ I think he’s putting that pressure on himself to be better, to come in and be great every year. So there’s no pressure on, there’s no added pressure when he says that to us as a team, or me as a person, that I have to be better.”
One of the greatest players in NBA history, Antetokounmpo has career averages of 22.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists. He has won the Most Improved Player of the Year Award, two regular-season MVPs, one Finals MVP and one Defensive Player of the Year Award with the Bucks.
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