Giannis Unleashed A LeBron Level Lie Claiming He Didn't Know The Numbers Of His New Contract And Just Signed Because He Wanted To Be There
John Fisher. Getty Images.The vibes are understandably sky high right now in Cream City. Coming off their underachieving 2022-23, they fired a coach many wanted gone a long time ago, re-signed fan favorites Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton, pulled off one of the biggest and most impactful trades in the league by swapping Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard, and yesterday locked in generational talent Giannis to a 2+1 extension worth up to $186M. If you're a Bucks fan, it's hard to not be overly excited for the upcoming year. That's a pretty damn good summer.
Having said all that, there is absolutely no way this is true
Look, I'm not against pandering. In fact there are few things I love more than when my favorite basketball team panders to me as a fan. I eat that shit up without hesitation. With that in mind, that's clearly what Giannis is doing here. I mean come on. I'm to believe that Giannis had no idea that he was about to sign an extension that guarantees him $186M dollars? I find that impossible. Whether it was someone in his camp, his agent, the GM, someone told him. I believe that he probably didn't read the actual contract because who the hell reads contracts nowadays, but you can't one day be very aware of the financial implications of your extension before signing it
But over the past three years, he has brought them along for what he hopes can be a more lasting endeavor: taking ownership of their money and his future. A few months ago, Antetokounmpo launched Ante, Inc. to house the brothers’ projects and investments. It’s about Giannis’s life beyond basketball, though basketball still matters to him — a lot. In a few weeks, he will be eligible for a three-year extension worth about $173 million, but he doesn’t plan to sign one just yet.
“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.”
and then when the time comes and you do actually sign it, you have no idea how much money you just made. It's such a ridiculous lie I think that's why I love it. There's no need for it! We all know the number, so who cares? Nobody doubts that Giannis wants to be in MIL, that much is clear. But last time I checked he also didn't sign for the veterans minimum. If he's suggesting that it didn't matter what the money was, he was staying regardless, well that's a colossal fumble by the Bucks front office. Think of what you could do with Giannis on a deal that's a fraction of what they are now forced to pay him? Even at $30M instead of $60M that makes a world of difference for their cap sheet and team building.
I do think there's some truth to the idea that Giannis was signing that extension whether the number was $186M, $173M, or $150M. This is a player who has already earned $234M in basketball contract money alone in his career. I think he's doing just fine and at this point probably isn't motivated by money as opposed to some other guys who maybe haven't secured that max extension bag yet. For example, Jaylen Brown was very motivated last year by his potential supermax ($300M). Giannis is in a little different place where he can solely focus on winning a title because he knows that number is always going to be the max for the foreseeable future.
Again, I don't blame Giannis for clearly not telling the truth here. Now is the time to pander to your fanbase with their season kicking off tomorrow. But there is simply no way he didn't know.
What's next, we're going to learn his favorite book is the Godfather or something?