The Milwaukee Bucks have the NBA’s best record after 58 games. The team has been so good that it has already wrapped up a playoff berth. The Bucks are on pace to win 60 or more games again this season. That would seal the best record in the NBA for a second straight year. But it could all be forgotten in the offseason. Milwaukee has a difficult Eastern Conference game against the Indiana Pacers coming up on March 5th. Fans can visit https://nostrabet.com/en/ to get a bet bonus to wager on the team they believe will win the Eastern Conference showdown.
NBA Finals or Bust for the Milwaukee Bucks
When the Bucks were eliminated from the Eastern Conference Finals in 2019, few around the team would have cared about having the regular season’s best record. It isn’t being the best in the NBA’s regular season that players want. They care about being the best at the end of the Association’s arduous playoffs.
Milwaukee could find itself without silverware once more in the upcoming offseason despite their incredible regular-season record. If the Bucks fail to win the NBA Finals, it could begin the end of the team’s golden era with forward Giannis Antetokounmpo nearing the end of his time in Cream City.
According to Spotrac, Antetokounmpo has just one season left on his current deal. The contract will expire in the summer of 2021 making the forward an unrestricted free agent. Antetokounmpo signed a four-year, $100 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2017. The deal ensured he received all $100-million in guaranteed money with an average salary of over $25m a season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Future
While it is a sum that makes him one of the NBA’s elite players, it is less than what Antetokounmpo could get on the free-agent market in 2021. Antetokounmpo is eligible to sign a new contract with the Bucks in the coming offseason rather than pursue free agency in 2021. If he chooses to re-sign with Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo could be rewarded with a five-year, $253 million contract extension. It would be similar if he left.
The Bucks will hope Antetokounmpo does sign the extension – assuming it is offered to him – rather than taking the alternative of free agency. Antetokounmpo has previously stated if the Bucks are “doing great” he wants to stay with the franchise. So far, Milwaukee is doing well but if the team fails to reach the NBA Finals again, his opinion of the situation could change.
Antetokounmpo will be the biggest free agent in basketball since Kevin Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors in 2016. He will be just 26-years-old and in his prime basketball years at the end of the current Milwaukee contract.
Golden State Warriors Dynasty Part II
Rumors are circulating Antetokounmpo could end up as a Golden State Warrior playing alongside Stephen Curry if he opts out of Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo would be able to ease into the void created by Durant’s departure. A second Golden State dynasty could be instantly created.
Milwaukee is in a win-now mode. The franchise must capitalize on Antetokounmpo and his once-a-generation skillset. Milwaukee cannot underperform in the playoffs this time around or Antetokounmpo is likely to take a supermax contract elsewhere.
The Bucks have been on an upward trajectory since acquiring Antetokounmpo in 2013. They have made the playoffs in four of six seasons, and in 2018-19, progressed past the first round for the first time since 2000-01. Still, if the Bucks don’t win the NBA Finals this season, Antetokounmpo could opt-out. It’s a nightmare situation for Milwaukee if Antetokounmpo walks.
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