MILWAUKEE (AP) 鈥� The without the Milwaukee Bucks for the first time in a decade.
How soon gets back to the playoffs could depend on an offseason that鈥檚 shaping up to be among the most critical in franchise history due to Giannis 础苍迟别迟辞办辞耻苍尘辫辞鈥檚 uncertain future.
Has the two-time MVP played his last game in a Bucks uniform?
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know,鈥� Antetokounmpo said Sunday after a at Philadelphia that capped the Bucks鈥� 32-50 season. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not up to me. We鈥檒l see.鈥�
Antetokounmpo, 31, has spent his entire 13-year career in Milwaukee, which selected the 6-foot-11 forward with the 15th pick in the 2013 draft. the Bucks to their in 2021, and he owns franchise career records in virtually every major statistical category.
He鈥檚 eligible to become a free agent after next season if he doesn鈥檛 sign a four-year, $275 million in October. Or the Bucks could trade him beforehand if they don鈥檛 believe he will sign that extension. That uncertainty helps explain why Antetokounmpo was the at this season’s trade deadline though the
Antetokounmpo was asked Sunday whether he鈥檇 sign an extension.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something I have to sit down with my family and see what鈥檚 best for me, what鈥檚 best for my family,鈥� he replied.
Doc Rivers, who announced Monday that he’s as the Bucks’ coach, said he just wants a positive resolution for both parties.
鈥淕iannis and this franchise won a title together, and to me, that should never be lost, no matter how this ends up,鈥� Rivers said. 鈥淎s I said, Giannis is a fantastic person. I鈥檝e been lucky to coach a lot of stars, and he鈥檚 right at the top as far as just good people. I want good people to be taken care of.鈥�
Late-season dispute hinders relationship
This crossroads arrives at a time when the relationship between Antetokounmpo and the front office is at its most fragile.
础苍迟别迟辞办辞耻苍尘辫辞鈥檚 of the season came March 15 when an awkward fall on a dunk caused him to leave a victory over the Indiana Pacers. He averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists in a career-low 36 games.
the last couple of weeks and enough to do so. Team officials continued to hold him out while saying he had a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise. The the situation.
If the Bucks do lose Antetokounmpo, they could face a long rebuild because of their lack of draft assets.
The Bucks will have a lottery pick this year either in their own spot or in New Orleans鈥� spot 鈥� they鈥檒l pick in the less favorable of those two positions. But they don鈥檛 have first-round selections in 2027 or 2029. They鈥檝e agreed to pick swaps that could negatively impact their draft position in 2028 and 2030.
Since winning their 2021 title, the Bucks have made just two first-round picks: in 2022 and in 2024. Neither remains with the team.
Antetokounmpo has said repeatedly he likes playing in Milwaukee but wants to be part of a franchise committed to The Bucks haven鈥檛 won a playoff series since 2022 and just produced their first losing season since 2015-16.
鈥淲e鈥檙e the furthest away we鈥檝e been,鈥� Antetokounmpo said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think we were going to be in this position last year, so I don鈥檛 know what position we will be in next year.鈥�
Misfortune leads to Bucks’ slide
Bad luck has played a role in Milwaukee鈥檚 downturn.
Khris Middleton had a that prevented the three-time All-Star from playing in Milwaukee鈥檚 2022 loss to Boston. The Bucks had the in 2022-23, but a caused Antetokounmpo to miss 2 陆 playoff games as in the first round.
Antetokounmpo missed the entire 2024 to Indiana with a Damian Lillard tore his in Game 4 of another against Indiana last year.
Milwaukee鈥檚 injuries this season weren鈥檛 limited to Antetokounmpo. the Bucks鈥� second-leading scorer, played in only 36 games.
The Bucks often weren’t even competitive this season as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Milwaukee dropped 20 games by at least 20 points. According to Sportradar, they never before had more than 14 losses of at least 20 points in a single season.
The Bucks had 14 losses of at least 25 points 鈥� twice the previous franchise single-season high. They had eight defeats of at least 30 points, which also doubled the previous franchise record.
鈥淥bviously when you have injuries to two of your top ball handlers like Giannis and KPJ, it kind of hurt us a lot,鈥� forward Bobby Portis said. 鈥淎nd then all the outside noise as well kind of just took away from the team. Years before, things that were said or things we had internally that were about the team didn鈥檛 really get out to the media. There were a lot more dark clouds than in previous years.鈥�
Bucks general manager Jon Horst has taken big swings plenty of times before that helped convince Antetokounmpo to stay.
Antetokounmpo in 2021 after Horst Antetokounmpo signed after the 2023
After Lillard tore his Achilles, the Bucks took another gamble by and stretching out the remaining $113 million on his contract over the next five years. That gave them enough short-term cap flexibility to sign former Indiana Pacers center
Horst now faces his biggest challenge yet as he tries to put together a roster strong enough to have Antetokounmpo believing he can contend for a title without changing teams.
鈥淢oney doesn鈥檛 mean nothing to me,鈥� Antetokounmpo said. 鈥淶ero. Absolutely zero. What means something to me, it鈥檚 winning.鈥�
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AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
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