Giannis Antetokounmpo on possible move to PG: 'I feel comfortable ... I can play it'
He might now be 6-foot-11 with a wingspan that's grown to 7-foot-5, but the Milwaukee Bucks don't appear to be bluffing when they suggest that 19-year-old sophomore Giannis Antetokounmpo could see some run at point guard this season.
Word of the potential experiment came out earlier in the offseason, but the team's hire of Gary Payton as a special adviser to the Greek was further evidence this wasn't your usual preseason-speak. In an interview with Basketball Insiders published Thursday, Antetokounmpo opened up about potentially running the offense:
I’m not going to say I was shocked by it. It’s something that I feel comfortable with and I’ll play wherever Coach wants me to play, especially when it’s Coach Kidd who thinks that I can play point guard. That makes me feel like, ‘I can play it. I can play point guard.’ I’m going to try my best and just listen to Coach. I’ll do whatever Coach says to do and I’ll get more comfortable.
Antetokounmpo would very easily be the league's largest point guard, but it's not as if stars around the league don't run the offense at times as the de facto point forward in the offense. Letting Antetokounmpo play the point should facilitate the development of his handle, vision, and decision making, and could pay off in the future as his role expands. He also has the advantage of being able to see over opposing point guards, which seems kind of unfair when you picture it.
For now, expectations should be pretty low. Antetokounmpo averaged just 1.8 assists in 32.9 minutes over four Summer League games with time at the one, and his assist rate as a rookie (12.1 percent) was right in the middle of all qualified rookies, or right where you'd expect a wing player's assist rate to fall.
Even if there are bumps in the road, it should be a lot of fun to watch Antetokounmpo learn on the job, frustrate opposing point guards with his length on defense, and improve his distributing skills for future seasons.