Giannis hopes Bucks keep squad intact: 'I want everyone back'
The Milwaukee Bucks are coming off their best season in 18 years.
So after posting the Association's best regular-season record and falling two wins short of the NBA Finals, superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo hopes the same crew gets another kick at the can next season.
"I want everyone back," Antetokounmpo told reporters, including ESPN's Malika Andrews, on Monday. "Great fricking team - unselfish players that play basketball the right way. They're winners. We had a great atmosphere. We didn't have no - I want to be polite. I want to say the A-word - we didn't have no buttheads. Obviously, I want everyone back. I am going to let my teammates know that."
But keeping Milwaukee's core together is easier said than done. Starters Malcolm Brogdon, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton are all free agents this summer. The club has until July 2 to guarantee backup guard George Hill's $18-million salary for the 2019-20 season, while fellow midseason acquisition Nikola Mirotic will also hit free agency.
Antetokounmpo's All-NBA first-team selection this season complicates things further. The Greek Freak can now receive a five-year super-max contract extension worth $247.3 million in the summer of 2020. The deal would kick in for the 2021-22 campaign and be the largest contract in NBA history.
A Finals run next season could reportedly go a long way in determining whether Antetokounmpo signs that record-breaking deal.