Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo has until Dec. 21 to sign his supermax extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, but he said Wednesday that his attention is elsewhere.

"Right now, I am not focused on that. I am just trying to focus on myself," he told reporters.

Antetokounmpo can make $228 million over five years with the new deal but could become a free agent next summer if he chooses not to sign. Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported in November the team was "cautiously confident" about Giannis staying with Milwaukee.

There is still no guarantee he signs the extension before the start of the season. Either way, Giannis hopes not to discuss it much going forward.

"I know this is big for the city of Milwaukee, NBA world and media world. But I'm a private person," he told reporters.

Antetokounmpo's decision is massive considering his impact on the court. He has won the MVP award in each of the last two years, and he took home the Defensive Player of the Year award last season as well.

He finished 2019-20 averaging 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, and the 26-year-old is still improving. After leading the Bucks to the NBA's best record in each of the past two years, it's clear whichever team he plays for will be a top contender.

The question is whether he can win a title in Milwaukee after disappointing playoff losses the last two years.

"I don't believe this is a 'championship or bust' situation. (But) nobody wants to win a championship more than me," he told reporters.

Milwaukee was aggressive in improving its roster this offseason, notably adding Jrue Holiday to provide help in the backcourt. The Bucks can only hope Antetokounmpo feels that's enough to get them over the top in 2020-21.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has until Dec. 21 to sign an extension with the team that drafted him at No. 15 in 2013, but according to a report, the Bucks have "gone kind of silent" on the matter after their failed attempt to acquire Bogdan Bogdanovic. 

"I don't know what that means," ESPN's Zach Lowe said on The Jump Tuesday. "But I know that that optimism, I just haven't been hearing that." 

Antetokounmpo can sign a supermax extension this offseason, but before he did so, he reportedly put pressure on the Bucks to sign Bogdanovic, and the team had a sign-and-trade deal in place that eventually fell through. 

Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported in November that the deal Antetokounmpo and his brother, Thanasis, spent the summer cultivating was going to come under investigation by the league for tampering.

While the Bucks did add Jrue Holiday this offseason in a four-team trade, Fischer said that the now-New Orleans Pelican was one of Antetokounmpo's priorities:

"Aside from the obvious spacing Bogdanovic's shooting would provide Milwaukee's offense, Giannis admired his fellow European's toughness and swagger, sources said. He viewed Bogdanovic as someone you could go to war with in the postseason."

If Antetokounmpo signs, he would earn $228 million over the next five years, per Jack Maloney of CBS Sports. His teammates are anxious to see the star ink the deal, and Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton presented the back-to-back league MVP with pens for his birthday Sunday to encourage him to stick around (h/t Eric Woodyard of ESPN). 

His decision to pick up one of those pens and stay in Milwaukee would ensure that the Bucks, who have made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, are contenders for a title for the foreseeable future. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee Bucks teammates weren't exactly subtle when they presented him with a gift for his 26th birthday.

Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton decided to give the two-time reigning NBA MVP a pen, a reference to his unsigned supermax extension.

"We definitely sung a happy birthday after practice," Middleton said, per ESPN's Eric Woodyard. "Me and PC thought the perfect gift to him from our teammates is just to give him a pen. So there were pens in his locker for his birthday present. I told him, 'Those should be some of the best birthday gifts he's ever gotten,' so hopefully he enjoys it and uses it."

The deadline for Antetokounmpo to sign is Dec. 21, at which point the Bucks would have to wait until the offseason to know whether their best player is going to stick around.

The Miami Heat signed Bam Adebayo to an extension, while Anthony Davis and LeBron James pledged their long-term futures to the Los Angeles Lakers. Naturally, that has led some to wonder whether the Heat and Lakers are under the impression Antetokounmpo isn't leaving, otherwise they would've allowed themselves more financial flexibility.

However, B/R's Jake Fischer reported that after Milwaukee's failed pursuit of Bogdan Bogdanovic, "There has since been a categorical step back in the Bucks' confidence in getting a long-term commitment from their superstar, even if Antetokounmpo ultimately accepts the franchise's offer of a five-year, $228 million supermax extension." 

Who knows? Maybe Antetokounmpo is passionate about calligraphy, and pens are the one way to win him over.

After back-to-back disappointing playoff exits, the pressure is on for the Milwaukee Bucks going into the 2020-21 NBA season.

In each of the last two years, the Bucks finished with the best record in the NBA, and Giannis Antetokounmpo took home the league's MVP award. In both seasons, the team was eliminated before the NBA Finals. 

This year's run ended with a shocking 4-1 loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Although the 2020 postseason offered unique challenges—played entirely inside a bubble in Orlando, Florida, with no fans or home-court advantage—the team still fell short of expectations.

With Antetokounmpo heading into free agency in 2021, the team's window of contention could be shrinking.

2020-21 Bucks Schedule Details

Season Opener: Dec. 23 at Boston Celtics

Championship Odds: +550 (via FanDuel)

First-Half Schedule: NBA.com

Top Matchups

Los Angeles Lakers: Jan. 21

After winning the 2020 NBA title, the Los Angeles Lakers are going to be the measuring stick for every team during the upcoming season.

Both the Lakers and Bucks entered the postseason with high expectations, but it was the former who lived up to them. LeBron James secured the fourth title of his career, while Anthony Davis was dominant on both ends of the court.

Los Angeles should be just as dangerous in the upcoming season, making this one of the marquee events on the schedule.

The individual battle between LeBron and Giannis will also be must-see television, especially with James trying to show the doubters he deserved the regular-season MVP award last year.

Milwaukee will have to come through with its best effort in this game because Los Angeles will be in no mood to concede its title.

Miami Heat: Dec. 29, Dec. 30

The other NBA finalist represents a more personal matchup for the Bucks.

Miami stunned Milwaukee in the second round of the playoffs, potentially changing the trajectory for both organizations.

Jimmy Butler was near-unstoppable in the series, averaging 23.4 points per game while shooting 53.2 percent from the field. It even raised question marks about Antetokounmpo's defensive prowess as he spent limited time defending the guard directly.

This could be the first chance to avenge that series defeat, with the Bucks trying to show they are truly the best team in the conference.

Bam Adebayo will be tough to defend, and the three-point shooting of Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson can change any game, but Milwaukee's depth could be up to the task in this regular-season battle.

Season Forecast

Regular-season success has not been a problem for Milwaukee and shouldn't be an issue next year, either.

Not only is Antetokounmpo back entering a contract year, but the team has made important improvements with the additions of Jrue Holiday, Bryn Forbes, Torrey Craig, Bobby Portis and Jordan Nwora through trades, free agency and the draft.

The team also returns key players like Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and others to again create one of the deepest rotations in the NBA.

This type of talent will ensure the Bucks remain at or near the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference.

Of course, the league will remain competitive in 2020-21.

The Heat will return with plenty of confidence after their run in the playoffs, while the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers could be even better if they stay healthy next year.

The Toronto Raptors also aren't going away after retaining Fred VanVleet in free agency.

With Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer still likely limiting minutes for his star players to keep them fresh, it wouldn't be surprising to see the team's winning percentage drop a bit next season.

The team will still be a force, though, doing everything it can to figure out how to win in the playoffs. 

Record Prediction: 52-20

If the Los Angeles Lakers still have designs on adding Giannis Antetokounmpo to a core of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, that longest of long shots got even longer with news that James will sign a two-year extension and Davis intends to sign for five years, per ESPN.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, James' new deal with the Lakers will run through 2022-23. So much for the notion that James might take a $10-15 million discount next offseason to make room for Antetokounmpo. James may have taken a haircut to join the Miami Heat with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2010, but history will not repeat.

And why should it? The Lakers already have a championship squad, one they've improved upon over the offseason with the additions of Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, Marc Gasol and Wesley Matthews. Now that Davis has re-signed, Los Angeles should be a favorite to repeat.

So much of the team's success stems from its relationship with James and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports. Signing Harrell away from the Los Angeles Clippers may have been a surprise to many, but should it have been? Klutch seems to regularly funnel players to the Lakers (like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Talen Horton-Tucker, Harrell and Davis—and previously JR Smith and Dion Waiters).

And how would taking millions out of James' well-earned future contract work for Klutch Sports, when that money would go potentially to another agent's superstar? The simple answer: Not happening.

But the James extension does raise other questions.

Why not extend James beyond the 2022-23 season?

The obvious answer would seem to be his son Bronny James, the high school sophomore at Sierra Canyon. If the NBA revises the one-and-done rule (which is in negotiation, though a lower priority as the league and National Basketball Players Association work together to get through the pandemic), James the younger would be draft-eligible in 2023.

"I damn sure would love to stick around if my oldest son can have an opportunity to play against me," James told Mark Anthony Green of GQ in 2017. "That'd be, that'd be the icing on the cake right there."

Perhaps that dream has evolved from competing against his son to sharing a locker room?

It's a sweet story, but the answer is a little more technical. James will be 38 years old when the 2023-24 campaign begins. One of the complex rules within the NBA's collective bargaining agreement has language to dissuade teams from giving out four- or five-year deals to players who will be over 38 during the contract.

James likely opted out of the final year of his current contract, which had him making $41 million, to replace that year with a slight bump up to $41.2 million, while adding another season at about $44.5 million. An extension starts with the current season. Adding two more years enabled James to lock in another $44.7 million (approximately) without triggering the over-38 rule.

He got as much as the Lakers could possibly give. That it may time perfectly with his son's potential entry to the NBA is a bonus. If not, James might need to sign another one-year deal.

Does the Lakers' Dream of Giannis Die?

Probably. The Lakers chasing cap room in 2021 was always specious. The team petitioned the league to get Luol Deng's dead $10 million off its books, but to no avail. The Lakers opted not to stretch the waived contracts of Quinn Cook and Jordan Bell, saving an extra $526,687 of potential cap space next summer.

Instead, their combined $1.6 million in waived salary will prevent the Lakers from signing a 15th player to start the season (the team is hard-capped at $138.9 million after using its non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Harrell). It's a short-term problem that will resolve itself in a few months. As the price of a minimum contract prorates downward daily, that last spot may be used to add another player on the buyout market months down the road.

After re-signing Jared Dudley, the Lakers are at 13 players with enough room for one more (but not two). They also have a pair of players on two-way contracts including Kostas Antetokounmpo, the current back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player's younger brother.

The Lakers also seemed to be building a relationship with another agency in Octagon, where Giannis Antetokounmpo is partnered with Alex Saratsis and Jeff Austin. Is it a coincidence that Schroder, Matthews and the younger Antetokounmpo are all with Octagon?

Wasn't it that first year with Caldwell-Pope, a year before James' arrival in Los Angeles, that the Lakers began to build a relationship with Paul and Klutch? It doesn't take much to see the Lakers were trying to follow the same path.

But now with James on the books, and assuming the Lakers are able to trade Caldwell-Pope, Gasol and their 2021 first-round pick after the draft without taking any salary back, Davis would need to take a discount of about $10 million to give the team enough cap room.

Beyond asking too much of Davis, it would likely mean the Lakers part ways with Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso, Harrell, Caldwell-Pope, Schroder and just about everyone else on the roster. Of course, if the Bucks were willing to trade Antetokounmpo for Kuzma, Caruso, Harrell, Caldwell-Pope, Schroder and just about everyone else on the roster, they might have a deal.

If L.A. has any faint hope, it's that Antetokounmpo demands a trade...to the Lakers. Given the Lakers’ dearth of tradeable future first-round picks (most tied up with the New Orleans Pelicans in the deal that brought in Davis), the Bucks would obviously do everything they can to get their star to re-sign. But failing that, the Lakers may not be atop their priority list if they did decide to move Antetokounmpo.

What does it say about the Lakers-Klutch relationship?

It's a partnership. The Lakers are taking care of James. James is taking care of the Lakers. It's a mutually beneficial symbiosis.

The addition of Harrell, one of the top bench players in the league the last few years, is a prime example.

And if the Lakers can find a way to draft Bronny James when the time comes, they may move mountains to do so to extend their run with James as long as they possibly can.

What else does this suggest about the Lakers' future?

Enough with the third star already. The Lakers just won the title and upgraded the roster. Now they can play out the 2020-21 season to see if they have the right fit around Davis and James.

If Schroder is the secondary playmaker/scorer to complement James, then they can reinvest in him after this season. Kuzma is extension-eligible, and if he continues to grow, they should give him a contract.

Harrell may be looking for a bigger payday (he has a player option after the season), but he too could be a long-term piece for the Lakers.

Take away the pressure to build a superteam, and the Lakers may actually have something special already. James and Davis together in and of itself is more than what nearly any team has to offer.

At some point, James will start to slow down as he ages. But if last season is any indicator, he and the Lakers will remain a force for some time.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter, @EricPincus.

Training camp is underway. The preseason begins Dec. 11, followed shortly after by the beginning of the regular season on Dec. 22. And the Christmas Day slate has now reportedly been set.

The start of the 2020-21 NBA season is right around the corner as a quick, eventful offseason draws to a close. The draft and free agency each took place in the past two weeks, and there still could be more moves on the way.

Here's some of the latest rumor buzz from around the league as a new season quickly approaches.

Will Harden Still be on Rockets to Open Season?

One of the top rumors that has yet to materialize has centered around Houston Rockets guard James Harden, who has been the subject of trade buzz after he reportedly requested to be dealt. However, with less than three weeks until the 2020-21 season begins, the eight-time All-Star and former NBA MVP remains on Houston's roster.

That doesn't mean the Rockets haven't had trade negotiations, though. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, one team that had a conversation with them was the Golden State Warriors, who reached out with an inquiry. And that was before they lost shooting guard Klay Thompson for the upcoming season because of a torn right Achilles tendon.

"I don't even believe an offer was made. I think it was just an inquiry like, 'We have a major potential offer here if you guys want to discuss,'" Charania said on the Load Management podcast (h/t Drew Shiller of NBCSports.com).

Charania noted that Houston was "open to hearing out different offers and proposals" in its conversation with Golden State, but talks "never even progressed to that point."

Among the other teams that have been tied to Harden in rumors is the Brooklyn Nets, who already have a pair of superstars in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Anthony Puccio of Front Office Sports has reported on the conversations between the Rockets and Nets, but on Tuesday, he tweeted that Houston is "not bowing down to Harden or the Nets and is in no rush to make a trade."

"Wouldn't consider it dead, but nothing is imminent at this moment," Puccio tweeted.

It will be interesting to see if Harden and point guard Russell Westbrook, who has also been in trade rumors after reportedly requesting to be dealt himself, will remain with the Rockets and what the situation will be like when the new season begins.

Giannis Preparing to Meet with Bucks About Supermax Deal

There's a possibility that two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is the top player on the free-agent market after the 2020-21 season. The Milwaukee Bucks are certainly hoping that doesn't become the case.

During a recent appearance on SportsCenter, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were expected to meet this week to discuss a five-year supermax extension. While this situation remains a hot topic leading up to the season, Windhorst added that Milwaukee is "confident he's going to sign it."

Antetokounmpo would have plenty of suitors if he decided to not commit long term to the Bucks and instead become a free agent next summer. The 25-year-old forward is not only among the NBA's top players, but he keeps getting better. He averaged career highs in points (29.5) and rebounds (13.6) in 63 games this past season.

After the Bucks got eliminated in the second round of the playoffs earlier this year, they've gone out and added to their roster for the upcoming season. Milwaukee traded for point guard Jrue Holiday and signed several free agents, including forward Bobby Portis.

If Antetokounmpo signs the supermax extension with the Bucks, it will end the speculation, and teams that were gearing up to make a run at him next offseason won't need to create the financial flexibility they would have needed to try to sign him. And as long as Antetokounmpo is with Milwaukee, it will likely remain a contender in the Eastern Conference.  

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo divulged Tuesday that being the top player on a team is not of the utmost importance to him.

In an interview with Greek channel COSMOTE TV (h/t Aris Barkas of EuroHoops.net), Giannis said he would have no problem playing with other superstars provided it yields championships:

"This is a statement that I have never made before. If LeBron [James] and Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis came to Milwaukee; I would have been good with that. I am not interested if I am the top, second or third name, ok? Because I want to win. ... For sure when I was 18 or 19 years old, maybe I didn't understand what you need to do to win. But right now, I am 25 and I want to win because when I retire, that's what people will remember. And if I got LeBron, KD, Davis, if all those came, I wouldn't mind at all. I don't care if I am the top [player] on the team."   

The Bucks have finished with the NBA's best record in each of the past two seasons, but playoff success as eluded them, as they fell to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals and were eliminated in the second round of last season's playoffs by the Miami Heat.

With the Bucks unable to get over the hump, there has been no shortage of speculation that Giannis will play out the final year of his contract in 2020-21 before signing with another team that he believes can give him a better opportunity to win a championship.

The Bucks have clearly made an effort to appease Giannis by acquiring guard Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans, but few would consider him to be a true superstar.

Although Antetokounmpo spoke in terms of being open to superstars joining him in Milwaukee, none of the players he mentioned seems likely to do that. LeBron is entrenched in L.A. after winning a championship last season, Davis is likely to re-sign with the Lakers and Durant is gearing up for his first healthy season with the Brooklyn Nets after missing all of last season because of his Achilles injury.    

What Giannis' comment does suggest is that forming a superteam isn't something he opposes, which could be a bad thing for the Bucks if they are unable to put one around him.

The current NBA is the era of the superteam, as most of the recent champions have boasted multiple superstars.

The Golden State Warriors won three championships, two of which featured Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Also, LeBron led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a title alongside Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love before doing it with Davis in L.A.

Even the Toronto Raptors had multiple stars, with Kawhi Leonard as the anchor surrounded by fellow All-Star Kyle Lowry and budding superstar Pascal Siakam.

While Holiday and Khris Middleton are quality players, it can be argued that Giannis doesn't have the second star he needs to go the distance, which has to be a major concern for the Bucks and their fans.

Winning a championship is clearly the No. 1 priority for Antetokounmpo, and he doesn't sound picky about giving up some of the glory to make it happen.