The Giannis Antetokounmpo Max Extension Does Not Appear to Be on the Horizon

The NBA world has waited with bated breath to see if Giannis Antetokounmpo would sign a maximum extension with the Milwaukee Bucks that would pay him north of $200 million dollars over five years. As the reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, he will obviously get the offer from the Bucks. For Giannis to get the maximum amount of money possible, he would need to sign on the dotted line by December 15.

It does not seem like that extension is going to be agreed upon soon. Giannis chatted with the media today for the first time since he and his team were eliminated from the NBA bubble by the Miami Heat. Bucks fans will not be encouraged.

Now, there is no reason to jump the gun. Obviously this does not mean that Giannis already has his eyes pointed towards another team and will leave Milwaukee if a championship does not come in 2021. He even said outright he doesn't think it's a championship-or-bust season in the same press conference.

But still! Not great for Milwaukee! They tried to get him more help by trading Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and a handful of picks for Jrue Holiday. They tried a sign-and-trade with the Kings to acquire Bogdan Bogdanovich, but that fell apart in spectacular fashion. Now the Bucks have a similar lineup to last year but with Holiday starting in place of Bledsoe and more veteran presence on the bench.

And until he signs that extension, all anyone will want to talk about is where he'll go next. That's the way it goes in the NBA rumor world, fair or not. Giannis seems to love Milwaukee and has stated on record numerous times that he wants to win a championship with the franchise. But superstars have said that exact same thing before and ended up in different uniforms at the blink of an eye.

With the caveat that I am not and will never be an agent, it doesn't seem like there's much to negotiate here. The Bucks will offer as much money as possible. The fine print will be what Giannis' agent and the organization will be haggling over. But at the end of the day, everyone knows what the situation is. Milwaukee will do anything to have Giannis sign that extension. He is their future if he stays in those cream-colored uniforms.

The fact that he hasn't signed yet could mean everything, and it could mean nothing. We will have no idea until something happens. But from an outside perspective, what Giannis said today does not exactly inspire optimism.