Giannis is still a Buck

Despite more news circulating around Antetokounmpo's potential interest in leaving Milwaukee, the dude is still there. Stakes remain high, but he's still there. Good morning. Let's basketball.

ESPN's Shams Charania has had a few news bits this week about Giannis Antetokounmpo's future with the Milwaukee Bucks. One revealed that the Bucks gave the New York Knicks a brief period during which to discuss a potential Giannis trade after Team Antetokounmpo indicated that the 'Bockers were the only team that interested the Greek Freak. Nothing came of it: Charania reports the Knicks didn't think the Bucks were actually willing to trade Giannis, and the Bucks didn't think the Knicks had a viable offer available. (You may recall that New York is out much of its draft equity after building its current team.)

In the aftermath, Charania reports that Team Antetokounmpo is analyzing what other attractive options could become available if the Bucks' season gets off to a rough start. So, if the reporting is right, and there's little reason to believe it's wrong, the news here is that Giannis is still a Buck and would like to remain a Buck unless things continue to fall apart around him.

In other words, this is basically the same situation as the Bucks have been in since ... 2020?

Giannis has always re-signed and extended his contract following big splashes by Jon Horst and the Milwaukee front office. The Jrue Holiday trade – a massive swing for the fences by the Bucks, don't forget that – led to a Giannis extension and, a year later, a championship. The Damian Lillard trade – no one forgets that this was a massive swing for the fences – led to a Giannis extension. (No championship, though.) And now Horst has waived-and-stretched an injured Lillard to sign Myles Turner, a massive swing for the fences. We'll see what happens next.

Antetokounmpo is eligible to sign an extension next summer. That is crunch time, which makes this season critical for Horst and the front office. But every season has been critical since it became clear that Giannis was a generational superstar. And Horst has honestly treated the stakes as high as they have been. The Bucks front office, if there's a criticism, has possibly been overly active in trying to keep Giannis happy to the detriment of sustainability. The Khris Middleton-Kyle Kuzma trade during last season is an outcome of this hyperactivity issue: the front office is so focused on appeasing Giannis that it is taking, at times, needless risks. Waiving Lillard to sign Turner away from a rival doesn't feel that desperate; it feels bold, in part because Turner is a perfect Giannis partner. The question is whether that partnership can survive a dearth of stable guard talent on this team.

Most Bucks fans adore Giannis and may only be experiencing the anxiety that comes from potentially losing him in small doses when news breaks through the din of everyday life, like in the early summer when there was an inorganic wellspring of attention on the topic for some reason, or now when there's an ... inorganic wellspring of attention on the topic because of Charania's reporting. Hardcore Bucks fans might let Giannis anxiety filter through to their everyday experience of fandom. I hope not. Giannis is joy personified on the court, and Bucks fans deserve to experience every minute they have remaining with Antetokounmpo as normal fans: not total joy – sports fandom is never ever total joy – but real and concrete. Not existential dread created by outside forces.

Someday in months or a decade Giannis will no longer be a Buck. Deal with that then.

It Was A Liquor Ad

LeBron's "Second Decision" was a liquor ad. I'm not sharing it here out of spite.

To clarify my comment that using the framing of The Decision to headfake fans into thinking he might be announcing his retirement cheapens The Decision and his own future: The Decision, tacky and offputting as it may have been, is a seminal moment of LeBron lore, inextricable from his story of a public life. Playing off of that to draw up intense interest in a brand activation is beneath LeBron as a public figure! Teasing a retirement announcement in a crass way is disrespectful to fans, even though it was semi-obvious. Have some respect for what an impact that will eventually be!

Let's all say it together, though: at least it wasn't a gambling or crypto ad.

On Peacock

Peacock had its first NBA action with Bulls-Cavaliers on Tuesday. Noah Eagle and Reggie Miller were on the call with Ashley ShahAhmadi on the sidelines; Maria Taylor, Brian Scalabrine, Tracy McGrady and Carmelo Anthony handled the studio. The only sports I've ever watched before on Peacock would be the Olympics, which has a whole different production vibe.

Early reviews: this is good! Eagle is one of the best in the business and had an immediate early comfort with Reggie Miller, who is ... well, he's Reggie Miller. Peacock did not change that. The scorebug, though? It's real nice.

I didn't watch the whole game closely – it's preseason and it's important to pace oneself! – but I did make sure to watch the halftime show. The most striking feature was that the crew spent most of halftime talking about MVP potential for Evan Mobley. Yes, positive talk about a rising star. And none of the retired dudes on stage were talking about how they need to see 36 and 20 from him to be impressed. The positivity was striking compared with Stephen A. Smith's hollerin' about this, that and the other and the TNT crew's typical dismissal of all but the tippy-top players or favored friends of the show. We'll see if it lasts.

I'm pretty sure Melo's impeccable style will last. This sweater! The sunglasses on set! An icon, truly.

Scal's got a great jacket there, but if he has to sit next to Melo all season? That's tough. Try to become the Tara Lipinski to Melo's Johnny Weir.

By the way: what a total failure to not have Evan Mobley on my preseason MVP longlist. He definitely deserves a spot. I'd like to extend my apologies to the greater Cleveland metro area and the USC diaspora.

What Subscribers Received Lately

Welcome to the weekly(-ish) free-to-all issue of Good Morning It's Basketball. If you're new around here, this is a newsletter written by me, Tom Ziller, five times a week. We primarily cover the NBA from the outside with diversions into the WNBA and other adjacent topics from time to time. Once the regular season starts, each day will include some highlights or notes from a bunch of games. Paid subscribers get a newsletter in their inbox around 9 AM Eastern most weekdays. They also get access to the GMIB Discord server, which is a fun way to talk hoops with fellow sickos without the pitfalls of algorithmic social media platforms.

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• A breakdown of all 15 East teams into tiers, and the same for the 15 West teams
• If Zion stays healthy, can the Pelicans be competitive?
• A review of Napheesa Collier's takedown of WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert (this one is actually now unlocked for everyone)
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Links

The Grizzlies might be screwed: Ja Morant is week-to-week with his ankle injury. Still no word (that I've seen, at least) about whether Jaren Jackson Jr. will be ready for opening night after offseason toe surgery.

You may recall that I shared that Tom Dundon, the prospective buyer of the Blazers, made his fortune on subprime loans. ProPublica went deep on that. It turns out the state of Oregon was involved in a multi-jurisdictional lawsuit and settlement with Dundon's company. Hmm.

Paul Flannery on where Al Horford exists in Celtics lore.

Howard Beck on the what-ifs that changed the trajectory of the NBA in the first 25 years of this century.

Harrison Faigen on lightness at media day.

David Skilling on whether the NBA is truly building a global league or simply protecting its own monopoly in North America.

Danny Chau remembers the golden age of mixtapes.

Alright, that's all for Wednesday. Be excellent to each other.