Tim BontempsESPN5 Minute Reading
Surprised that Giannis doubled down on his stance on his future?
Michael Wilbon and Frank Isola reacted to Giannis Antetokounmpo doubling down on his stance that he might leave Milwaukee for a better chance to win an NBA title.
“I think it’s kind of business as usual either way,” Middleton told ESPN in a phone interview. “It doesn’t affect me personally. I don’t think it affects us as a team. I think it’s something he says almost every year when he comes to contract extension talks.
“We always want him back for sure. Make sure and let everybody know that. We want this guy back because he’s one of the best players in the world. He’s one of the best players in franchise history . So if he’s into things like that, I think he just wants to challenge the team, the organization, to continue to put us in position to win championships.
“But I think it’s something that he wants to keep putting pressure on everybody. And that’s on himself as well. on himself to get better, to come in and be great every year. So there’s no pressure on, no more pressure when he says to us as a team, or to me as a person, that I need to be better.”
Antetokounmpo’s comments were the capper to a generally tumultuous summer for Middleton and the Bucks, who have been one of the league’s champions for the past five seasons. However, after a stunning loss as the top seed to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs, the Bucks proceeded to fire longtime head coach Mike Budenholzer – eventually hiring former Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin. to replace him – as well as re-signing Middleton and Brook Lopez after both hit unrestricted free agency.
Middleton admitted that, after losing the series to the Heat, he knew something was going to change, but he wasn’t sure what it would be – including himself, as he entered free agency.
“I think you always feel a change happens when you lose in the first round when you’re expected to compete for a championship,” Middleton said. “And if that’s the coaching, even the players moving, I don’t feel what will happen.
“I’m also a free agent, [and a player] which comes from two wounds. I don’t know if I’m the one who, you know, will continue, or a coach or another player. I think this time it happened to be Bud, who was kind of shocked a little bit. But I think we knew something was going to happen.
“Something has to change for us to get to the next level as a team, as an organization.”
But while Budenholzer was let go, Middleton and Lopez eventually returned, allowing Milwaukee to remain among the few teams with legitimate championship aspirations. The next few months are now full of speculation about the other half of the team’s longtime championship core. Antetokounmpo, who will be eligible to sign a contract extension this Friday, is one year away from unrestricted free agency next summer while star point guard Jrue Holiday will also be an unrestricted free agent next July.
And Middleton believes that, even though he, Holiday and Lopez are all in or entering their mid-30s, if this group stays together, it has a runway to compete for multiple championships. times.
“I’m getting to an older age, but you know, Brook and Jrue have had me for a couple of years,” Middleton said with a laugh. “But I think both guys have one more year to play at a high level and prove themselves.
“I know Jrue is a guy who has a lot left in the tank no matter how old he is. He’s the same as Brook, and I hope he’s excited to come back, to sign an extension and be with us for more year. Because I feel that we have a team that can continue to play, that can play … I hope we can say that we can play until we are 40, and compete for championships. we can play at a high level and be contender.
“And that’s not going to happen unless we get Jrue back as well.”
As for Middleton himself, he is eager to get healthy after suffering a series of injuries for more than a year. He missed Milwaukee’s second-round loss to the Boston Celtics with a knee injury in 2022 before undergoing offseason wrist surgery, and then played in just 33 games this past season before undergoing early knee surgery. this offseason.
But Middleton said he has been on the court working out for a few months and is excited to go into next season with a clean bill of health.
“In the last year and a half, two years, they’ve been kind of weird dealing with different types of injuries that aren’t life-threatening injuries,” he said. “There are real things that need surgery and need time to heal and whatnot. So this summer is just kind of getting myself back to being my old, natural self, like as healthy as I can be, that I think I’m headed in that direction.
“So it’s been a pretty productive summer for me so far where I don’t have to feel like I’m starting over at all… I’ve focused on my whole body, and started working on my game here in last couple. months.”