Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t taken part in any team activities as Greece prepares for EuroBasket because he’s still waiting for the Bucks to provide written permission for him to participate, according to Aris Barkas and Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops.
While most players don’t need permission from their NBA clubs to play in international tournaments, Antetokounmpo is an exception due to the size of his contract, sources tell the authors. They explain that the FIBA insurance policy, which is covered by the Greek federation, doesn’t pay enough to cover Antetokounmpo’s NBA contract in case he suffers a serious injury. Because there’s a cap on the insurance payout, he can’t proceed without authorization from the Bucks.
Barkas and Barbarousis note that Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Lakers guard Luka Doncic are also affected by that stipulation, but they are both practicing and participating in exhibition games with their EuroBasket teams.
The FIBA-NBA agreement permits NBA players to join their national team’s training camp 28 days before the start of a major FIBA competition. Greece’s first EuroBasket game will take place on August 28, so Antetokounmpo would have been permitted to start training at the beginning of the month if not for the insurance snag.
Antetokounmpo has already missed three Greek exhibition contests, and he isn’t expected to play against Montenegro on Thursday. The authors state that Greece will participate in the Acropolis tournament before wrapping up exhibition play August 24 against France, but it’s still uncertain whether Antetokounmpo will be cleared to suit up for any of those contests.
The issue comes amid continuing uncertainty over Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee. Trade speculation was rekindled earlier this month when Shams Charania of ESPN reported that the two-time MVP remains uncertain that he can achieve his goal of winning at least one more NBA title while playing for the Bucks.
Please don’t cite Shams Charnia as a reputable source about Antetokounmpo’s certainty in Milwaukee; he’s just selling ads for ESPN.
I’m so tired of ESPN. Uggh! Clowns and peanut galleries. That network has zero substance
Wow. More bad news for a beleaguered Bucks team
Dare them to say no.
It is very irresponsible reporting for Hoops Rumors to continue to cite Shams’ dubious reports WHILE IGNORING how Giannis publicly said not even two weeks ago that he wants to play in Milwaukee his entire career.
Why should the Bucks be the “bad guy” if they don’t give written permission?
They have literally mortgaged the next 5-8 years of the franchise in order to put a roster around Giannis. Frankly, After all the Bucks franchise has done for the last 5 and the next 5 years to put pieces around him, he should not be considering playing in Euro Basket.
Or … if Euro Basket wants Max contract NBA Stars to play for their tournament, guarantee a higher coverage if they get hurt.
This isn’t on the Bucks.
Should the same apply to team USA then?
Yes
If they are stalling demand a trade. Speak up as a man!
Greeks around the world collectively say go eff yourself malaka he’s playing