Giannis Antetokounmpo

How 2020 All-NBA Picks Could Impact Contract Situations

April 29th, 2020 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

All-NBA selections have become more important than ever in recent years, since teams can agree to increase the overall value of certain maximum-salary contracts based on whether or not a player has earned All-NBA honors in a given season.

Those higher max salaries are also available to players who win MVP or Defensive Player of the Year, but there’s only one of each of those awards per year. There are 15 All-NBA players annually, creating more opportunities for players to become eligible for those more lucrative contracts, informally known as “super-max” deals.

As we explain in our glossary entry on the “Designated Veteran Extension,” a player with between seven and nine years of NBA experience who meets certain contract criteria and hasn’t changed teams since the end of his rookie contract become eligible for a maximum salary worth 35% of the cap – instead of 30% – if he was named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.

Similar incentives are available for players coming off their rookie scale contracts, as noted in our glossary entry on the “Derrick Rose Rule.” Those players can earn max deals worth up to 30% of the cap instead of 25% if they were named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.

The differences between the various levels of maximum salaries can be substantial over the course of a long-term contract. For instance, in 2019/20, a five-year max contract that starts at 25% of the cap and includes 8% annual raises is worth just over $158MM. By comparison, a five-year deal that starts at 35% of the cap with 8% annual raises is worth over $221MM. A five-year contract at the 30% max falls in between, at about $190MM.

We don’t know yet what this year’s All-NBA teams will look like – or even when voting will take place – but as our informal polls last week showed, there are a number of candidates whose future earnings could be affected by whether or not they earn one of those 15 spots.

Let’s take a closer look at some of those players…

Players who have already qualified for super-max contracts:

Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
Rudy Gobert (Jazz)

Antetokounmpo and Gobert didn’t even need to rely on All-NBA spots to qualify for super-max contracts — Giannis’ MVP award last year and Gobert’s back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2018 and 2019 secured their eligibility.

Because both players only had six years of experience entering the 2019/20 season, they had to wait one more year to be eligible to actually receive super-max extension offers, which would be worth 35% of the cap instead of 30%.

Antetokounmpo is a lock to receive such an offer from the Bucks, who have publicly said they’ll put it on the table as soon as they can. That was supposed to happen this July, but the NBA’s hiatus has thrown that timeline into flux. Whenever Milwaukee makes its offer, it would be for a five-year extension that would start in 2021/22 and be worth 35% of that season’s cap.

Gobert’s outlook is cloudier. He could also sign a five-year, 35% max-salary extension that would start in 2021/22, but he’s not at the same level of superstardom that Giannis is, so it remains to be seen how aggressive the Jazz will actually be in attempting to lock him up beyond next season.

Players whose already-signed rookie extensions would be impacted by an All-NBA selection:

Pascal Siakam (Raptors)
Ben Simmons (Sixers)

Siakam and Simmons signed maximum-salary rookie scale extensions with their respective teams last fall. Both contracts will go into effect in 2020/21 and both include Rose Rule language, meaning they’ll be among the players closely monitoring this year’s All-NBA results.

In our series of polls, Siakam earned a spot on the All-NBA Second Team. However, I think there’s a real possibility he could end up on the Third Team. Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Kawhi Leonard will likely receive more votes than Siakam. Anthony Davis will place higher than Siakam too if voters consider him a forward. And even if Davis is listed as a center, Jayson Tatum is among those who should give Siakam a strong push for that Second Team forward spot.

While Siakam might be satisfied to end up on any All-NBA team, a spot on the Second Team would be far more satisfying from a financial perspective. His deal calls for a starting salary worth 28% of the cap if he earns All-NBA Second Team honors, but just 25% if he makes the Third Team.

As we outlined in the fall, that difference would have been worth nearly $16MM over four years based on a $116MM cap. The cap is no longer expected to get that high, but even so, missing out on a Second Team spot would cost Siakam millions.

As for Simmons, he wasn’t one of the 15 players voted to an All-NBA team by Hoops Rumors readers, but he looks to me like a viable candidate for the Third Team. If he makes the Third Team, his starting salary would be 28% of next year’s cap, rather than the 25% he’d get if he doesn’t make an All-NBA squad. Those three percentage points would impact Simmons even more than they would Siakam over the life of their contracts, since Simmons’ five-year deal runs for an extra season and the amount of the annual raises are based on the starting salary.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray also signed a rookie scale extension with Rose Rule language, but isn’t a realistic candidate for an All-NBA nod.

Players whose next contract could be impacted by an All-NBA selection this season:

Joel Embiid (Sixers)
Brandon Ingram (Pelicans)

If Embiid – who was voted onto Hoops Rumors’ All-NBA Third Team – earns an All-NBA spot this season after doing so last year, he’d be in the same position heading into 2020/21 that Antetokounmpo and Gobert were entering 2019 — he’d have qualified for a super-max extension, but wouldn’t yet be eligible to sign one.

Once the 2021/22 league year begins, Embiid would have seven years of NBA experience, with All-NBA nods in at least two of the last three years, making him eligible to sign a four-year super-max extension that would begin in 2023/24, with a starting salary worth 35% of the cap. Even if Embiid doesn’t make an All-NBA team this season, doing so next year would still make him eligible for that same deal.

As for Ingram, he’s a long shot to be named to an All-NBA team, but in the unlikely event that he is, he’d be eligible to sign for a starting salary of up to 30% of the cap on a new free agent contract with the Pelicans. No other team looking to sign him to an offer sheet could exceed 25% of the cap in that scenario.

Other players to start monitoring if they earn All-NBA honors this season:

Bam Adebayo (Heat)
Devin Booker (Suns)
Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Donovan Mitchell (Jazz)
Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
Trae Young (Hawks)

These players fall into a few separate sub-categories. Jokic and Booker, for instance, are in their fifth seasons and on their second NBA contracts. An All-NBA spot – which is far likelier for Jokic – would be a good start toward earning super-max eligibility, but they’d still have to make another All-NBA team in either 2021 or 2022 to become eligible to sign a Designated Veteran Extension in 2022.

Doncic, an All-NBA lock, and Young, a lesser candidate, are only in their second NBA seasons. If they were to make All-NBA teams this year and next, they’d be eligible to sign rookie scale extensions with starting salaries worth up to 30% of the cap during the 2021 offseason. Those deals would go into effect in 2022/23.

Adebayo, Mitchell, and Tatum are all in their third seasons and will be extension-eligible during the 2020 offseason. Earning an All-NBA spot this year actually wouldn’t do much for their Rose Rule eligibility — they’d still have to do it again in 2021 to qualify, since the criteria calls for an All-NBA berth in either the season before the new contract begins or in two of the three prior seasons.

Still, earning All-NBA honors this year would give those three players additional leverage to negotiate Rose Rule language into their potential rookie scale extensions, which would go into effect in 2021/22.

Strong All-NBA candidates who are notably ineligible for super-max contracts:

Bradley Beal (Wizards)
Anthony Davis (Lakers)

Beal was in position to qualify for a super-max extension if he had earned All-NBA honors this season, but the short-term contract extension he signed last October eliminated that possibility. By the time that extension expires, he’ll have 10 years of NBA experience and will be eligible for the 35% max anyway.

Davis has the right amount of NBA experience to gain eligibility and should be an All-NBA lock, but the fact that he changed teams last summer ensures he’ll no longer qualify for a Designated Veteran Contract this offseason — he missed out on the possibility of the super-max as soon as he left the Pelicans.

Various other All-NBA candidates won’t meet the super-max criteria for various reasons. Some, like James Harden, are already on a super-max contract. Others, such as LeBron James, already have 10+ years of experience and can’t qualify for a higher max than the 35% they already get. Recently changing teams (ie. Jimmy Butler) or signing new long-term deals (ie. Khris Middleton) also remove certain players from super-max contention.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Pistons, Doumbouya, Giannis, Cavs

April 20th, 2020 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s hiatus and the coronavirus pandemic prevented Pistons head of basketball operations Ed Stefanski from making a planned scouting trip to Europe this spring, but he still feels as if his club will be ready for the draft if it moves forward as scheduled on June 25. Without in-person workouts or meetings available this year, the Pistons have been watching “a ton of video,” according to Stefanski.

“I think if June 25 rolled around, there’s no doubt we’d be prepared,” Stefanski said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “Maybe in a different manner. Obviously, we wouldn’t have live workouts. We would have to do more virtual – virtual interviews with players – and we’d get the medical done, I’d think, in all different cities. But we’re ready to adapt. We’ve talked about many different scenarios that could happen. I feel comfortable with whatever.”

The Pistons have traded away their second-round pick for 2020, but would have the fifth-best odds for the No. 1 pick in the first round if the current NBA standings are used for lottery purposes.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Although the NBA has instructed players to limit their travel during the league’s hiatus, Pistons rookie Sekou Doumbouya has returned home to France. A source informed Emiliano Carchia of Sportando that the Pistons were unaware that Doumbouya had left the U.S. to return to France, but a team spokesperson said over the weekend that the club is in the loop. Doumbouya went to France to be closer to family during the pandemic, the team spokesperson said, per The Associated Press.
It’s too early to say what the NBA’s salary cap will look like in 2020/21, let alone 2021/22, but the unusual nature of this stoppage may impact when the Bucks are able to offer a super-max contract extension to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the exact value of that offer. As Eric Nehm and Danny Leroux of The Athletic explain, Milwaukee will still be able to offer significantly more than any other team, whenever the Bucks get the chance to do so.
Within a mailbag, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com explores the Cavaliers‘ long-term outlook at small forward and considers which prospect they’d draft if they land the No. 1 pick. Fedor also reports that the team recently conducted a virtual interview with Virginia big man Mamadi Diakite, a possible second-round target.

Shutdown Notes: Woj, Testing, McCollum, Antetokounmpo

April 5th, 2020 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is the latest media figure to share pessimism that the NBA season can be saved, writes Adam Zagoria of Forbes. During an appearance on SportsCenter this morning, Wojnarowski said the league is doing everything it can to resume play — gathering ideas from teams, executives, sports science and medical staffs and the players’ union — but the situation doesn’t look promising.

“There’s also a level of realism that is starting to sink in it,” Wojnarowski said, “that it’s going to be difficult to return to play this season, that a runway for how many days it would actually have to be able to have a representative rest of the season, a few regular-season games at minimum and then a playoffs that would crown a legitimate champion, that would have a playoff structure, that would be enough to have someone to wear that crown and do it without an asterisk, that’s the challenge around the league right now. And they know they’re up against it, they’re up against the clock and there’s certainly a lot of concern about whether this league will be able to return to play or not.”

There’s more on the shutdown:

The NBA won’t be able to resume play until it can quickly provide coronavirus tests for a large number of people, states Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Not only does the league have to be able to ensure the safety of everyone involved, he adds, it must do so without the perception that it is receiving preferential treatment. That happened early on when entire teams were being checked while the test wasn’t widely available to the public. “There are certain lines that can’t be crossed, and everyone knows where they are,” a league executive said. “We’re hearing from a lot of different corners, including from doctors, that would love to see the games return, just for the sign it would give. But you have to be able to do it right.”
Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum tells David Aldridge of The Athletic that “everything is on the table” regarding talks with the league about the financial gap that will be created if the rest of the season is canceled. There was a report this week that up to 25% of remaining salaries could be placed into an escrow account that would help players and owners deal with potential losses. “Not playing basketball for the rest of the year means we lose 23 and a half percent of games played, regular season and a complete playoff run,” said McCollum, a vice president with the NBPA. “Not to mention the issues we’ve had with (Rockets general manager Daryl Morey) in China. That affected the (Basketball Related Income) as well … a lot of money is at stake.”
Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton are among the NBA stars with no way to play basketball during the shutdown, according to Eric Woodyard of ESPN.

Hiatus Notes: TV Revenue, Benson, Storylines, Clippers

March 16th, 2020 at 6:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA hopes to play at least 70 regular-season games this season in order to retain 100% of the revenue the league receives from their regional sports network partners, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (hat tip to RealGM). Those networks broadcast games in local markets. An abbreviated resumption of the regular season would also serve as a way for teams to ramp back up before the playoffs begin, Windhorst adds.

We have more developments related to the league’s hiatus:

Pelicans owner Gayle Benson has pledged to give $1MM to various causes, including financial assistance to arena workers displaced by the coronavirus-related stoppage, according to a team press release. The Gayle Benson Community Assistance Fund will also provide assistance to the general New Orleans community. Numerous players and teams have reached out to help their arena workers.
LeBron James‘ pursuit of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record and Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s potentially historic follow-up to his MVP season are among the storylines that won’t be played out if the season is canceled, Michael Lee of The Athletic notes. The Pelicans’ pursuit of the Grizzlies for the Western Conference’s final playoff berth, with the added intrigue of those teams being led by top rookies Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, would also fall by the wayside.
The hiatus could have a silver lining for the Clippers, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk points out. The prime title contender will have a chance to get fully healthy heading into the postseason, as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will have an extended time to rest, while Lou Williams (calf) and Patrick Beverley (groin) can recover from their ailments. The article breaks down what the hiatus means for each Western Conference club.

Central Notes: Bucks, Lamb, Pistons, Pacers

March 16th, 2020 at 3:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks, who had been hoping to lock up Giannis Antetokounmpo to a super-max contract extension this summer, are one of many NBA teams whose future will be complicated by the current hiatus and the potential loss of revenue associated with it, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

As Pincus details, a significant loss of revenue for the NBA would compromise the league’s ability to continue increasing its cap substantially over the next couple years. That would, in turn, create uncertainty about Antetokounmpo’s long-term earning power on a super-max deal that begins in 2021/22, and could have a major impact on Milwaukee’s ability to navigate the cap and the luxury-tax line.

Here’s more from around the NBA’s Central division:

It fell through the cracks to some extent last week due to the NBA’s suspension, but Pacers swingman Jeremy Lamb underwent surgery to repair his torn left ACL and torn meniscus. He’ll be out indefinitely, according to the team. Given the serious nature of his injury, it seems safe to assume Lamb won’t return until sometime in 2020/21 no matter when the ’19/20 season resumes.
James Edwards III of The Athletic examines how the COVID-19 situation may specifically impact the Pistons, exploring whether Derrick Rose could now return this season (yes), whether Christian Wood‘s free agency value will be impacted at all by his positive test for coronavirus (no), and more.
Pacers owner Herb Simon is giving financial add to the part-time workers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse affected by the NBA’s stoppage, tweets Bob Kravitz of The Athletic. Meanwhile, the Bucks announced (via Twitter) that they’ll match the donations their players make to part-time arena workers at the Fiserv Forum.

Antetokounmpo, Griffin, Williamson To Help Arena Workers

March 13th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks forward and reigning Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo and his family are donating $100K to Fiserv Forum staff members to help them weather the financial storm during the league’s suspension of play, according to his Twitter account.

Antetokounmpo is following the lead of the Cavaliers’ Kevin Love, who pledged a similar amount to arena employees in Cleveland. The Pistons’ Blake Griffin is making the same donation to workers at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena, according to the Detroit News’ Rod Beard.

Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is pledging to cover the salaries for all of their arena staff workers for the next 30 days, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Numerous teams have come forward to say that they’ll keep their employees on the payroll during the stoppage as well as compensate full-time and part-time staff who work their games. However, many other workers in these arenas, such as security guards and concession workers, are often employed by other companies. The players donations would presumably provide assistance to those workers.

The Pistons added their name to the list of teams that will compensate workers on Thursday, according to the Detroit Free Press. The Wizards did the same, Candace Bucker of the Washington Post tweets. The Kings have also stepped forward, according to James Ham of NBC Sports, The Trail Blazers are formulating a plan to pay their part-time arena employees for the team’s nine remaining home games and will reassess the program in 30 days, Jason Quick of The Athletic tweets.

Rockets CEO Tad Brown vowed to make sure their employees would “take care of our part-time employees as well as all of our employees,” Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays.

The Mavericks, Hawks, Cavaliers, and Nets have already stated their intentions to provide financial support to employees and arena workers.

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Olynyk, Crowder, Herro

March 11th, 2020 at 9:50am CST by Luke Adams

One Heat All-Star was impressed with the other following Sunday’s win over Washington, as Jimmy Butler heaped praise on teammate Bam Adebayo, who racked up 27 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists against the Wizards.

“That’s what future max players do,” Butler said of Adebayo, according to Michael Lee of The Athletic. “He’s definitely all of that and more. We’re glad to have him. Glad he’s the leader of this team.”

After acquiring Butler and developing Adebayo, the Heat have more star power on their roster than they did a year ago, but the team will always be on the lookout for more. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bradley Beal are two players who have frequently been cited as potential Miami targets if they become available, but Adebayo said this week that he doesn’t expect to be too involved in trying to recruit either player.

“I don’t want to pressure a man to make his own decision,” Adebayo said when asked specifically about the possibility of recruiting Antetokounmpo. “At the end of the day, when that situation does happen, if he wants to have a conversation with me, then I will have that talk with him. But I’m not going to try to put pressure on a man to make a decision. This is his life. He just had a child. You don’t want to move your child from city to city. It’s bigger than basketball for him at this point and time in his life, because he’s got kids, he’s got family, he’s got brothers. You want everybody to be together and be happy. It’s up to him.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

Kelly Olynyk has $1.4MM in bonuses available this season as part of his contract with the Heat — $1MM for playing at least 1,700 minutes and $400K for a Miami playoff berth. The Heat are on the verge of clinching a spot in the postseason, which will earn Olynyk $400K, but at just 1,084 minutes played, he’s unlikely to get the other $1MM, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sentinel.
For his part, Olynyk sounds content to earn the lesser bonus. “Financially, the bigger issue would be missing out on the minutes,” he said, per Winderman. “But for way of life and just as a person, I would say definitely make the playoffs and be part of a team that’s winning and having a vision of where it could go and be something special.”
After missing the Heat’s game on Sunday, Jae Crowder was cleared from the NBA’s concussion protocol on Tuesday, as Andre Fernandez of The Athletic tweets. Crowder is listed as probable for Wednesday’s game against Charlotte, so he should be back in action tonight after a brief absence.
In that same tweet, Fernandez notes that Tyler Herro participated fully in practice on Tuesday, which is a sign he’s nearing a return. Herro, who has been on the shelf for more than a month due to a right ankle injury, is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s contest.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Has Minor Knee Sprain

March 8th, 2020 at 2:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The leading 2019/20 MVP candidate, Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, suffered a minor left knee joint capsule sprain in Friday’s 113-103 loss to the Lakers, per a team press release (hat tip to Malika Andrews of ESPN).

Andrews relays that the Greek Freak will not be available for at least the final two contests of the Bucks’ current road trip, bouts against the bottom-feeding Suns and the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed, the Nuggets.

Antetokounmpo may miss more time than just the next two games. The Bucks’ next home game is Thursday, when they host the East’s No. 3 seeded Celtics. The Bucks will have an update on Giannis’ availability for what could be a pivotal intra-conference contest within the week.

The Bucks are the No. 1 seed in the East with an impressive 53-10 record. They are 8.5 games clear of the No. 2 seed, the 44-18 Raptors. A terrific two-way player, Antetokounmpo’s stellar individual season has been a huge part of that equation: in 57 games, he is averaging 29.6 PPG, 13.7 RPG, and 5.8 APG during just 30.9 MPG.

Community Shootaround: 2020 NBA MVP Race

March 6th, 2020 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

After winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award in 2019, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo looks like the overwhelming favorite to do so again in 2020.

Antetokounmpo is averaging 29.6 PPG and 13.8 RPG, both improvements on last season’s numbers, while playing just 30.8 minutes per contest, his lowest mark since he was a rookie in 2013/14. In addition to his outstanding per-36 numbers, the reigning MVP is a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, and his team holds the NBA’s best record by a comfortable margin, at 53-9. Milwaukee also has an eye-popping +16.7 net rating when Antetokounmpo is on the floor, tops in the league.

Antetokounmpo’s case for a second consecutive MVP award is obvious, and makes him the clear frontrunner. However, not everyone is prepared to hand him the trophy quite yet.

With the Lakers poised to take on Milwaukee on Friday night in a battle of the NBA’s No. 1 seeds, head coach Frank Vogel argued that LeBron James should be considered a frontrunner for the 2020 MVP award, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes. Vogel pointed to the intangibles James brings, including his leadership ability, as a factor for why the four-time MVP should receive serious consideration this spring.

“The body of work he’s put forth for our team I don’t really think it compares to anybody else,” Vogel said. “A lot of great performances throughout the year with other players, so I don’t want to take anything away from anyone else, but it’s pretty unbelievable what he does. What he means to us on both sides of the ball, defensive IQ and the way he impacts the game with his strength, athleticism, scoring the way he does, but also leading the league in assists. And the most important stat is how much we’re winning. So, to me, it’s his.”

In laying out James’ case for MVP, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report highlights the extent to which LeBron drives the team’s entire offense with his scoring and play-making. As Pincus points out, the Lakers’ offense falls off a cliff when James sits and the defense gets a little worse too — the club has a +10.4 rating with the 35-year-old on the court, compared to -1.0 when he’s on the bench.

One advance scout who spoke to Mark Medina of USA Today said his vote would go to Giannis, but admitted that the race is close enough for him to be convinced either way. One NBA executive speculated to Medina that voters may not be inclined to choose a back-to-back winner: “My gut would be since Giannis won it last year, people would give it to LeBron.”

We want to know what you think. Does LeBron have a legit NBA shot, or is Giannis running away with the award? If you think the race is still up in the air, what would have to happen in the season’s final five or six weeks to seal the deal one way or the other? Are there any other candidates you think could emerge as realistic alternatives?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Giannis Played Role In Recruiting Matthews, Korver

March 4th, 2020 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Entering the 2019 offseason, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo hadn’t gotten involved much in free agent recruitment, preferring to leave roster moves up to the front office. However, when he found out that Milwaukee was signing-and-trading Malcolm Brogdon to Indiana last summer, he felt as if it was time for him to get involved, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

“I don’t like doing that stuff,” Antetokounmpo said. “I don’t get an extra paycheck for doing (GM) Jon (Horst)’s job or Coach (Mike Budenholzer)’s job or whoever’s job it is. … If you asked me one year ago, two years ago, I’d say, ‘Coach, just take care of it.’ … (But) it comes to a point that I’m like, ‘OK. Malcolm’s about to leave.’ And at the time, Wesley Matthews and Kyle Korver were the guys I felt like could help us win.”

Antetokounmpo, who is represented by the same agency as Matthews (Octagon), reached out to the veteran swingman first, pitching him on the idea of competing for a championship in Milwaukee. Matthews had received interest from other teams, but the call from the reigning MVP helped convince him to join the Bucks, as Nehm details.

“It meant a lot,” Matthews said. “Not even just as an athlete, but just as anyone who is working, the admiration of your peers is what holds the most weight. Not writers, not blogs, not media and all that kind of stuff. It’s the guys you’re going to compete with and against to have the respect for you that means the world.”

Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo touched base with Korver at a training facility in Santa Barbara. The 38-year-old sharpshooter invited Giannis to work out with him at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where the Bucks’ star made another recruitment pitch.

“We start the workout and I’m like, ‘OK. Kyle, look, this is how I can get you open shots,'” Antetokounmpo said. “‘We can run this. We can do this. I know Al Horford is your best friend. I know you’d love playing with Al Horford in Philly, but look, I can (get you shots). I can find you easier.’ He loved it.”

Both Matthews and Korver ultimately signed with the Bucks and they’ve been great fits so far. Matthews has been a regular starter in Milwaukee, averaging 7.5 PPG with a .370 3PT% in 58 games (24.6 MPG), while Korver has recorded 6.4 PPG with a .407 3PT% off the bench in 47 contests (16.6 MPG). They’ve helped push the Bucks to an NBA-best 52-9 record this season and Giannis is thrilled to have them both aboard, as Nehm writes.

“I love my teammates. … I’d die for them,” Antetokounmpo said. “That’s who I am and I hope they know that and I think they know that. This is the group that I want to (win a championship) with, and hopefully, we can get it done.”

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