Just days before the start of the regular season, the Milwaukee Bucks made a surprisingly impactful move, but not in the way many might expect. The Bucks just signed forward Alex Antetokounmpo to a two-way contract.
Of course, Alex Antetokounmpo is the younger brother of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee now has three Antetokounmpo brothers on their roster, marking the first time three siblings have ever been on an NBA roster at the same time.
The Bucks are clearly doing everything within their power to try and keep Giannis happy, including adding yet another one of his brothers to the roster. Even if Alex Antetokounmpo likely won’t play much for the Bucks this season.
The Bucks are shamelessly trying to appeal to Giannis Antetokounmpo
Considering the cost of a two-way salary is just $578,576, adding Alex Antetokounmpo seems like great bang for their buck. I’m not mad at them. Even so, the fact that no other team extended him an offer tells you that he might not be an NBA player at this point in his career.
Two-way players are eligible to play 50 games during the season, meaning that they could join Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo for more than half of the Bucks’ games. Any little edge the Bucks can get to keep Giannis is well worth it.
Adding his younger brother for half a million might make it 20% more likely that Giannis will demand a trade this season. If that is true, then it can be argued that the signing of Alex Antetokounmpo might be one of the more impactful moves of the offseason. As silly as that might sound.
Can the Milwaukee Bucks hold onto Giannis Antetokounmpo?
The Bucks’ holding onto Giannis will be dependent on how well they fare this season. If they can get off to a strong start and take advantage of a weakened Eastern Conference, then the Bucks might be able to keep Giannis from asking out, at least until next summer.
That would buy Milwaukee some time to sell Giannis on their vision for the future. Whether that is enough for them to convince him to stay is questionable at best, especially with other teams lurking in the shadows trying to trade for him.
That is why Milwaukee signing Alex Antetokounmpo is a sneaky great move. Even if it might draw the ire of fans who poke fun at Giannis’ brothers for riding his coattails.
