Giannis Antetokounmpo comes to Madison Square Garden in New York for Saturday's 7:30 p.m. game against the Knicks, and one former Bucks teammate is unsure of the star's future with Milwaukee.
Jabari Parker played alongside Antetokounmpo from 2014-18 in Milwaukee before spending 2018-19 with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards.
Now in the first of his two-year contract worth $13 million with the Atlanta Hawks, Parker said Tuesday that he could see the future 2021 free agent going either way -- leaving the Bucks for a contender or staying for a big pay day.
"I don't know because it's a different game now," Parker said after the Knicks' 143-120 win over the Hawks. "So back then, guys will stay but he's got to consider so many things about his family."
Antetokounmpo, who won the 2018-19 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, has been linked to the Knicks especially after New York's summer of 2019 did not sign big-time free agents such as Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving.
En route to his third straight All-Star appearance, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed last season while averaging 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 blocks in 72 games.
The 25-year-old Antetokounmpo left the door open to a team like the Knicks earlier in the year when asked about the idea of testing free agency during the 2021 offseason.
"I want the Bucks to build a winning culture," Antetokounmpo told Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse and master's student Melcolm Ruffin, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Rick Romell. "So far, we have been doing great, and, if this lasts, there's no other place I want to be. But if we're underperforming in the NBA next year, deciding whether to sign becomes a lot more difficult."
Antetokounmpo, however, attempted to walk the comments back late in October.
"If you kind of read the last quote, I've never used those words in my life," Antetokounmpo said.
After the season, Antetokounmpo is eligible for an extension of five years worth $253 million with the Bucks. If he keeps his options open, Antetokounmpo could go into wait-and-see mode to test free agency for the first time in 2021. Antetokounmpo headlines the 2021 free agent class, which could potentially also include LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
If the Knicks want to increase their chances of landing Antetokounmpo -- or any other top-notch free agent, for that matter -- New York can do itself a favor by better establishing a winning culture. Without a winning season since New York went 54-28 in 2012-13, the Knicks fired second-year head coach David Fizdale on Dec. 6, and team president Steve Mills could be reassigned or terminated next. To their credit, though, the Knicks (7-21) have won three of the past four as a tough weekend stretch between Friday's 8 p.m. road game against the Miami Heat (19-8) and Saturday's tip-off with the Bucks (24-4) lingers.
