Giannis Antetokounmpo defends Kevin Durant’s decision to sign with Warriors

Giannis Antetokounmpo might have Bucks fans on edge with his latest comments defending Kevin Durant’s decision to go to the Golden State Warriors.

Antetokounmpo was on a tour in Manila when a Bucks fan asked him about his “loyalty in my DNA” tweet a few weeks ago in response to a report that teams were already trying to pry the do-it-all forward from Milwaukee.

The fan brought up how loyal Durant said he was to Oklahoma City before moving to Golden State and straight up asked him, “How long are you going to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks?”

But Antetokounmpo didn’t double down on his tweet. Instead, he gave a tepid defense of Durant. You can watch the video here.

“A lot of people say they’re going to stay on a team and decide to move to a different team. But you guys got to remember: A guy might want to stay on a team, but if the team doesn’t do the right things and the right moves for the player to become great. Because, KD, the reason he wanted to stay in OKC was to win, right? So, they didn’t win the championship. That’s why he decided to leave. So do not hate only the player. Because sometimes it’s not up to the player.

Antetokounmpo was an All-Star for the first time last season and led his team in every major stat category. He averaged 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 1.6 steals per game on the year.

Sure, as a Bucks fan, these comments could leave a bit of concern about Giannis’ future in Milwaukee. But overall, Bucks fans have nothing to worry about right now.

His loyalty tweet a few weeks ago — quoting a lyric by Kendrick Lamar — was pretty clearly only to quell rumors on his departure. He’d probably be in a better position had he said nothing at all. But still, there’s no real harm done from that tweet.

Antetokounmpo just signed a four-year extension with Milwaukee last season with no options or opt-outs included. Teams can pry all they want, but there’s no chance he’s going anywhere until the summer of 2021 at the earliest.

Things could change — maybe there’s a small chance Antetokounmpo demands a trade. But Milwaukee doesn’t have to do anything. He’s 22 years old and committed to the franchise right now.

Plus, what he said was reasonable. Players want to play on good teams where they have a chance to win — and they want to have fun doing it. If a player feels it’s time to move on because his team hasn’t improved, he has the absolute right to do that.

If Antetokounmpo believes he has a better opportunity elsewhere, he should jump on it when the time comes. If he wants to stay in Milwaukee, he should do that. But it will be up to him to find the best situation — a silly tweet won’t determine that.

The Bucks are capped out this offseason and will have big decisions to make on younger players on their roster next season. But luckily for them, they’ve got plenty of time between now and when Antetokounmpo has to make a decision on his future.