As an 18-year old kid living in Cleveland, Ohio, I was blindsided in 2010 by LeBron James’ decision to leave his hometown team and take his talents to South Beach.
I never saw it coming.
What I didn’t see as a naive fan was that LeBron lost faith in the organization that drafted him, so he left for a place where he thought he had a better chance to win.
It’s not entirely dissimilar from the situation that currently sits in front of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The difference is that the Bucks absolutely refused to let Giannis lose faith in them.
Bucks brass met with Giannis immediately after the season.
The picked his brain.
They listened to his ideas.
They empathized.
And on Monday night, they took action.
The midnight trades to acquire Jrue Holiday and Bogdan Bogdanovic were a message to Giannis:
We’re here.
We’ve listened.
We’re not satisfied.
We want to win a championship.
We won’t stop until we’re done.
Giannis can sign his Supermax extension to stay in Milwaukee on Sunday.
I expect him to do so.
He’s not taking his talents anywhere else, and that’s a credit to the Bucks for making him want to stay.