NBPA rips Bucks' plan to sit Giannis Antetokounmpo rest of season despite him wanting to play
Milwaukee is lottery-bound and wants to improve its draft position. Antetokounmpo wants to play once healthy.
The Milwaukee Bucks are 8. 5 games out of the final play-in spot in the East with 11 games to play. They are not going to the postseason.
That has not stopped the drama in Milwaukee, as there is tension between the organization and Giannis Antetokounmpo — they want to shut him down for the season and focus on improving their draft stock (even marginally), but Antetokounmpo wants to return to the court when healthy, regardless of the situation . On Tuesday, the NBPA — the NBA's players' union — did exactly what it's supposed to do and came out in support of its player, and by extension it backs the NBA's Player Participation Policy. "The Player Participation Policy was designed by the league to hold teams accountable and ensure that when an All-Star like Giannis Antetokounmpo is healthy and ready to play, he is on the court.
Unfortunately, anti-tanking policies are only as effective as their enforcement; fans, broadcast partners, and the integrity of the game itself will continue to suffer as long as ownership goes unchecked. We look forward to collaborating with the NBA on meaningful new proposals that will directly address and discourage tanking. " At the same time, the NBPA released another statement ripping another aspect of the Player Participation Policy, the 65-game rule , which put the teeth in the policy by taking something away from players if they sat out.
Antetokounmpo's situation gets to the heart of the league's policy: It was designed specifically to keep teams from shutting down star players at the end of the season, even if there is nothing to play for. The problem for the league is that its incentives are misaligned: The only meaningful way for a struggling team like the Bucks to improve is to bring in more talent, and the best way to do that is through the draft. If the Bucks want to get Antetokounmpo to sign the max extension they will talk with him about this offseason, they need more talent, and a high draft pick is the best way to do that (whether they trade the pick or keep it).