1. If the Milwaukee Bucks trust Giannis Antetokounmpo more, they will benefit.
It sounds obvious, doesn’t it? Almost too easy. But in Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have a player who, when it is all said and done, could be a top 10 player of all-time. For context, he won the league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year award in the same season. He has padded that out with another MVP, as well as a Finals MVP and championship.
That is rarified air, and he has done so as one of the most well-rounded players of this century. Potentially the most well-rounded player. At only 27 years old, he has already made the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team, and last season averaged 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists. In his nine years in the league so far, he has been an All-Star six times.
He is only going to get better, and last season took 3.6 attempts from deep. The fact under 30 percent of them went in is ugly, and it is also the final step in Giannis becoming truly one of the best to ever do it. Yet it also felt like when the Bucks really needed him to hit one, it went in and bailed them out.
There is no need to overthink this. Trust one of the best players of all time to get better and to carry what is already a really good group even more. Let Giannis have the ball more. Allow him to shoot more from deep as well. Build your defensive game plan around him, and offensively let him decide when to kick it out to the aforementioned shooters.
Antetokounmpo is the type who wants to win more championships, and more MVP awards while he is at it. If the organization just put all of their trust in a player who has never once let them down, and who has never had a significant injury (he somehow survived this to lead his team to a championship), while never playing fewer than 60 games in a regular season, more success will come.
That can start this coming year with a second championship.