By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Working to open a spot on the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season roster, the Milwaukee Bucks intend to bring back Thanasis Antetokounmpo.
Keith Smith of Sportrac reported the potential move.
Antetokounmpo, 32, is projected to sit out the next season recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and undergoing surgery in May.
In official moves recently completed by the Bucks, they released Latvian big Anzejs Pasecniks and placed American big Liam Robbins on the list of players with two-way contracts.
Regarding players on standard contracts, the team coached by Doc Rivers sits at a maximum of 15. Opening a spot is necessary to re-sign Thanasis. The rumors about trading away 24-year-old forward MarJon Beauchamp are likely connected to this potential path.
Thanasis has spent the last five years with the franchise based in Wisconsin. Besides two NBA appearances with the New York Knicks in the 2015-16 Regular Season, the remainder of his NBA career focuses on the Bucks. Over 221 games played between the Regular Season and the Playoffs, including the 2020-21 season championship run, he averaged 2.2 points and 1.4 rebounds per contest. Being vocal in the locker room, appreciated by his younger brother and the rest of his teammates, describes the value of a return to Milwaukee.
Beyond the NBA, his career additionally features 62 appearances in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with Panathinaikos over the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns.
At the international level, represented Greece includes participation in the 2019 and 2023 editions of the FIBA World Cup and 2017 and 2022 installments of the EuroBasket.