AS GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO grappled with his Milwaukee Bucks future this offseason, general manager Jon Horst made the 6,000-mile trek to Athens, Greece, in late July for a face-to-face meeting with his franchise's cornerstone star -- the 2021 NBA champion and Finals MVP.
Horst was coming off a transformative summer for the Bucks, having made the daring move to waive and stretch Damian Lillard to free up the cap space to sign center Myles Turner from the rival Indiana Pacers. It was a major long-term financial commitment, in terms of not only Turner's four-year, $108 million contract but also the cap hit from the remaining $113 million on Lillard's deal that would stay on Milwaukee's books for the next five seasons.