The Greek Freak says the 26-year-old ultimately made a decision that was “best for him.”
Per The Athletic:
“Definitely wish he was still here,” Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “One of my friends, one of the guys that I always teased every day when I see him – call him ugly, we’re just going back and forth. I’m going to miss that, but at the end of the day, you got to do what’s best for you. I wish him the best, I wish his team the best and I’m excited to play against him.”
This season for the Pacers, he is averaging 20.7 points, 8.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game.
“Can you imagine this team with also Malcolm?” Antetokounmpo said after the Bucks’ 124-115 victory over the Bulls on Thursday night. “But hey, man, everybody takes their decision. His decision was to go to Indiana and build a team over there. I think that was best for him.”
So has the team’s stance on entering the luxury tax change? Why make a move that appears to weaken your roster?
“I think our stance is pretty similar,” Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry said during the owners’ press conference before the season. “I don’t think we have an issue paying the luxury tax. I think part of it is we know we’re going to be in it. We’re definitely going to be there in a couple of years, soon. That’s not the question. The question is, Was re-signing Malcolm an imperative? I think re-signing Malcolm was a luxury and our view was Malcolm is a phenomenal player. He’s great, but for that amount of money, we thought we could have those dollars better spent elsewhere. And we’ll find out.”
