NBA Rumors: Is Giannis Antetokounmpo Bucks’ point guard of the future?

Giannis Antetokounmpo has played well enough for head coach Jason Kidd to remain the Milwaukee Bucks’ starting point guard for the foreseeable future.

Though the 2015-16 Milwaukee Bucks will unfortunately miss out on the 2016 Eastern Conference Playoffs, it seems that head coach Jason Kidd has found his solution at starting point guard, opting to use emerging star Giannis Antetokounmpo in that role for the foreseeable future.

Kidd, a Hall of Fame caliber point guard as a player, has had immense difficulty establishing offensive continuity on his young Eastern Conference roster since Milwaukee traded away former starting point guard Brandon Knight to the Phoenix Suns at last year’s NBA trade deadline.

While Kidd got a former NBA Rookie of the Year in point guard Michael Carter-Williams in the three-team deal between Milwaukee, Phoenix, and the Philadelphia 76ers, Carter-Williams been a liability for Milwaukee both in terms of ball security and ability to stay healthy.

Since Carter-Williams went down with an injury after the All-Star break, Kidd resorted to putting Antetokounmpo in a primary ball-handler role for the Bucks. Though Antetokounmpo has the prototypical build of a lanky small forward at nearly seven feet, perhaps his ability to distribute the basketball as a point forward is the best thing the Bucks need to get over the hump in 2016-17.

Kidd told C.F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that “it’s Point Giannis from now on.”

Kidd added:

"“We’re going to go forward with him (Giannis) handling the ball. You can call him point guard, point forward, point center. With him having the ball and the pressure he puts on the defense and his ability to find guys, it’s been a plus for us.”"

While it didn’t seem possible, but Antetokounmpo’s value as an emerging superstar in the NBA has risen exponentially now that he will play point forward for the Bucks going forward. He has the ability to play all five positions offensively like Magic Johnson once did, but also be able to guard opponents one through five on par with a Kawhi Leonard or a Draymond Green.

Don’t look now, but if this point forward thing works out for Kidd and the Bucks, Antetokounmpo is poised to become the next biggest star in the Eastern Conference. His upside is off the charts, his head coach is one of the best point guards in NBA history, and with little expectations from a small market team, Milwaukee could become something very special with Antetokounmpo as the primary ball handler. For Carter-Williams, this isn’t good at all.

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