The Milwaukee Bucks made NBA history on Monday by signing Alex Antetokounmpo, the younger brother of star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, to a two-way contract. The Bucks also re-signed Thanasis Antetokounmpo this offseason, which makes this the first time in NBA history that three brothers are on active roster contracts with the same team, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
It's a feel-good story for the Antetokounmpo family, but it should leave Bucks fans feeling queasy.
During his 65 games in the G League between 2021-22 and 2023-24, Alex Antetokounmpo averaged 5.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.7 assists while shooting 36.7% overall and 24.7% from three-point range. To make room for Antetokounmpo, the Bucks released Jamaree Bouyea, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Bouyea averaged 18.2 points, 6.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 50.9% overall and 36.2% from deep during his 77 games in the G League.
Bouyea played only 19 games in the NBA over the past three seasons and failed to make a major impact, so cutting him might not be a huge loss for the Bucks. However, spending one of their three two-way spots on Antetokounmpo seems like a clear waste of resources.
Bucks need to nail the margins
The Bucks have already traded away all of their second-round picks through 2032 and don't have control over their own first-round pick until 2031. They will have first-round picks in 2026, 2028 and 2030, but other teams have swap rights with them, which reduces the upside of all three.
The Bucks also don't have many (any?) young players who are locked in as long-term keepers. They did an admirable job filling out their roster this offseason despite the uncertainty hanging over the Greek Freak's future, but Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., Gary Harris, Taurean Prince and Jericho Sims all have player options in 2026-27, while Cole Anthony is only on a one-year deal. All of them might wind up being only short-term Band-Aids.
Regardless of whether Antetokounmpo plans to stay in Milwaukee for the rest of his career or if he's planting the seeds for an eventual trade request, the Bucks should be turning over every stone to find young players who could be rotation fixtures moving forward. Other teams have successfully parlayed two-way signings into actual keepers, but the Bucks are instead wasting one two-way slot on nepotism.
What the Bucks could've done instead of signing Giannis' brother
The Los Angeles Lakers originally signed Austin Reaves to a two-way deal after summer league before converting him ahead of the 2021-22 season. He's since vastly outplayed every contract that he's signed and is poised to become one of the most coveted targets in the 2026 free-agent class. He's perhaps the biggest two-way success story, but he isn't the only one.
The Memphis Grizzlies signed Scotty Pippen Jr. to a two-way deal in January 2024 before converting him to a four-year, $9.6 million contract ahead of last season. He proceeded to average 9.9 points, 4.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in only 21.3 minutes per game while shooting 48.0% overall and 39.7% from deep. The Grizzlies now have him signed to a dirt-cheap contract for three more seasons.
This offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers spent two-way slots on Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker, who have a combined 284 games of NBA experience under their belts. Both appear poised to be legitimate factors in the Sixers' rotation, especially given the uncertain status of Paul George early in the season.
Hell, the Bucks themselves have experience with finding a rotation player via a two-way deal! They originally signed Ryan Rollins to a two-way contract in February 2024. Last season, he appeared in 56 games for them (including 19 starts) and averaged 6.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 48.7% overall and 40.8% from deep. They re-signed him to a three-year, $12 million contract this offseason in free agency.
The Greek Freak might enjoy having his brothers around him at work on a day-to-day basis, but he's made clear that he's prioritizing a championship above all else. The Bucks might not be able to find a difference-maker like Reaves with one of their two-way spots, but even adding another rotation player like Rollins or Pippen would help them fill one hole moving forward. Instead, the Bucks just signed someone whose G League stats don't even hold a candle to those of Bronny James.
The Bucks already have limited resources thanks to their all-in pushes for Jrue Holiday in 2020 and Damian Lillard in 2023. Wasting one of their few remaining resources on a nepotistic signing ironically might only put them further away from convincing the Greek Freak to spend the rest of his career in Milwaukee.