Amid growing concerns over a future without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks have taken many significant steps to reinforce their roster. In a historic first, the Bucks signed Giannis’ youngest brother, Alex Antetokounmpo, to a two-way contract. It marked the first time in NBA history that three brothers were under active roster contracts with the same team. Now they have gone one step ahead.

The Bucks have secured guard AJ Green with a four-year, $45 million fully guaranteed contract extension for the 2029-30 season. As per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Green went undrafted in 2022 and has now emerged as one of the league’s elite shooters. With a 42.7% three-point shooting percentage last season.

This extension can work in favor of both parties involved. A.J. Green gets a secured spot, Bucks get a young addition in the roster, in a bid to gain back Giannis’ trust and commitment.

AJ Green enters the final year of his three-year, $6.3 million contract. He signed it in July 2023 after completing his rookie season as a two-way player. At 26, the sharpshooting guard is set to earn just $2.3 million for 2025-26. That is well below the league’s average of $13.9 million. Back when he entered training camp without a contract, he was still hopeful for what is to come.

“That is all, with who I am with my faith and perspective, that’s gonna happen,” Green said with a smile after Bucks practice on Sept. 30. “It’s gonna happen exactly how it should. If I worry about it, what’s that gonna do for me? I’m not in control of it. I can only do what I can now. So, I just gotta trust that whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen regardless. It’s out of my hands.” And it happened.

Green’s new $45 million veteran extension, of four years, kicks in for 2026-27. It will keep him under contract through the summer of 2030. With no non-guaranteed years or options, Green now holds the longest contract on the Bucks’ books, ahead of Myles Turner. He now joins an elite group of only five players on the roster with guaranteed money beyond 2027, including Giannis, Turner, Bobby Portis, and Ryan Rollins.

Under the terms of the extension, Green’s salary is projected to rise steadily: $10 million in 2026-27, $10.8 million in 2027-28, $11.7 million in 2028-29, and $12.4 million in 2029-30. For context, this deal puts him on the same page as other elite sharpshooters, like former Bucks Sam Merrill, who signed a four-year, $38 million deal with Cleveland.

The timing of the deal implies strategic planning from the Bucks. The negotiations took over three months, generating offseason trade speculation, but because the extension was finalized after August 5, Green is ineligible to be traded this season, basically tying him in for 2025-26. GM Jon Horst had noted on media day, “We’d love to have AJ with us for a long time,” Horst said. “We’re able to work on that, and we are working on that.” Green’s shooting and floor spacing perfectly compliment Giannis’s dominance.

Giannis’s next moves and Horst’s roster strategy

Giannis is doing everything but commit to the Bucks. He recently went on Greek television on The 2night Show (ANT1) and shared his future plans in the NBA. “I’d like to end my career in a Greek team, why not?” he said. While he added that he doesn’t see himself living long-term in the U.S. after basketball: “As soon as I leave the NBA, I want to return to Greece … I could end my career here, whether this team is called Filathlitikos, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, or Aris.” For the unversed, Filathlitikos is where Giannis started his game.

Well no one knows what’s to happen in the next 5/6 years, but for now, Bucks GM Jon Horst has been tasked with a construction of a team roster, surrounding Giannis. “It’s not rocket science: Surround your best player in the best ways possible and allow them to do the things they’re really great at,” Horst told the Journal Sentinel.

The Bucks carefully planned for every scenario, from injuries to rivals, like when Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles during the NBA Finals. That opened a window for Milwaukee to reset their roster around Giannis, rather than rebuild from scratch.

Horst said the team took a deep, critical look at themselves to close gaps. “We have to close the gap between where we’re at, what other teams are doing to win,” he explained. The goal was to match other top teams while staying true to Giannis’s skill set. “We’ve made bets that guys will frankly play better and up to a level that we expect that they can do … we’ve labored over the analytics on it. We have complete buy-in and consensus amongst the coaching staff and front office.”

When asked about Giannis’s place in all of this, Horst was emphatic. “If I have to roll the dice with having a head of a snake, a top dog, I’m going to roll my dice with Giannis Antetokounmpo every single day of my life to be your best guy,” he said.

With the new addition of Green, the Bucks have fortified their fortress with strong walls around their superstar, but the last play still belongs to Giannis.