By Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter Published Sep 19, 2016 at 4:02 PM

The Bucks gave Giannis Antetokounmpo a contract extension on Monday, reportedly making him a $100 million young man. And, considering the hometown discount he apparently took that left potentially millions on the table, the adored Greek Freak gave the Bucks and their fans plenty of reasons to love him even more.

He must really like living in Milwaukee.

The team announced the deal – though it did not release financial terms – and scheduled a press conference for Tuesday afternoon, after Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski first broke the news of the four-year, $100 million agreement. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst tweeted that the extension is for less than the maximum and contains no player options, provisions which he said Antetokounmpo was willing to accept in order to help the Bucks better "retain talent."

If that sentiment is accurate, it makes sense, given Antetokounmpo – after a breakout third season in 2015-16 during which he emerged as a rising NBA star and became the Bucks’ primary playmaker – probably could have asked for more money. He was a strong candidate to receive Milwaukee's designated player extension, which would have been for five guaranteed years, starting at next season’s maximum salary – an amount that would have earned Antetokounmpo more annually, and for an extra year, because the league salary cap is expected to rise again in 2017.

But Antetokounmpo, a charisma-filled and family-focused 21-year-old whose journey from poverty in Greece to American sports icon has been well-chronicled, has publicly always maintained that winning is the most important thing to him.

On its surface, this seems like the ultimate team-first move by a highly conscientious guy.

The Bucks were able to lock in the popular player for what is a discount contract already and will no doubt be considered even more of a bargain next season, when lesser players likely sign bigger deals with the even-higher cap. Notably, the four-year extension, which begins in 2017-18, is for a little bit less than the value of the maximum contract this season, and it should continue to appreciate going forward. Since it’s below the max, the Bucks couldn’t offer him a five-year deal; if they’d have given him that full designated player maximum extension, it would have cost upward of an estimated $140 million over five years.

Even though the NBA is financially flush right now, there is some economic uncertainty in its near future that likely urged non-maximum terms for Antetokounmpo’s deal on the team’s end, as well. First, the salary cap for 2017 and beyond is unknown, meaning the total value of contracts could increase or decrease. Second, the current collective bargaining agreement has a mutual opt-out in 2017; if either side invokes its option to reopen labor negotiations, the result could be a different max-contract value for players or potentially a league lockout.

Since teams are only allowed to designate one player for the five-year max after their rookie contract, giving Antetokounmpo four years leaves open the possibility of offering the extension to Jabari Parker, who isn’t yet deserving of it but could be next year if he takes a major step forward. Along with Antetokounmpo, Parker is the face of the franchise and part of the Bucks’ vaunted young core of talent, which also includes Khris Middleton and rookie Thon Maker. Maintaining financial flexibility is key to Milwaukee being able to pay everyone it needs to compete for a championship.

Big man John Henson, who received a contract extension from the Bucks before last season, certainly sounded happy for his teammate.

Antetokounmpo, who was a raw and virtually unheard-of player when the Bucks drafted him 15th overall from Greece in 2013, has steadily improved in three NBA seasons. In 2015-16, the physically gifted 6-foot-11 athlete took over as the Bucks’ main ball-handler midway through the season and became the first player in franchise history to record five triple-doubles. He posted career highs in points (16.9), rebounds (7.7), assists (4.3), field-goal percentage (50.6), usage rate (21.8) and PER (18.86). Antetokounmpo's shown superstar flashes, is the most intriguing point guard-type player in the game and has said he wants to help Milwaukee become what Oklahoma City was with Kevin Durant – but, of course, to actually win a title.

For reference, Chandler Parsons got a four-year, $94 million max contract from the Grizzlies this summer; he's 27 and regressing. Four years from now, Antetokounmpo will be only 25. How much will he have improved by then? 

So although he’s giving up one important guaranteed season in this deal, Antetokounmpo also would get to unrestricted free agency one year earlier. He could have demanded the maximum, which is what many league insiders expected him to get, and the Bucks could have waited until Antetokounmpo reached restricted free agency next year, when they would have had more economic certainty and different options.

But clearly both sides wanted the same thing: Giannis staying in Milwaukee, which he will until at least 2021. And hey, $100 million still buys a lot of smoothies (and hopefully brings many more Bieber impressions).

What did you think of the contract? Were you surprised? Let us know in the comments.

Stay tuned to OnMilwaukee on Tuesday for news and analysis after the Bucks’ 1 p.m. press conference announcing Antetokounmpo's extension. 

Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter

Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.

After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.

Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.