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Gary Payton is mentoring Giannis Antetokounmpo, but will he actually be a point forward?

Few young NBA players have captured the imaginations of fans like Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the 19-year-old "Greek Freak" who served as his team's finest source of hope on the way to a league-worst record in 2013-14. Antetokounmpo isn't just raw — he genuinely seems to be discovering his own abilities in the moment and isn't even done growing. It's tough to predict his future or eventual position, because the possibilities currently seem endless.

The Bucks haven't attempted to label Antetokounmpo just yet, but they do appear to be steering him towards a few particular skills, if not a position as such. During a press event in Greece, nine-time NBA All-Star Gary Payton said that the Bucks and new head coach Jason Kidd have asked him to work with Antetokounmpo this training camp (via Bucksketball):

“Jason (Kidd) let me see (Giannis Antetokounmpo) personally. I talked to him after some of the Summer League games. Jason put him at the point guard in the Summer League and he did very well at the point guard. I’m going to go down there for the preseason and training camp and work with him a little bit on his point guard skills. Being 6’10″ or 6’11″, he has great skills to play basketball (at) the point. I think he’s going to be very successful if he gets point guard skills. He’s very talented. He’s a young kid. He’s raw. so he needs to work on a lot of things. Last year, when he was in Milwaukee, he was hurt a little bit and he didn’t get to play as much. (With) a coach coming in like Jason, who is a point guard, who also, I think he’s going to be very good, but he just needs a little guidance. They’re a very young basketball team; they don’t have veterans that can teach him things, so he needs someone like myself of Jason to teach him the skills.

It remains unclear if the Bucks want to use Antetokounmpo as a point guard (or point forward) or simply want him to develop skills as a facilitator. The roster is full of combo guards like Brandon Knight, O.J. Mayo, and Jerryd Bayless — Kendall Marshall, already a journeyman at 23, and second-year pro Nate Wolters are the lone pure points. Given those options, it would make sense to let Antetokounmpo try to serve as the team's primary facilitator. He can bring the ball up the court, impresses often enough as a passer to suggest that he could become really good at it, and most crucially seems able to pick up any skill he wants.

It may seem unnecessary to hire an outside consultant for this job when the best passer of his and Payton's generation already heads the coaching staff, but "The Glove" seems like a better option for Antetokounmpo's style of play. While Kidd could dice up defenses in a variety of ways, he was perhaps most adept from a removed position, especially in his later seasons. On the other hand, Payton was decidedly active, most obviously on defense but also as a scorer and in pick-and-roll play. He also had to learn how to become a better passer, whereas Kidd always seemed to have a natural understanding of how to set up his teammates.

Regardless of how things turn out between Payton and Antetokounmpo, it's nice to see that the Bucks are looking at his development creatively and not trying to box him in at such an early point in his career (and life). Even if he never becomes a true point guard — which, let's be honest, seems very unlikely — Giannis can at least learn enough to become a much more versatile. Eventually, he could be a do-everything forward who can bring the ball up to take pressure off guards, score in a variety of ways, pass out of the post, rebound, and defend many different positions.

It's too bad that Lamar Odom can't really get hired as a personal coach these days. I'm sure he'd have a lot to teach Antetokounmpo.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!