2024-25 Milwaukee Bucks thread

[patrickgpe]

Giannis is mad when anyone leaves. Kidd, Jrue, Middleton etc. He is fiercely loyal. 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Just now, patrickgpe said:

I really doubt that he is. I doubt he wasn't in the loop on these 2 moves. There was meeting last month at the end of the season where they laid out their plan to go "all in". I'm sure releasing Dame and getting a top FA would have been mentioned. If Giannis wants win, having Dame in street clothes taking 35% of your cap, isn' the way.

He probably said the equivalent of he "feels bad about it" and someone ran with that.

[patrickgpe]

Just now, OldSchoolSnapper said:

He probably said the equivalent of he "feels bad about it" and someone ran with that.

the national media has been working on getting Giannis out of Milwaukee for like 5 years. 

[patrickgpe]

Dame is elated to be waived. I remember reading when the move happened that he was less than thrilled to be here. 

https://athlonsports.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/damian-lillard-feelings-waived-bucks-news-giannis-antetokounmpo

[Joseph Zarr]

All I have to say is 'Whoa'. That is all. Bucks front court is absolutely LIT. Move Kooz for anything and I don't think even Glenn can screw it up. He has his starting 2 back in Prince. Let's...ummm...roll! 

[HarryDoyle]

1 hour ago, patrickgpe said:

the national media has been working on getting Giannis out of Milwaukee for like 5 years. 

I wish I could like this infinity times. ESPN, et al absolutely hate small markets.

[Matt Breen]

38 minutes ago, patrickgpe said:

Dame is elated to be waived. I remember reading when the move happened that he was less than thrilled to be here. 

https://athlonsports.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/damian-lillard-feelings-waived-bucks-news-giannis-antetokounmpo

Should put to rest any comments that Giannis is unhappy. He should be thrilled with the team we are putting together (considering what the personnel was like a week ago). 

Not sure how good we will be, but it will be interesting. 

[Matt Breen]

2 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

I wish I could like this infinity times. ESPN, et al absolutely hate small markets.

ESPN doesn't hate small markets. They like the buzz it creates - and the traffic - from big markets who want Giannis (or any athlete from a small market). It's about money. 

[Matt Breen]

Lillard’s agent Aaron Goodwin put out a statement.

“It’s an incredible opportunity for Damian,” Goodwin said. “He receives all of his money guaranteed, and it provides him an opportunity to decide his next destination as an unrestricted free agent. He gets a chance to rehab at home if he chooses to, and be with his family and his kids for the next year. The goal is for him to take his time and make a decision on what his next destination will be.”

[patrickgpe]

12 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

I wish I could like this infinity times. ESPN, et al absolutely hate small markets.

yeah once Giannis is gone, there is no reason to put the bucks on national TV for the foreseeable future. 

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, patrickgpe said:

Dame is elated to be waived. I remember reading when the move happened that he was less than thrilled to be here. 

https://athlonsports.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/damian-lillard-feelings-waived-bucks-news-giannis-antetokounmpo

Yeah, I remember that... it seemed like it was mostly Heat fans and they were reading his body language from being picked up at the airport. I didn't see anything from him...and even now it seems like it's just about him being able to sign with whoever he wants, doesn't have to worry about getting paid. 

I love Giannis, but...I'm confused how he can be upset about THAT. Dame is going to be 37 when he's back on the floor. 

I thought Turner had signed an extension with the Pacers, but the Bucks had been tied to him for years. 

Insofar as the Bucks should remain competitive, it's about as good of a signing as I could have hoped for from them. 

The Bucks are still missing their...Middleton or whoever. I wonder if Portis may be shipped out, hopefully with Kuzma for a scorer(Though who the hell is gonna want that combo for a legit #2). 

Still...good start to the off-season.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Athlon is a clickbait rag. 

That said, no ill feelings toward Dame. It just didn't work. It never worked. It was a valiant attempt on the part of the Bucks to grab the biggest name that was out there. A true second star, at a time when it was obvious the Bucks needed a reliable scorer. They just never played off each other the way you wished they would have. I applaud the Bucks for biting the bullet and moving forward. I don't know that they'll be any better. I would think that they will be, but I know for a fact they weren't going to get back to the Finals with Giannis and Dame.

[Joseph Zarr]

I can not get over the post-season implications of swapping out One C Myles Turner for one C Brook Lopez. ALL love to Brook. He is a Bucks legend. BUT, Turner is a starting caliber switchable 4/5 in every series. Brook was played off the court versus nearly all playoff teams. It's such a massive upgrade. I am still mildly in a state of shock. 😅

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Dame getting hurt was oddly the best imaginable outcome for the Bucks. I doubt any of this happens without that. It forced them down a road they probably hadn't even thought of. Yes it comes at a substantial cost, but with the injuries in the East and the way this further depletes Indiana, I can't really think of a way that the Bucks could have given themselves this much of a chance.

[LouisEly]

7 hours ago, patrickgpe said:

Dame is elated to be waived. I remember reading when the move happened that he was less than thrilled to be here. 

https://athlonsports.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/damian-lillard-feelings-waived-bucks-news-giannis-antetokounmpo

Didn't he say after his first game playing with Giannis something like, "I could do this all day"?

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Dame was a team guy. He left it out all there. Didn't work and he got hurt. But I still think Milwaukee wouldn't have been his first choice. He can rehab from home now, not have to be around any club, and then choose where he wants to be role player and maybe chase a ring. 

[BrewerFan]

3 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Didn't he say after his first game playing with Giannis something like, "I could do this all day"?

Yeah, he said a lot of great things about playing with Giannis.

He's a top 75 player of all-time who was overly loyal to Portland, went to the best possible fit for him on paper and then played poorly by his standards in Yr1 and in Yr2, he was fine, the Bucks just really needed that reliable 3rd threat and they didn't have it.  The short time they had the kinda "big 4" on the court, the Bucks were a dominant team. Dame/Giannis/Middleton was +18.5 and +16 without Lopez. That was based on 600 minutes together, but we all know how that went. 

They needed a fluke season of good health and couldn't get that. 

I'm kinda torn as we probably should be trading Giannis, but the East is so wide open, it's really hard to blame the team trying to win and keep a player and person like him in Milwaukee his entire career. However, if he does decide he wants to leave, I can't imagine Turner would have hard to move at ~26M AAV and teams will still lineup for Giannis. 

 

I don't think Giannis can do anything that would make me too upset as a Bucks fan at this point. I'd totally understand asking out and I'd love the guy if he stayed in Milwaukee and played until he was 40... 2021 was something I never thought I'd see. Maybe I've got a lower bar than others.

[LouisEly]

And over the last half year the Bucks got a lot younger.

At the start of last season, there were five players older than Giannis - Lopez, Middleton, Lillard, Prince, Connaughton.  

Now Prince is the only one.

[patrickgpe]

1 hour ago, LouisEly said:

Didn't he say after his first game playing with Giannis something like, "I could do this all day"?

He wanted to go the heat. Either way, I wish him well, I wish it worked out better. I still think if that of Giannis and dame were healthy in 2024-26. Get brook for 2/18, they would be a better team. That wasn’t the case and it’s hard to have 1/3 of cap out for the year when another player that is 1/3 of your cap and the best player in history of your franchise could force a trade if he feels you aren’t competing for a belt. 

[BrewerFan]

5 hours ago, patrickgpe said:

He wanted to go the heat. Either way, I wish him well, I wish it worked out better. I still think if that of Giannis and dame were healthy in 2024-26. Get brook for 2/18, they would be a better team. That wasn’t the case and it’s hard to have 1/3 of cap out for the year when another player that is 1/3 of your cap and the best player in history of your franchise could force a trade if he feels you aren’t competing for a belt. 

Of course they'd have been better off if Dame hadn't gotten hurt. I really like Turner... but it also doesn't seem like Doc was going to play the rotation that I think would make the most sense in that scenario.

 

He loves his vets. To that point, they've rescinded the qualifying offer to Ryan Rollins and signed Gary Harris, another player we'd been connected to(and would have been a nice pickup as a option off the bench) in past year. 

 

I don't like rescinding that offer to Rollins. He's 22(or just 23) years old and... just feels like the type of player who won't became a star by any means, but could be a really nice rotational player. He could defend, shoot the 3. Basically what Harris has been in the past. 

I'm guessing Andre Jackson Jr is going to be on his way out at some point. Doc just doesn't play young players... which in his case is frustrating because as ugly as his game may be, he's a guy who gets you extra possessions, he hit corner 3s. He's a pretty nice passer. Can't dribble and has no other offensive game, but I think he's a guy who helps you win game. 

 

But, here's to hoping Harris can have a resurgence in the 2nd half of the year. 

 

[patrickgpe]

Maybe Rollins is a procedural thing. Have to be under the cap to get the lillard and turner deal done and will resign him after that’s done? 

[CheezWizHed]

Dame getting released is his best-case scenario.  He wasn't going to play next year, so he has no responsibilities.  He gets all his money for the next two years from the Bucks, so he loses no money.  Whatever contract he gets in 2027 (when he could've been still under contract with the Bucks) is add-on money. So congrats on getting a raise for being injured!

As many said, Dame's offensive game just didn't work well with Giannis.  It seems like it should've been the perfect complement... but just didn't. Then you have Dame's and Brook's defensive liabilities, and it just was a poor match.

The best-looking Bucks team last year was:

• When Dame was injured and KPJ was going off. 
• When Giannis or Dame played with the other on the bench. 

Now Dame is going to be 37 and coming off a serious injury.... his defense won't improve.  His ability to drive and keep people out of his face (defending the 3) won't improve... Moving on was the best option. 

We might have some scoring questions with Giannis on the bench, but the defense should be much improved this year. 

[CheezWizHed]

5 minutes ago, patrickgpe said:

Maybe Rollins is a procedural thing. Have to be under the cap to get the lillard and turner deal done and will resign him after that’s done? 

More likely it means they won't sign him for more than the minimum.  I'd guess someone else is going to offer him more than that... and now we can't match it. 

I don't like it personally.  I think he has a bright future as a solid role player (the type of cheap players we need).

 

[GAME05]

Wonder if Lillard will go back to Portland and finish off his career there or if he'll try and go for a ring.

[patrickgpe]

30 minutes ago, GAME05 said:

Wonder if Lillard will go back to Portland and finish off his career there or if he'll try and go for a ring.

maybe he will end there, but not for this upcoming contract. I think he will want to go somewhere warm, LAL or Miami is most likely. Portland isn't a contender.