BREAKING NEWS: Milwaukee Bucks Sign Myles Turner and Waive Damian Lillard Reaction

BREAKING NEWS: Milwaukee Bucks Sign Myles Turner and Waive Damian Lillard Reaction

have confidence nor would I have loved going into season with the idea that in 202 You’re relying on Dameches in his mid30s to be a championship team. So So is this the end of what they do to become a championship team? No. But is this the start of getting younger? I mean they’ve add shot I believe two years ago was with the Nuggets and a spot which we taugh this whole time. What does need to be to be successful? We saw what Giannis was able to do heading into playoffs without he was an absolute monster. Triple triples owning the court. It’s all about younger than he has a great fit in with what the Bucks will attempt to do. He doesn’t gobble up a ton of rebounds, but you need a piece like that to stretch 61 whenever Brook Sims I want to sit here and say yeah 2020 25 season we’re going this is moving in the right direction. sign for years. You resigned Gary onion deal who I think is going to be great. These are allse right now. Forget Jiannis has to be happy with what John Horst has done cuz you could have felt a little bit scared over the first 18 to 24 hours 18 hours of free agency thinking what are we doing? We’re sitting on our hands. There was a lot of misinformation about the Bucks being a sec second apron second apron team limiting their ability to go out in free agency and get players to bolster up the roster because they traded Chris Middleton when they did. Nobody’s celebrating the fact that Kyle Kosma is still on the roster, but it opened up opportunity to build forward and they’re building forward. I miss Drew Holiday, right? It was a great run, but at this point, they need to the the the only missing link here right now for the Bucks is a point guard. Bingo.
They need a point guard. But but this is exactly what you want if you’re a Bucks fan. Excitement in free agency. Cuz if Bucks fans are feeling this excitement, Giannis is feeling that excitement. And for all the times we’ve laughed at the yonsense that’s been going on all around every TV station, every stupid Twitter account that’s trying to click farm and get engagement. It’s done. It’s absolutely done. Giannis is a Milwaukee Buck. John Horst continues to swing. You got to give some credit to John Horst because everyone had doubts the extended John Horst. I I was one of them. I’m not going to lie. I was like extending John Horst. I’ve never seen him have to rebuild, right? He was in a spot where he did the trade in the middle of the season last year and opened up opportunities to make moves to rebuild a roster with Giannis for this next iteration of hopefully what is longer than two years left on his contract. But proving to him, we’re going to do everything to provide you what you need to win another championship, which you made very clear on the finale show with his brother that it is your next goal in your NBA career. That’s Ben Brust, Alex Dro with you reacting to all the Bucks free agency madness, free agency frenzy here on ESPN Wisconsin, the ESPN Wisconsin app and ESPN Milwaukee and ESPN Madison on YouTube. So, a couple takeaways from everything you just said there, Benny. Really good rant by you because I think
it’s not a rant, that’s just information.
A good rave by you, a good diet tribe,
not yelling at anybody. Um, I think you’re yelling at
Bucks fans in a positive way. I think it’s a good yell. It’s like a motivational yell. And he so here two things I want to take away from everything you just said. Number one, the John Horse piece. I think it’s so important to acknowledge everything he’s done during his tenure as a general manager of the Bucks. Sure, he hasn’t been the greatest drafter in the world. We can acknowledge that, but sure, but I also think he should get a little bit of a pass with where they draft.
Correct. And I agree with that. Right. Late round picks are are hit and miss all the time. It’s just been more misses. And that’s okay because guess what? You have one of the greatest players in the world in Jiannisko if not the greatest player in the world and you are capitalizing on his prime. When you think back to the past uh let’s go five seasons. Every swing that John Horst has taken is a swing that every general manager in professional sports would take. Right? Think back to 2020 when they acquired Drew Holiday that ultimately wound up in a championship couple years ago when they swung at Damen Lillard. I think if you ask John Horse right now after he waves Damen Lillard and that era comes to an end after two seasons if he would take that swing again 10 out of times he’d say yes.
Yes.
And you just mentioned the mid-season trade. Chris Middleton goes out they bring in Kyle Kosma and sure it didn’t look super pretty down the stretch last season but to your point it was to get under the second apron and it was to allow for flexibility to make moves like they have in the last 18 hours. And so all credit goes to John Horse. The guy knows what the hell he’s doing. And I think anybody that had doubts about John Horse legitimacy as as a general manager in the NBA and his legitimacy in building a title contender, well, I think you can throw those doubts in the trash now because I think he’s proven he’s capable of that. The other part of this is we talked all offseason, you you reference it as Jonsense, which I love. when you reference it as Jonsense. We talked how do you make the pitch to Giannis and I think a lot of us were were fine with the pitch of well yeah you know it’s going to be a gap year. It’s going to be a year where Giannis can go out and have fun playing basketball and he can win his third MVP and he can put up career numbers.
Yeah, it sure was. That’s not how you treat a uh top five if not top two NBA player in the world.
Absolutely. And just like throwing your bad John Horst opinions in the trash, you could throw the Gapier conversations in the trash because this Miles Turner move signals that this team is back in title contention in the in a wideopen Eastern Conference, right? No Jason Tatum, no Tyresese Hallebertton, obviously no Damen Lillard, but he’s going to spend the season rehabbing and then will be a true free agent next season. This is an open Eastern Conference. There’s still good teams, don’t get me wrong. Cleveland’s still going to be good. Boston will still be good even without Jason Tatum. Orlando’s geared up for a legitimate push.
I like what the Hawks have done.
I also like what the Hawks have done. Good point by you. Uh but I think the Bucks have now catapulted themselves right back into the title contention conversation, which is huge because I think 18 hours ago even we were still open to the idea that this could be a quote unquote gap year. And I’m glad you mentioned what this means for the landscape of the overall NBA and specifically the Eastern Conference, right? Because a lot of the times that we looked at all right well Tatum and Hallebertton the Pacers who went to back-to-back Eastern Conference finals don’t have Hallebertton and have just let go of a piece who walked who they didn’t obviously sign who had been there for 10 years. Great coach and Rick Carile but there’s no way with how they’re constructed that they can replicate what they’ve done the last two seasons. And part of the reason why is when your best player who’s not a Giannis on dempo type in Tyresese Hallebert and goes down, you just don’t have enough horses to continue to do what you’ve done. So you can I don’t want to say eliminate. I mean it’s still a very wideopen East and free agency isn’t done. We haven’t even mentioned the fact that Pat Coneton was traded. Pat Coneton was traded for a player that is basically they’re saving $1.3 million on the player they traded for that I’m g leave his name for you
who’s going back over to Europe. It’s essentially an open roster spot for the Bucks continue to try and build with pieces and offers that they have to Ryan Holland that they have a qualifying offer out there for. I mean when you think about the off season and you think about like very early on it was Kevin Porter Jr. Torian Prince and um Gary Trent, you’re like, it very much felt like uhoh, the Bucks are just doing the run it back thing. Then you can look at now what they’ve added. They’ve added Miles Turner and they’ve added Gary Harris and they moved on from a bad contract and a player that was not going to contribute in Pat Coneton and opened up a roster spot to Phil. I don’t know if that’s going to be thin assump. We’ll see. We’ll see. But my overall point is they have put themselves in 2025 to be in the conversation not just like we we went from hey this team cannot be a playin team to this team needs to be a a three or four seed to give themselves a shot to make a run when you have the greatest player on the planet who I’m excited for. I have such high expectations for Giannis ba maybe unfair based off what he did the last portion of the season without Damen Lillard but he did it without Damen Lillard and a group in which they had a lot of pieces that they just added more pieces to this team for him to be more successful with a stretch five who’s a shooter who’s younger who can get up and down the court a little bit faster. We knock on your athletic ability. It’d be fun to watch you, Alex Dro, go a 40-yard dash against Brook Lopez because he moves.
I think I might have that one.
No, I don’t think you do. But I just want to point out like he’s aging, but they got younger there. Gary Harris, a good refresh reset. We saw Gary Trenton what he was able to do. They added shooters around him and this feels like a Giannis type season where he can not put the team on his back but simply show each and every year how he’s able to adapt to whatever team he has and continue to show his greatness. Benny Buckets, Benny Brust, myself, Alex Drove hanging out with you. Ben Brus going to hang with me for about another 15 minutes. We’ve got a stacked guest lineup for you as well as we’re with you until 2 o’clock on our breaking news coverage here on ESPN Wisconsin. Gabe Knit are going to join us from a sunny golf course at about 12:30 once Ben departs. We will talk to ESPN’s Tim Bonds at 12:45 on everything the Bucks have been getting into. And Evan Cohen of ESPN radios on Sportsman like will join me at 1:30 this afternoon uh breaking down all things Milwaukee Bucks. More reaction. Miles Turner in. Damen Lillard out. The Milwaukee Bucks very active in the first 18 hours of NBA free agency
guard somehow.
Chris Paul’s coming to Milwaukee. That’s not news. That’s just my prediction. More of this. I
was going to say Shams.
I could be more of this with Ben Bruss coming up right after this. ESPN Wisconsin. Breaking news on ESPN Milwaukee. The Bucks have signed free agent center Miles Turner to a 4-year deal. Stay up todate on the move right here. 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app, and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. With Toush, you won’t miss a play.
Favre Rogers love. Great player, great player, great player. If if you’re in the crowd that believes he is going to be on par with those other two, then this is a pivotal year for him to show that he is capable of doing that.
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No, no, no, no. cuz Kurt Haynes tweeted out that Giannis is upset about Damen Lillard and Lillard and now the internet is running with memes of Giannis in different jerseys and it’s ridiculous. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Even Even when I filmed with our great ESPN Milwaukee correspondent of social media, Madison Hayes,
correspondent of social media. Yeah. I mean, it all works. All I was mentioning is you move on from Dame and if you’re Giannis, you have to be smiling. And then the Chris Haynes report came out and now everyone’s like, he’s not smiling. He’s get out of my face with this. Chris Haynes, who I respect, he’s a very, very wellrespected journalist, but he does have strong ties to Damen Lillard. And so this was the same conversation we had when Drew Holiday was traded. And everyone, you just said everyone would take the swing for Damen Lillard. 10 out of 10. Hindsight, uh, throwing it in the garbage. So, at the end of the day, Giannis is going to see the light, and I guarantee he already sees the light with what the Bucks have done to build a younger team with more shooters around him after moving on from Brook Lopez. The only player left from the 2021 championship after training Pat Conson is Bubb. And so, again, this is about building a new core for Giannis to win a second championship.
Yes, it is. So, let’s just take a look at the conflicting reports for a moment. So, Chris Haynes, longtime senior NBA insider, tweeted this breaking. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Tennako is not pleased with the team’s decision to wave Damen Lillard. League sources tell me it’s plural, so maybe more than Damian. Uh, Sham Shirani, however, wrote this in his ESPN.com article about Miles Turner joining the Bucks.
Turner and Anakmpao both valued the opportunity to partner on the court during the process. sources told ESPN, also plural, with Anakmpo considering his future and whether his best fit was with the Bucks moving forward, Milwaukee executives once again make a major move. It’s a source off, but here’s the fact of the matter. The fact of the matter is, I will say this, and I believe this in my heart of hearts, and I know Bucks fans do, too. Damen Lillard off an Achilles injury, he will not be playing in this season. And if you’re trying to win a championship, the best route for the Milwaukee Bucks is to unfortunately wave that money that you are waving Damen L with down into the future so you can have an opportunity to go get somebody else because I don’t believe in my heart of hearts and with my basketball brain that coming back off of an Achilles injury at Damen Lord’s age, which would be the 2026 27 season, is a good idea to try and win a champion. ship with it’s just not. So Horst had to make a business decision despite it probably hurting. I don’t know. This is different than baseball, right? No salary cap. We talk about show Otani and the Dodgers how they defer all that money into the future. This is the NBA. It will likely hit their books. It might put them in a spot that makes them a little bit more vulnerable. But you had to do this to get a piece that you believe could help you as a team win a championship. Justin on the cardless talking text line 80099-3776. Your way into the show. We’ll hear from you in the one:00 hour. 80099-3776. Justin says would not be shocked if Giannis portrayed he was sad for his friend and teammate. But obviously Chris spins that as as he’s mad. They are obsessed. Let it go on Giannis.
For sure. Look, at the end of the day, we know that like if you’re Dame’s guy, you’re going to put that out.
Yeah. Right. like, “Oh, Giannis is upset about Dame. Look at how valuable the person I’m close with. I got to have his back in this post.”
And look, you could you could two things could be true, Ben, right? Obviously, you can feel sad that you didn’t accomplish what you wanted to with with one of the best players ever and Damen Lillard, right? Top 75 player of all time. But you can also be happy that the window is back open
and he’s not going to play next year,
right? It’s not like you’re missing out on on brilliant Damen Lillard play in 2526 because he’s not going to play. Who knows what he looks like the year after coming off an Achilles in
another year older plus off the
Let’s not forget before this season he was a decoy in the year prior
the Indiana Pacers right absolutely yeah you’re right about that so I I I think all in all this is brilliant by the Milwaukee Bucks we can just say it John Horst John Hor yeah and the entire front office because I I I mean when we were talking about this even yesterday Ben you know we said well this is a really crucial two weeks Right. You’ve got to put at at the very least you have to put on the act that you’re putting together a championship contending team for Giannis if you want him to stay because this gap year conversation that we had plenty of and I think prior to the Miles Turner signing it was realistic that that’s what they were looking at right yesterday the first day of free agency all they did was run it back. It was it it felt like our gap year conversations were justified until horse started making these moves domino after domino from Miles Turner to Gary Harris to moving on from an expiring contract that you no one was going to trade for his expiring contract because he’s got zero value other than it being an expiring contract. But I still want to know how you be like, “Hey, do you want Pat Coneton?” He put a 40 in game uh 82 when we sat the whole team.
Yeah, correct. Yeah, careerh high for Pat Coneton in his uh I mean his final regular season game as a Milwaukee Buck. He is out. Uh the name of the man in from Charlotte is Vicilia Meich,
which he’s going overseas,
right? I mean it’s it’s just a move to get rid of to get rid of a salary, you save uh a little over a million dollars and you open up a roster spot for more opportunity to build around.
You’re calling a shot that’s stasis. I think so.
I think so too. I think so too.
I really do. Josh and Hartland on the carbless text line. 800990-3776 lists more with our friends from Carbless. Josh and Hartland says breaking Giannis not pleased with the report that he is not pleased. Very good.
Also, here’s why Thanasses would be a good thing. Because all the people that were watching Thanasses in the States on the courtside seats at Bucks Arena, I don’t think people understand and they need to really dig deeper to understand. Watch the documentary about Giannis and his journey. Not the Disney version, the actual documentary of Giannis’s version of how he got to the States and how he became a Milwaukee Buck. Those two are more connected than anybody in this world can maybe even understand because maybe you had an upbringing that was tough. times that by selling shoes and jewelry on the street to coming to America and building your life here. That connection with your older brother. I we’ve heard Jeff Teague on podcast. We’ve heard everybody on podcast. Giannis doesn’t know how to operate. When Thesis isn’t around, he plays better and he is locked in. From the moment he opens up his eyes, they are texting. They are making sure that the mindset is right. I don’t care what a minimum contract is for Thanasses. The value he brings. He’s also a phenomenal teammate.
Yeah, he’s the he’s the most important 12th guy in the NBA.
And I know people can laugh at that. There might be memes that go out when he resigns. I don’t care. I am telling you the value of the greatest player in the world having his brother around on a daily basis is important.
I would agree. Ben Bruss, more from you at two o’clock on Kyle Bron Orman. Thanks, buddy.
Yes, this is a good day.
Yeah, it is a good day. Bobby Bonila day, by the way. Damen Lillard day now. Yeah, both whatever. Both deferred contracts Josh. Yeah, shut up, Josh. Gabe Nitel, Jen, Gabe, and Chewy, NBA expert according to ESPN.com joins me. Coming up next, it’s the ESPN Wisconsin free agency frenzy with you across ESPN. Breaking news on ESPN Milwaukee. The Bucks have waved allstar Damen Lillard. Stay uptodate on the move right here on 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. Kyle Brussenorman’s Ben Bruss here for Grimal and Associates Insurance. They do what anyone with a growing family like myself does. Protect what matters most. Grimal and Associates specializes in coverage that’s tailored exactly to you. Clients aren’t just policies. They’re part of their community. Personalized American Family Insurance back service. expert guidance and genuine commitment. Grimmalan Associates focuses on building trusted relationships and providing peace of mind, the same values they’ve had for over 30 years in the Milwaukee area. Connect with Grimald Associates at team grammar.com. At Citizens Bank, community banking is you growing your business with a partner who gets it. It’s you buying your first home with a lender who makes it easy. It’s you building a future with savings that work just as hard as you. And it’s us working together to strengthen our community. Because at Citizens Bank, community banking means you plus us. Visit us at citizensbankwi.bank. Citizens Bank is member FDIC and equal housing lender.
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The Bucks have signed free agent center miles turner to a 4-year deal. Stay up todate on the move right here. 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app, and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. Goodbye Gapier. Goodbye Damian Lillard. Hello Miles Turner. ESPN Wisconsin free agency frenzy continues ESPN Milwaukee, ESPN Madison, ESPN. I’m Alex Stro, Joshy Deagio running the show for us this afternoon. Excited to be joined now, I think from the first the first te I think. Gabe Nitel, Jen, Gabe and Chewy, NBA expert joins us now. Gabe, I’m just gonna give you the floor, bro. I mean, this has been quite an 18 hours for the Milwaukee Bucks. Go ahead. Well, I mean, I I can’t believe that they did something like this because nobody saw it coming because nobody thought anybody would be crazy enough to eat, you know, roughly, you know, $22 million over the course of, you know, every year for the next five years. And I I just don’t think we give a as a fan base, John Horst, enough credit, right? Like how much as a fan base do we hear about Brian Gudicush? Oh, he needs to go for it. Oh, how come he didn’t go for it? That’s all John Horse does is take these big swings. And I understand he hasn’t done a good enough job in the draft. Well, look, they draft picks anyway. Who cares the draft? Like when when you’re in a situation where you’re trying to consistently make sure that Giannis is happy and you can be competitive and he somehow answers, you know, I mean, I remember I remember when they traded for Drew Holidayiday. It was like, man, Drew Holiday was like that perfect fit for him. they just don’t know how they can do it and he somehow gets creative with the deal and gets the gets the job done. When Damen Lillard was out there, man, Dame would would kind of be nice. You know, the Bucks didn’t have somebody that they could really rely with the basketball in the playoffs last year. Maybe if they go out and get Dave, he gets really creative and goes get goes and gets Dame and and look, I’m really excited for Miles Turner because I he helps them accomplish their goal of getting younger. He can play next to Giannis, plays defense, can knock down open shots from the perimeter, so he’s not going to clog up the paint. He’s the younger version of Brook Lopez. He’s going to be able to move better than Brooke. And as painful as it was for me, I love Brook Lopez. As painful as it was to see him go, watching this team get younger was absolutely necessary. And it’s credit to John Horse. Now, again, could this blow up in his face? Yeah, I suppose it could because you’re paying $22 million a year for nobody. You’re just going to have to eat that on the cap for the next five seasons. But it seems to me that’s what was necessary in order to, you know, get something. Even if Dame opts into his deal next year, are you going to have to add draft picks to whatever his contract is in order to get something of value in return the way they had to add two draft picks to the Pat Coneton deal today? So, I mean, again, it’s a risk, but it’s a calculated risk and I think it makes the team a lot better on the floor
and I think it elevates them back into the championship contention conversation in the Eastern Conference, Gabe. Right. I mean, you don’t have to deal with Jason Tatum who’s likely going to miss all of next season with an Achilles injury. Same thing for Tyrese Hallebertton and obviously Indiana now loses Miles Turner to Milwaukee. There’s still going to be good teams in the East, right? Cleveland is is pretty much all back with few exceptions. Uh Orlando’s had a really nice off seasonason. New York’s still up and coming. There’s still some good teams in the Eastern Conference, but I think with this Miles Turner ad to the Bucks, all of a sudden it goes from oh, gap year to oh wow, they’re actually right back in the mix in 2526. Well, and depending upon they I don’t think the Bucks are tiny. I don’t either.
You know, they they opened up the roster spot. They have I mean, we have to see how all the financials work out. And as complicated as this is in the NBA to try to figure out what all the the financials are, like they still have some, if not all of the mid-level exception remaining so they can go out and continue to add. Look, I mean, they they wanted to get younger. They want to get faster. They they want to be able to keep up with Giannis. And they’ve been able to do that. I think part of their plan was, hey, let’s get all these guys back that are around the same age as Giannis or a little bit younger. Yeah. And and try to, you know, knock down the age of this team and hopefully we can build up the chemistry with Giannis throughout the course of the season. And and again, as wide open as the East is, you know, maybe the Bucks just make a minor move now and save some of that mid-level exception for when, you know, the the trade deadline hits and they can try to add someone the way that John Hor has been able to do over the years. And again, not every move that John Horse has made has worked out, but he is the only general manager we have
that’s won a championship, who’s currently running a program, who’s currently running an NBA or a professional team. And he has been able to add to this team when nobody thought he would be able to. And they decided it was worth it to, you know, spend that money on Dame to be able to get the top free agents of this free agent class. And by doing that, you also made the Indiana Pacers weaker. And not just weaker for now, weaker in the future. Like Miles Turner was a big part of what the Indiana Pacers were this past year, the year before. And Tyresese Allebertton’s going to recover from that Achilles injury. He’s going to be a member of the Pacers. And now they’re going to have to figure out what they’re doing with their big guys and who’s going to be their center of the future. And and so not only did you strengthen your team, you also weakened a team that’s been able to knock you out of the playoffs the last couple of seasons. Gabe, I know you got to run, so I’m just going to throw two names at you quick in terms of point guards that maybe they could uh bring in potentially who are on the open market. Let me know if it’s a yes or no. Chris Paul. Um, no, because I’m never going to forgive him and I don’t know if Jiannis will ever forgive him for the dirty foul that should have been a flag in the finals uh four years ago when he just pushed him in the middle of the air. So, I’m on I’m out on CP3. I think this one’s more unlikely, but but another name that’s been floated around potentially is a point guard, Russell Westbrook. Yeah, I just don’t know how that fits. As much as I have always loved uh Russell Westbrook, um you need someone who can shoot better than Russell Westbrook can. I I think around Giannis, if you’re going to play minutes with Giannis now, if he’s just going to be a limited minutes guy off the bench where his his and Giannis’s minutes aren’t going to cross over a ton, um maybe. But yeah, I I I have a hard time uh seeing that. Plus, both of those guys are older. It doesn’t fit with this, hey, we’re trying to get younger um ethos that they they seemingly are operating on by right now.
But two proven options is what is why I bring them up. Gabe Knitel, swing them straight. We’ll be listening to you tomorrow, 7 a.m. on Jen, Gabe, and Chewy right here on ESPN Milwaukee. Thanks, buddy.
Can’t wait. Can’t wait. Bucks and six.
Bucks and six always. Gabe Nitel is going to be absolutely electric tomorrow. I mean, that’s I I was I was with Gabe Nitel. Steven Watson and him were pre-recording and on the tea um right as this news came through and Josh Deaggio is producing the show for us right now. Tweeted a an audio list video of Gab’s immediate reaction to the Miles Turner news. It’s on Twitter at Josh Deaggio. It’s amazing. You got to watch it if you haven’t already. Um Gabe is I mean I think it’s fair to say probably the biggest Bucks fan we have at at ESPN Wisconsin and he uh it was just electric. And then I got to I got to talk to Stephen and and uh Gabe as the Damen Lillard news came out. And I mean I think we’re all floored because this isn’t what you expected. You you wanted the Bucks to create a core around Giannis that said, “Hey, we’re legitimate title contenders once again.” And I think I keep saying 18 hours about to be 19 hours since free agency opened. I I think 18 or 19 hours ago, all of us were thinking it was still that gap year thing was probably going to happen, right? It’s going to be the gap year. They’re gonna they’re gonna just let Giannis go bonkers, have a great career year, maybe win another MVP, and then hopefully 25 and or 26 27 when Damen Lillard returns. And this is 19 hours ago now. Maybe they’ll have another shot at a title. Well, no. John Horst takes matters into his own hands and takes swing after swing after swing. And all of a sudden, this team looks like it could be geared up for a legitimate title contention already again next year, which is really, really, really good for Milwaukee. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps will join me coming up next as we break down all things Milwaukee Bucks. There’s plenty more moves we’ve barely even talked about, but obviously the Miles Turner move and the Damen Lillard waving are the big pieces of news right now for the Milwaukee Bucks. Tim Bonmps will break it all down with us from the Hoop Collective, senior ESPN NBA writer. Uh, can’t wait to get his national perspective on what the Bucks are doing because it is it’s that big of a deal. Front page news on ESPN.com. Tim Bontep’s next with me, Alex Dro. It’s ESPN Wisconsin’s free agency frenzy right here.
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Breaking news on ESPN Milwaukee. The Bucks have signed free agent center Miles Turner to a 4-year deal. Stay up tod date on the move right here. 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app, and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. The 2025 Deler ESPN Milwaukee Open is back at the bod. Tune in all day July 15th for our ESPN Milwaukee crew having fun and hitting the links. The 2025 Deler ESPN Milwaukee Open is sponsored by Marquette Athletics, PCI Construction, Discount Liquor, Loyal Family Renovations, The Jewelry Center, and Tony Wendorf and Associates. Join in on the fun July 15th on 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app, and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. Kors Light presents to chill or not to chill when your friend skips your favorite song on the playlist. End the friendship or choose chill because that song lives rentree in your head anyway and you planned ahead by bringing Kors Light to the party. And the sound of that ice cold can cracking open was music to your ears already. Coors Light. Choose chill. Celebrate responsibly. 2024 Kors Brewing Company, Golden Colorado.
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Breaking news on ESPN Milwaukee.
Reaction continues next. Stay up todate on the move right here on 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app, and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. [Music] Yeah, quiet day. Yeah, quiet day. 19 or so hours.
19 or so hours here in Milwaukee.
Nothing to talk about with Nothing to talk about. Senior NBA writer for ESPN, Tim. I’m Alex. I’m Alex with you from the group of studio on ESPN. You’re here on ESPN Wisconsin. Tim, really appreciate the time. Let’s start with the Miles because I think that’s the one where a lot of Bucks fans went. I imagine maybe Tim, what’s your reaction and maybe any inset you have on the Miles Turner to Milwaukee news? Yeah, certainly was a big surprise. Yeah, certainly was a big surprise to everybody across the league. Something they already had on their bingo card. Uh I would say it’s a rather it’s a rather uh desperate gambit. ask I would say to make this move uh over $22 million over $22 million in dead money on your cap money you can’t do anything with that will hamper the will moving forward the Bucks still have not replaced Damen Lillard Turner is a good player I would say he’s a moderate
slight to moderate upgrade on Brook Lopez but he’s not an allar an allstar center he’s not one of the five best centers in the league and he’s essentially now going to be paid $50 million over the next four years, which is an awful lot of money to pay for Miles Turner. And you know, look, the Bucks are clearly doing whatever they can to beat John Coop and Milwaukee, and I respect that on some level. It’s a very admirable approach. Um, but this is a I would say this was a pretty reckless decision to put to to make to do this move in the manner that they did, which is really the only way they could do it. Um, and again, if it keeps you honest there, totally get it. Totally understand it. Hard to argue with doing that. But this is one that is probably going to have some real sticker shock in the in the notsodistant future once the, you know, sort of the weight of that outlay for Miles Turner really starts to hit home.
I hear you on that. I I hear you on that. And I think piece is obviously where you want to keep happy. You want to keep happy. You want to show him that attempting to compete for a chance and that’s why they take this Turner on Miles Turner and it was reported by your team and effectively signed off on it. He he he wanted Miles Turner in Milwaukee. So that signals to me Tim and maybe maybe I’m overthinking this one but but I I I view that as okay well Giannis is going nowhere. He’s going to be in Milwaukee because he was in the loop on this Miles Turner thing. Is that your reaction as well? Yeah, I mean I would certainly expect that at least for the upcoming season Miles Turner will or Miles Turner will certainly be in Milwaukee, but I I would think Jiannis Koopo will also be in Milwaukee. Um but yeah, I mean look, I again I understand why the Bucks did it. They obviously did it to to keep to keep Giannis happy, but
I am not a proponent in ever waving and stretching a player because it just leaves you so limited in what you can do in the future. And that’s not that’s when you’re talking about waving a guy making 10 million, right? Let alone a guy making 12 times that or 11 times that. Like it’s just a staggering amount of money. And the the thing about having money on your stretch anything with it like even if like if they just not done anything with Dane for this year, right? At worst you would have had a $55 million expiring contract in a year and that would at least give you some flexibility to do some different things. But by doing this the way they did, it just it just makes for a um I mean it makes for a fascinating story and it’s it’s going to be really interesting to see how they look next season and where they go from here. But I would say the Bucks got slightly better than they were last year at center. They still have a lot of holes across the roster and they paid a very heavy price to do so. Tim Bontamp, senior NBA writer for ESPN and ESPN.com with me here on ESPN Wisconsin. Tim, I can almost hear you over the phone scratching your head. It sounds like a bit. So, after hearing you say that, it leads me to ask this. With the Miles Turner move and some of the moves they’ve made over the last 19 or so hours in free agency for Milwaukee, where do you view them in terms of the Eastern Conference hierarchy entering next season? No, I mean, look, I’m not scratching my head. I I totally get where this came from. It just this is a move that you make when you don’t have any other moves to make, right? That’s sort of what it that’s more what it feels like than anything. And frankly, at this point, I think the Bucks need to use their one first round pick they can trade and attach it to Kyle Koosma and go try to make another upgrade to this team because they I mean, they when you make this move, like you are all in with this team now and so you might as well go all the way in and try to get somebody else that can help. But um yeah, they’re just it it’s it’s they are a better team than they were this morning, but I’m still not sure they’re a top four team in the East after doing this. And this has so many outyear ramifications for the team that it it’s just a hard thing to square. Um, and look again like Jonian Akoopo is one of the I don’t know 20 greatest players of all time, 30 greatest players of all time, 50 greatest players of all time, whatever, right? Like the Bucks have had two players like him ever. They had Kareem 50 years ago and then they had um and then they had Giannis now. So, at this like I understand completely the desire and the need to try to keep him on the team and do what it takes to make him happy, but it’s just put them in a position now where they really don’t have any outs going forward. And this is their team and it’s not a team that’s really good enough to do anything. Like I still don’t think I would pick them to win a series next year. Wow.
In in the first round of the playoffs. and that they they already had a lot of problems. They lost in five games last year and that was with Damen Lloyd playing in half the series, right? And Giannis playing great. So, um yeah, it’s it’s it’s one of the more fascinating moves we’ve seen in a long time because it it just is so completely out of left field and like truly like the Luca trade was stunning because it was a stunning trade that no one saw coming. this entire transaction for a team that didn’t have cap space to create cap space in the manner they did but waving you know there’d never been a guy wave a more than $30 million on his books aim at 112 so to to do that to make the cap space this way to do the the transaction this way it’s all it’s honestly jaw-dropping and I mean I was on first take this morning with Brian Winhurst when this happened and we barely since then have just been trying to wrap our heads around it because it is it is just one of the more remarkable transactions in recent memory, not just because of the unexpected nature of it, but because of the outyear ramifications that come along with it. And I do applaud the Bucks for having the the willingness to go all in to do whatever they can to keep this guy in Milwaukee and happy. It’s admirable, but I just don’t know how effective it’s going to be in bringing winning basketball to the Bucks. It’s a little desperate, but it’s a little bit of a a big-time swing, right, to your point, to keep Giannis happy, to make sure that they are still, you know, they still have the core around him to compete for championships. Tim Bontmp’s with me here on ESPN Wisconsin. Another move today that’s f that flew under the radar a little bit that we haven’t had the opportunity to talk about yet on the show, Tim, is Gary Harris has agreed on a two-year deal with Milwaukee. How do you evaluate that one? I mean, look, the Bucks, I mean, outside of the outside of the the Miles Turner deal, the Bucks just brought everybody back. Yeah. Brought it back a little bit, right? Um, yeah. Like, you know, they resigned Bobby Poris, they resigned Kevin Porter, they resigned Gary uh Gary Trent. They did add Gary Harris. We’ll see how much he has left at this point. Um, but uh, yeah, it just they uh, you know, that was sort of the thing that made this so stunning. You woke up this morning thinking, “All right, the Bucks are probably just going to resign these guys.” And then I, you know, if Giannis is okay with that, that’s fine. Then you maybe kick the can down the road a year and see what you can do when you have Dame as an expiring deal and and you can maybe maneuver some stuff around. And then this happens and now their team is going to look different. But again, like Miles Turner is younger and better than Brook Lopez. There’s no question about that. But he’s also now getting paid three times as much as Brook Lopez. probably not that big of a gap. And uh they’re also dealing with a situ the Bucks are now dealing with a situation where he’s basically costing $50 million the next four years. So yeah, like they basic to me they essentially have the same thing they had at lost to the Pacers and you know it’s good to get these other guys back. they don’t have really any a lot of levers to pull and so I think it’s good they’re able to get you know was an okay team ressigned around Giannis but like you said before if the goal is to compete for championships it’s just very hard to see now how the Bucks can actually get to that point with the team they put together um and with the moves that they’ve made
this is why national perspective is important with Tim Bonmps because I think locally Tim we all view this as a very big move a a move that signals this is a team that’s taking a swing for the fences and wanting to compete for championships immediately right this upcoming season and I think you’re
well I do think they’re trying No they definitely are
they’re definitely trying to I just don’t know if they I just I just don’t know if they actually can be that competitive but I mean they’re absolutely doing whatever they can which as a fan I would appreciate
of course right I mean you have to applaud John H for the effort the general manager of the Bucks but I think we’re all so sucked in here Milwaukee and Madison and Bea for Dam where we’re airing right now. I think we’re all sucked into the Bucks universe and we don’t view it like you do from a national perspective which is why I appreciate um although you might be raining on some people’s parade a little bit I appreciate the honesty and and the national perspective because I think it is important to view it as the overall right the 30 team league rather than maybe just the universe we live in which is the Milwaukee Bucks universe right so I I I do appreciate that. What domino are you from a national perspective Tim? Which do are you waiting on to fall now as as free agency continues? We’re not even 24 hours in yet. Yeah, I mean to be to be totally honest, I’m still just trying to get my head sorted around this, but I mean the one thing that does have an impact from it is, you know, DeAndre Aton was a possibility to go to Milwaukee when Brooke went to the Clippers. And so what’s going to happen with him will be interesting. Will he go to Indiana? Um will he go to uh the Lakers? Will he go somewhere else? And then just in general, like what are the Pacers going to do in reaction to this? Obviously, they had the devastating injury to Tyrese Hallebertton in game seven of the finals. Um, but this was a cheap move by the Pacers. Like they they they had no re no there’s no reason why Miles Turner should have been available to the Bucks. This is not an outlandish contract. It’s a few million dollars more than the Pacers had been willing to pay. They didn’t want to pay him because they didn’t want to pay the tax. And you know, they now have lost their longest tenure player and a guy who fit perfectly with their team and was a big part of what made their team really good. And uh they lost him for nothing. And they lost him because they didn’t want to pay any luxury tax and they haven’t paid luxury tax in 20 years. So it if I’m a Pacer fan, I’m pretty disappointed uh to see the way this played out. And that’s where I do give the Bucks credit from the standpoint that at least if you’re the Bucks, you can say we’re doing everything we can and we’re trying as hard as we can. Even if the team I don’t think is really close to being a championship caliber team. Um whereas the Pacers, they just lost Miles Turner over money. It’s not like if the Bucks had actually offered him $45 million, right? Sure. I would understand not giving him 202$25 million more than he’s uh he’s worth having on your team. This is a fair contract for Miles Turner, a little bit more than the Nas Reed deal that was signed the other day. And Miles Turner is a better player than Nas Reed. And the Pacers let themselves get out bid to a division rival, a team they really don’t like at all that they’ve had a lot of battles with the last couple years. Um it, you know, so from that standpoint, I think it’s going to be interesting to see how they react to it. And it’s it’s a reminder that at the bare minimum, you can say the Bucks are doing their best to try to field the best team they can.
Really good stuff from Tim Bonmp, senior NBA writer for ESPN and ESPN.com. Tim, really appreciate the time on such a busy day and uh looking forward to seeing you in the Hoop Collective crew out in Las Vegas. I’ll be out there in a couple of weeks to see you guys. So, looking forward to that. Thanks a lot.
Awesome. Thanks for having me, man. Looking forward to it.
Tim Bontmp, ESPN senior writer. Uh, lot to unpack from that. Lot to unpack from that. Um, I see your YouTube comments. I see your texts. Um, I see we’ve got several producers running the show for us. I saw their faces while we were uh talking to Tim Bontmps. Look, I I I think everybody’s entitled to their opinion, right? And Tim Bontmps is one of the smartest NBA minds on the planet. That guy covers the league so closely and so well. Um, but yeah, I think it’s fair to say he just rained on our little Bucks parade there a little bit, right? I think that’s a fair thing to say. So, we will unpack that conversation. also want to dive into every move the Bucks have made because there’s been a ton and we’ve mentioned like three of them um over the course of the last now 19 hours. And I also want to talk about what would be next for the Bucks. Evan Cohen will join us in a half an hour at 1:30 from ESPN radios on Sportsman. A ton to get to in the 1:00 hour. Stick with us whether you’re on YouTube, you’re on the ESPN app, you’re on terrestrial radio 945 ESPN Milwaukee, 100.5 ESPN Madison, 1430 ESPN Beaverdam. And you know what? Let’s get crazy. Let’s open up the card. Let’s talk sex line. How you feeling Bucks fans? Your parade a little rained on after Tim Bontemps joined us or you still you still riding high feeling good feeling good about this team’s title contention at 2526? 8009-3776 is the carbless talking text line is more with Carbless again. 800990 3776. Ton to unpack, ton to get into. Still got an hour to do it. Let’s get after it in just a couple of minutes. It’s ESPN Wisconsin’s free agency frenzy drove with you right here. ESPN Wisconsin. Breaking news on ESPN Milwaukee. The Bucks have signed free agent center miles turn to a four-year deal. Stay up to date on the move right here. 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app, and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. Get ready to say goodbye to those bland seltzers at the ballpark. 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You’re listening to 945 ESPN WKTI and WKTIHD Milwaukee. a locallyowned Good Karma brand station. Breaking news on ESPN Milwaukee. The Bucks have signed Miles Turner and released all-star Damen Lillard. This is specialty breaking news programming on 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app, and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. Live from the Gruber Law Offices One Call That’s All studio at the Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. Here’s Alex Stro. Okay. Yeah. Way away we go. Hour number two of our breaking news coverage. NBA free agency frenzy right here at ESPN Wisconsin, ESPN app, ESPN Milwaukee, ESPN Madison on YouTube. Lots to get into from Tim Bontemps from ESPN who just joined us. Um I I politely say this because I really appreciate him taking the time on what I know is a really busy day and and this guy’s very smart when it comes to the NBA, but yeah, he rained on Bucks fans parades a little bit there. I I think that would be accurate, right? I mean, he said pretty blatantly he doesn’t think the Bucks got a whole lot better with the Miles Turner deal. Four years, $17 million with the Milwaukee Bucks, the one that came out of left field. I don’t think anybody saw that one coming. Um, and he and he said he doesn’t view them as a top four team in the East, which I do. I disagree with him on that. I I I I do think this catapults the Bucks right back into the championship conversation in a conference that’s pretty open, right? Cleveland is probably still the favorite, I would guess. You know, they didn’t lose a ton, lost a couple pieces, but in terms of their core and the guys that make significant impacts, everybody’s pretty much back. Boston’s still going to be good without Jason Tatum. Orlando’s made some nice moves. Atlanta’s made some nice moves and obviously Milwaukee has made some nice moves. I think that’s your top five teams in the East right now. Indiana loses Tyres Hallebertton for the entirety of the season and Miles Turner. I just don’t think they’re a top four team. So, I think Milwaukee is still definitely in the mix. I I think Tim Bontemp’s who again I think was really good and and and really provided some nice national insight. I think he undervalues Miles Turner. I think he’s not as high as a lot of us are. Brook Lopez was an awesome piece for the Milwaukee Bucks and obviously a huge part of their title run four years ago, but he’s older. He’s slower. He’s more of a liability. He still has some nice stops on defense and the ability to block shots, yada yada. But you needed to upgrade clearly, very clearly, you needed to upgrade from Brook Lopez. And I think definitively, without a doubt, full-on upgrade, full-on upgrade from Brook Lopez to Miles Turner. Now, again, a four-year, $17 million deal for Miles Turner. So, I I I I hear where he’s coming from. And there’s still dominoes that need to fall, right? I mean, this team as it stands right now, I think you have plenty of reason to be optimistic. I think you’re super impressed, as I am, with what Kevin Porter Jr. did in his short time with the Bucks last year, and he’s back on a pretty cheap deal, which allows him to kind of prove it over the course of the next two seasons. I think there might be a player option on KPJ’s deal. Um, I mean, you bring back Gary Trent, who was really good for this team in the postseason, despite the the the brevity of it, right? How brief of a postseason it was for Milwaukee, losing to Indiana in the first round. But Gary Trent Jr. had some nice contributions and will likely find his way, at least as it stands right now, into the starting five for Milwaukee. So, you have good pieces. You have good pieces. I I just don’t know if you’re totally sold on this as a full-blown championship team, right? Are they competing with the Houston of the world? Are they competing with the Oklahoma Cities of the world? That remains to be seen. But I think in the Eastern Conference, this team for sure in my mind is a top four team. That’s that’s where I stand right now with the Miles Turner move. But I still think there are moves to be made. The Carbless Talk text line is open for you until 1:30. Um, and it looks like everybody’s got a reaction from Tim Bonds. Let’s get to it on the Carbless Talk and text line number into the show. 800990-3776. Again, 800990 ESPN is the Carbless Talk and Text Line. List more with our friends from Carbless. Let’s go to uh Shave Vegas, the beautiful city of Shbboan. John and Shbboen, you’re on ESPN Wisconsin. What do you got, John? This is Darren from Shboen.
Okay, close enough. Will Will Summers our producer. Screw that one up. Darren.
That’s all right. Well, my middle name is John, so hey, maybe he knows something.
Well, DJ Darren, John, go ahead, brother. Exactly. So, I think that I think the thing it’s easy for the national guys to kind of look at each transaction individually, but I think you nailed it when you said, you know, us box fans are excited because you look at the hell we would have been in having $50 million um totally dead with with Lillard sitting out and then how good’s he going to be when he comes back. when you look at the the great deals they were able to bring back um Porter Portoris and Trent and then that allows you to go get Miles Turner. I think again it’s really easy. I think you have to look big picture when you look at big picture the the capell they were about to be in and and they’re still going to be suffering that a little bit. What horse was able to do to come up with a complete roster when it looked like there was hardly anything he could do I think is just excellent. Yeah, I also disagree. I, you know, I’m not totally looking through a green lens here. It’s not like, hey, we’re the top team in the East now, but we’re definitely a top four and we see what an injury does to any of those other teams. You have one or two stars injured on another team and we’re right there to be competitive. Just get a top four seed, see what you can do in the playoffs. I
I think that’s really well said. Thanks for the call, Darren and Shuigan and the insight there. Uh, I I like that. I’m not looking through green lenses. He says, um, I think we all are personally. They might be tinted green lenses, but we’re all looking through green lenses because you’ve got one of the best two players in the world, maybe three if you consider SGA in that category with Yoka Chinyanas, right? You’ve got a top three player in the world, the best player undoubtedly in franchise history, and a guy that is literally evolved the city of Milwaukee. I’m not joking when I say that. Yiannis is the reason for so many things in Milwaukee. So yeah, you want to capitalize on what you got when he’s here in his prime. And I think this Miles Turner move is is bigger than maybe Bontemps views it, but not earthshattering, lifechanging, but I think it gives new life to this Milwaukee Bucks team. But I I don’t think the Bucks can be dumb. And you know, we mentioned the mid-level exception. They still have uh Gabe Nitel, I think, talked about that when he joined us in in the first hour. You’ve still got some room to make some moves. And I still think you’ve got some trade assets to get rid of um or move on from like they did with Pat Coneton. I think Andre Jackson Jr. is one of those guys who fell out of the rotation last season for for the head coach Doc Rivers where a team could be higher on him. He’s really good defensively, speedy, he’s young, right? He’s only entering his third season. I think that’s a guy that maybe you could move off the books and maybe have a little bit more room to work with. But as it stands right now, and this is just looking at ESPN.com, Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Tren Jr., for Kyle Kosma, Giannis, Miles Turner, that’s your starting five. I feel pretty good about that. Now, when you look at the depth pieces, I actually start feeling better, right? Bobby Poris comes off the bench. Torian Prince comes off the bench. AJ Green comes off the bench. Um, you’ve got to you have him as a restricted free agent. I He’ll be back. It’s going to happen. It just feels like what’s going to happen. Brian Rollins, your backup point guard, who I think again last year you you saw some really nice things out of him as a depth. So I I feel good about where this team is at now. There’s still some dominoes to fall. Again, like like let’s make that as clear as day. There are still some dominoes to fall. And maybe that’s a Chris Paul or a Russell Westbrook or a veteran point guard to bolster either the depth or the starting lineup depending on where you play those guys. But both nearing the age of 40. In fact, of course, Paul over the age of 40, Russell Westbrook 38. Those are older guys. And what John Horst is signaling to us as Bucks fans is he’s trying to get younger. He’s trying to get a little bit more explosive, a little bit quicker, a little bit younger. And that’s what they do. Brook Lopez moves on. He signs with the Los Angeles Clippers. In comes Miles Turner from Indiana. Let’s get back to the calls. Carbull stock and text line is 80093776. James in Bay View, you’re on ESPN Wisconsin. What’s up, James? Uh, thank you for taking my call. Uh, the one thing that Jim said that really stood out was that he didn’t see the Bucks in the top four. And I thought that comment was totally ridiculous because who would be be ahead of the Bucks? Uh, maybe Cleveland, the way I see it, but they stubbed their toe playoffs.
They stubbed their toe in the playoffs with Boston. I think they took a major step. Uh, did they did they trade Derek White? Uh, Boston Um,
not yet.
Not yet. I mean, it’s it’s it’s afraid of Drew Holiday.
And you know what? With with New York Knicks. Oh, yeah. That too. Uh, Holiday. And with the Knicks, uh, still not having a coach, uh, you know, they have issues. I don’t see the Pacers ahead of us. Maybe Atlanta, but I think that comment was totally ridiculous. My personal opinion is John Hurst is uh a terrific GM because at least he’s making some deals out there. Uh he’s just not sitting on his hands. Uh he’s doing something. And yeah, to James’ point, I I think it’s I I I think he he’s doing a great job, right? I mean, he’s he’s taking the swings that Bucks fans are longing for. And I know Gabe Knight made the comment earlier comparing it to the Packers, right? These are allin swings that John Horse has consistently taken. And sure, you can knock him on his lack of dra draft productivity, right? He hasn’t drafted studs and immediate starters and impact players. He just hasn’t. Fair, right? That’s a fair knock on John Horse. But I don’t think it’s fair to say, “Hey, this guy is to what James just said. He’s not sitting on his hands. He’s not waiting for something to happen. He’s not waiting to catch a lucky break.” He can’t control injuries. I’ll tell you that right up front. And yes, the Damian Lillard trade is proving to be a a a failure of epic proportions. We can admit that, right? I mean, you heard Tim Bontemps talk about how they’re stretching the remaining $13 million of his deal. That’s $22 million a year you can’t do anything with. And that is certainly problematic. But what John Host is attempting to do right now, right here, is compete for a championship tomorrow. Right? If the season started tomorrow, which obviously doesn’t, he wants the Bucks to be in title contention. And in the conversation for Tim Bonds, it’s not enough. For me, it is. I I think they are a top four team in the East. To James’ point, I think Boston will still be in the conversation despite not having Jason Tatum. And I think they will have Derek White. I think he just mixed up his names.
Yeah, he was getting rumored on draft night to be moved, but he wasn’t actually moved. I
I don’t think they’re going to move up.
No,
they add anony Simons in the um in the Drew Holiday trade. They have Jaylen Brown. Obviously, they feel good about some of the pieces on that Boston team. I think they’ll still be in the mix. They was our really well coached team. New York’s going to be in the mix just like they were this year. Cleveland will obviously be in the mix. One of the most games in the league this year. I think they’ll be or in the Eastern Conference. They’ll be in they’ll be in the mix. Orlando’s made some really good moves this offseason. I think you can make a case for them. So, yeah, that’s four teams and then you can make a case for an Atlanta. That’s five teams. But I I again I think the Bucks are right there. I don’t think there’s a huge, you know, difference between several of those teams. I think it’s kind of the Cavs and everybody else. Maybe Cavs nicks everybody else, but other than that, I mean, I I think the Bucks are right there in Oh, by the way, who is the best player in the Eastern Conference? Just out of curiosity. Hey, Will Summers, who is the best player in the Eastern Conference? Just curious.
Not sure.
Yeah, me neither. It’s a guy they’re going to build a statue for. His name is Jiannis Tanko.
So, that part always helps as long as he stays healthy. Bunch of other moves we need to talk about because the Bucks have been I I think the most active team I would guess in free agency.
Yeah. I mean Sean’s Twitter feed is just entirely Bucks. Yeah. I mean there’s a ton of it. So I want to just play catchup and just get through every move. Evan Cohen ESPN radios and sports going to join us at 130.
Um I I just kind of want to recap the last day and a half for really three days, four days because the Pat Coneton optin happened. Now he’s been moved. Bobby Poris is back on a new deal. So, there’s just a bunch of stuff I want to fly through and just make sure we’re all caught up in what the Bucks have done because what it signals to you, what it signals to me, what it signals to everybody is the Bucks are gearing up to compete for another championship. At least that’s what they’re attempting to do. Doesn’t mean they definitely will be in the conversation or will be in the Eastern Conference Finals or the NBA Finals next year, but they are certainly certainly certainly making the moves that signal they want to be back in the title contention conversation. So, let’s recap some of those moves. We’ll get to Evan Cohen. We’ll continue to react with you on the Carbless Talk and Tech Lite 800903776. Coming up right after this, right here, ESPN. Breaking news on ESPN Milwaukee. The Bucks have waved allstar Damen Lillard. Stay up todate on the move right here on 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app, and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. Brew Crew Tuesdays are back on July 1st. Cheerio sends it deep to left and there she goes.
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I don’t think we’re going to be able to do that now because something has changed with the Bucks after I called it a formality of something that I thought would get done, which is looking like no longer the case. So Chris Haynes just reported, and no, it is not about Giannis being upset. It’s about something real. Chris Haynes has reported the longtime senior NBA insider. I’m just going to read this verbatim to you and then we will unpack. Quote, “Milwaukee Bucks are rescending the qualifying offer of promising young guard Ryan Rollins and he will now become an unrestricted free agent.” League sources tell Chris Haynes. So, what does that tell you? So, for those of you that maybe missed this, they had a qualifying offer, which means Ryan Rollins was a restricted free agent, meaning he could still seek other contracts, right? So, I’m just going to throw out a random team. say the Toronto Raptors made a one-year $2.5 million offer. These are all fake numbers. I’m just trying to explain what that means. So, the Toronto Raptors offer Ryan Rollins a one year $2.5 million deal. The Bucks then have the opportunity to say yes, we will pay you that or they say, “Nope, go ahead.” That’s what a restricted free agent effectively means in the NBA. Now, the Bucks have gone ahead and said, “Ah, never mind. Go ahead, be unrestricted. Go elsewhere.” So, that effectively tells you that Ryan Rollins likely will not be a buck. I’m not completely ruling it out. It just means it likely will mean Ryan Rollins will play for one of the 29 other teams in the NBA next season, which is disappointing to be real honest with you. That’s my gut reaction is I’m disappointed to hear that news because I liked what Ryan Rollins showed and he is a great story and I love great stories. Who doesn’t love a good story, right? Two-way guy. Um they end up making him a full-blown NBA player towards the end of the season. Damen Lillard missed some time mid-season and he he he plays some really good basketball for them. So, I I’m disappointed to see this. I I I mean, but again, I think this kind of tells you something else is coming for the Milwaukee Bucks if they go ahead and say, “No more Ryan Rollins for us.” Now, the idea of a point guard is an appealing one and likely a necessary one for the Milwaukee Bucks despite the fact that we are in kind of a positionless era in the NBA, especially a positionless guy that plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. in Yiannisakmpo. He kind of plays everything. Um there is a likely chance as it stands today right the second 1:24 PM that they run kind of the point forward thing that was very heavily popularized by LeBron James. He’s a forward but he brings the ball up and obviously Kevin Porter Jr. can play a little bit of point guard as well. If you need a true point guard, that’s more KPJ, but you could run with the more point forward setup with Jonas Atenkmpo bringing the ball up and kind of setting up things offensively. But this this offer that’s now been rescended feels to me like the Bucks have another option, whether that’s depth or whether that’s a starter at the point guard position. Two names I floated about an hour ago that I think could certainly be in in realistic territory for Milwaukee are Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook, right? They’re both older. Uh Chris Paul’s 40. Russell Westbrook’s 38. Um obviously I’m biased because I love Russell Westbrook. He’s my favorite NBA player of all time. Maybe San Jiannis. Um but Russell Westbrook, that’s my dude. I would love to see him in Milwaukee. Dude, I’d buy like every jersey possible. I just don’t think it makes any sense. He doesn’t fit the mold of what the Bucks are going into. Neither does Chris Paul, right? And that would be the youth movement effectively, which we’ve dubbed the Packers with for years. It seems like now that’s kind of the direction the Bucks are going, which is smart because if you look at the last two postseasons, despite some of the injuries that the Bucks dealt with in both of the first round losses to the Indiana Pacers, the knock on the Bucks was they’re old and they’re slow. So, I don’t know that adding Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook really changes that specifically at the point guard position, but the money would be right. the experience would be there and maybe you maybe you need a veteran or Randy on this that’s not Kyle Kosma or obviously not Miles Turner and you had Gary Harris as well who’s a veteran so we will see but that Ryan Rollins news is really interesting to me because I figured that was almost a done deal right he’d just be back he’d be their backup point guard they roll out KPJ Kevin Porter Jruda and Ryan Rollins but now ultimately that’s not what the Bucks are going to do which tells me something else is coming uh if If you’re listening on terrestrial radio, I’m doing my Brian Windhorst fingers right now. What does that mean? What does that mean? Interesting. From Ryan Rollins, uh, and the Milwaukee Bucks were sending their qualifying offer on on Ryan Rollins, but obviously the big news today, Miles Turner in, Damen Lillard out for the Milwaukee Bucks. What a day. Nobody saw either of those coming, I don’t think. Definitely not the Damian Lillard part. Spreading $113 million over the course of the next five years. Wow. over $22 million a year that you just can’t use now. So John Horst showing the coonas taking the big swing saying, “Hey man, we are still here to compete for championships in Milwaukee. As long as Yiannis is here, we’re competing.” That’s what John Horst is telling you. As long as Yiannis is here, we are competing. And that’s why they pull the trigger on a guy like Miles Turner, a younger, faster, maybe even better defender, I’d argue, at this point in his career. Brook Lopez still a terrific defender, but Miles Turner, I mean, he’s he’s a dog defensively and he’s going to provide speed. He’s going to provide athleticism, able to next. I mean, this is a really good move for the Bucks. Maybe not as sexy as uh the Damen Lillard trade from a few years ago, but it’s it’s a sexy move. This is a big move for the Bucks. And John Horst is capitalizing on the window of Jiannis Tenkmpo and Milwaukee, which is which is good to see. It’s absolutely what you want. Chris chimes in on the card plus text line. No, Westbrook, please. West Brick, please. It’s a fair knock at this point in his career.
For the sheer reason of excitement, I would love to watch him play, though.
Yeah, me too. There was plenty of times this postseason where he almost lost some games for the Nuggets, but he also won them a couple games and it was exhilarating.
Correct. I mean, yeah, it’s the Russell Westbrook experience, right? I watched him all the time, especially after Durant left Oklahoma City and it was just a roller coaster, man. But he’s he’s he’s electric. So, I I’d like to see it for that case, but from a championship perspective, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. All right, we will continue to react to all the big bucks news. Evan Cohen of ESPN radios and sportsmanlike will join me coming up next. He is the the resident NBA guy around these parts. He knocked me on Saturday for not knowing ball. We’ll see if he knocks me today for not knowing ball as we dive into Miles Turner four-year $ 107 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. He is the new Robin to Giannis’s Batman in Milwaukee. Evan Cohen, ESPN radio is on sportsmanlike from 5 to 7 ESPN Milwaukee, 5 to 9 on ESPN Madison, and ESPN Bever. Joins me coming up next right here on ESPN. Breaking news on ESPN Milwaukee. The Bucks have signed free agent center Miles Turner to a 4-year deal. Stay up to date on the move right here, 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app, and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. The only thing that tops our selection is your discount liquor.
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That’s dedication. Visit fatherhood.gov to hear more. Brought to you by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. [Music] Your state, your teams, your ESPN. The ESPN Wisconsin app. Customizable just for you. Find the ESPN Wisconsin app in the Apple or Android app stores today. Breaking news on ESPN Milwaukee. The Bucks have waved Allstar Damen Lillard. Stay uptodate on the move right here on 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. ESPN Wisconsin’s breaking news coverage. All things Milwaukee Bucks all the time. Right now, the big news, Miles Turner, the newest Milwaukee Buck, four-year $17 million contract, big swing, and ultimately that leads to a waving of Damen Lillard, which they will stretch his remaining $13 million over the course of the next five seasons. So, that’s a big swing by John Horse, the general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. I’m Alex Dro with you here on ESPN Wisconsin. Joining me now from ESPN radios on Sportsman like a bald knower. You hear him on on sportsman like from 5 to 7 on ESPN Milwaukee, 5 to9 ESPN Madison, ESPN Beaver Dam. Got it right this time. Evan Cohen joins me now. Evan, Miles Turner, the newest buck. I don’t think anybody saw that one coming, man.
No trophy. I I thought that there was going to be something that happened over the next over the last 24 to 48 hours, let’s say. Like from last night till today or maybe tomorrow. I thought the Bucks were going to do something of significance. I had a hunch on that. maybe some info, maybe tiny bit. And at no point, at no point did I think this was going to be what it was. Right? If you said to me, “Hey, what are the Bucks going to do?” I would have guesstimated in that moment that they like they’re going to do something big of significance. What are they going to do? I would have said maybe trade Dame Lillard for two or three guys on a bad team, right? whether Washington or I had previously stayed at Utah before they made some moves or maybe even back to his old stomping grounds in Portland andor maybe they take Kyle Koosma and at the time Pat Conetonin who obviously is now with the Hornets and traded the $31 million plus potentially a future first that they would have I think one left and trade for someone. At no point did I see this happening. And I happen to be on live with Willian and TA today on ESPN Wisconsin when this happened. And my first reaction, if people go back on the um ESPN app and listen to it, I said in that moment, Stro, this can’t be it because it they actually are not allowed to do it this way. And they’re like, what do you mean? And I’m like, well, if they had four years at $100 million available to them, none of us would have been debating if Giannis was going to say stay. We would have been saying, who are they going to use that money on? So, I was sitting there saying, well, maybe it’s a sign and trade. But then you’re thinking to yourself, why does Indiana want stuff that Milwaukee doesn’t want at that point? And then I went to the place of, well, maybe something called the disabled player exemption, which is if a player is ruled out for the entirety of the season, a team can apply for the DPE, the disabled player exemption, and see if and if the league grants it, you get half of the player salary to then use on another player. So, you get half of Dame’s salary. The pro and the problem with that is he’s then definitively done for the year and the playoffs. And if I’m not mistaken, it counts then it further against the tax. So it’s like you’re going to pay, you know, $3 for every dollar you’re going to pay. So well, that probably didn’t make sense. So I’m thinking in this moment, how did they pull this off? Never in in my thoughts at all did I think about the wave and stretch provision which is so people understand that and I know you’ve had people on explaining this but just to be clear when you wave a stretch a player you take his contract the amount of years you multiply it by two and you add a year. So if you want to wave and stretch a player right now that has five years left on his deal that becomes an 11-year contract. So this is wild that the Bucks did this this way. It’s unbelievably creative and stunning.
I mean, it’s also kind of comedic that it lands on Bobby Bonia Day now.
Which, by the way, on a side note, Bobby Bonia is not the only player to have all these huge numbers on Bobby Bonia Day. And as we learned this morning on Unsportsmanlike, do you know that the Mets are not the only team paying Bobby Bonia on Bobby Bonia Day? The Baltimore Orioles pay him a half a million dollars every year as well because they had the same thing as they had with the Mets. It’s Christmas in July for Bobby. That’s fascinating. Evan Evan Cohen on ESPN radio and sportsman like my guest here on ESPN Wisconsin. So yeah, the Damian Lillard portion of this is is the fascinating part. We had as you mentioned Tim Bontmps on last hour and he kind of said, “Yeah, this is the biggest one ever in NBA history in terms of of the wave and stretch. $22 million a year.” Which indicates, Evan, and I would assume you you read this the same way, John Horse doesn’t give a damn, man. He’s just trying to swing for another championship as long as Giannis is in Milwaukee. That’s the way I read it.
So, let’s be clear on this. What they did today is bad business. Putting $20 million of dead cap on your books for the next five years is bad business. It’s way worse to lose Giannis.
That’s horrible business. So, if somebody in in its simplest form presented you, every Bucks fan listening in Wisconsin right now, two choices. You could either put $20 million of dead cap on your books, meaning if the salary cap is hundred million every year, the Bucks only get $80 million to work with. Okay? You could put $20 million on your books for the next five years and keep Giannis or not do that and lose Giannis. What would you like to do? So, you have to consider this. The Milwaukee Bucks saying we are willing for the next five years. This is bad business, but they could have been way worse for the the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years are saying, “We’re okay working with us because we have 34 and you don’t.” I hate to give you a compliment. I hate to give you a compliment. That’s brilliant. I I’ve been on the air for an hour and 40 minutes. But totally right. There’s no way. I’m I’m not trying to question anyone’s credible reporting. What I’m going to tell you from my perspective, there’s no chance in hell that they make this move without knowing he’s cool with it. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely not. And no chance. The Sham Shirania report is the one I’m subscribing to today, Evan, and that was effectively, yeah, he’s in on it. And he wanted Miles Turner in Milwaukee. And if Giannis wants that, that tells me a he’s going to Giannis will be in Milwaukee. And B, he understands what has to happen in order to get Miles Turner in Milwaukee. And that would be moving on from Damen Lillard, which unfortunately it is what it is. Nobody can control injuries, but that looks like an epic failure now after two years because you have to move on from Damen Lillard to get Turner.
I I’m not sure about that. So,
how are you not sure about it though? It’s it’s without a doubt what it is.
Let’s talk about intention and result. Okay. In this case,
sure.
I believe the intention of getting Drew Holidayiday was the right move. The result was unbelievable. I think the intention of getting Damen Lillard was absolutely right.
The result was not.
Yes. The intention of getting Miles Turner was absolutely right. The result to be determined. We don’t know yet. But I don’t know. Unlike Drew giving up a ton of picks in New Orleans, unlike Dne giving up Drew, I don’t know that the judgment of the Miles Turner acquisition and the sub subsequent $20 million of Dead Cat Plus over the next five years should be judged on whether or not they win another title. I think it should be judged on how many more years Giannis is on the books. That’s the way you judge this. I think it’s a different way of judging it than previous acquisitions because if Giannis fulfills this contract and signs another one, you have won another championship. Whether you actually hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy or not. The Milwaukee Bucks are so relevant and so important. Are they the Packers? No. Nobody’s the Packers. We understand that, right? We totally get that. But, but I lived in Wisconsin as a W uh grad for four years, worked there for another half a year. If the Bucks aren’t good or they don’t have star power, they quickly fall out of conversation. Let’s just be real about that. They’re an awesome organization. They’re unbelievably creative. I’m probably little teaser here tomorrow on first take going to be making this big argument that I believe the Milwaukee Bucks have done more for their star player than maybe anyone in the NBA has done for any star player. They have they have moved, you know, mountains to make sure that he is happy and has great players around him. I don’t think that this next move should be judged based on a title. I think it should be judged on if they can keep him.
Can it be judged on both though? Because that’s where my head goes. of course, but we’re I I don’t think Stro we’re up to that part yet. I I think we are up to the point of keep him then now that you’re like a year or two into keeping him, then we could retroactively say, “Well, you didn’t win a title or you should win a title or this was a bad move. They should have like there is a chance there is a chance hindsight 2020 that we look back at today and saying this is to say, let me rephrase this. There’s a chance we look back at today. if it doesn’t work out and say while doing the right thing, it ended up being the wrong thing and they should have just kept Dame, not gone for Turner, traded Giannis, let the Dane contract play itself out or let him opt out at the end of the year and replenish this whole thing. We could look back at it and say it in a year, two years, three years, four years, five years. No question. In the moment, in the moment when everyone thinks Miami, Golden State, Dallas, New York, all these teams are kind of saving up to get Giannis, all of them have to change course today because they ain’t getting Yiannis. That’s true. That’s that’s a very good point. Evan Cohen, ESPN radios and sportsman like with me, Alex Dro, here on ESPN Wisconsin as we react to all the Bucks news over the course of the last uh two days or so, but really the last 19 and a half hours. absolutely bonkers what the general manager John Horst has been up to the last uh since free agency opened at six o’clock last night five o’clock last night six o’clock Easter where Evan is Evan I I I’ve asked everybody that’s joined me this because I I think it’s interesting and Tim Bond’s probably raining on Bucks fans parade uh today as he says this doesn’t elevate them to a top four team in the east. You’re a Miami Heat fan so obviously you have a good pulse on Miami and everything Eastern Conference after the Miles Turner move. Where do you view the Bucks in terms of the hierarchy in the Eastern Conference entering next season?
Okay, so I think at this moment, because I think there’s more work to be done, obviously,
I think you have to put the Knicks above them.
Mhm.
I think you have to put the Cavs above them. I think you will consider putting the Hawks, Magic, and Pistons above them. Tim will probably put if I know him. I didn’t hear it, but I I mean, I was with Tim on Sunday night hosting and we spend a lot of time together now. He believes still in Philadelphia if they’re healthy, but I think they’re closer to top four, top five than they were a day ago.
Yeah.
About you.
I absolutely do. Yeah, I I I agree with every team you listed. Those are the teams I keep going back to, but I I think it’s it’s probably Cavs, Knicks, and then a cluster of a bunch of other teams, right? All the ones you listed.
I think that yes, Cavs and Knicks should be one and two. And then I think that if you if if we’re talking to somebody in Orlando right now, they’re going to make a case why Orlando is three.
Sure.
But what I would say to them but what I would say to them, Evan, is is we are talking about the most superstar driven league in American sports and the best superstar in the Eastern Conference plays in Milwaukee and I think that gives them the benefit of that. That’s what I would say.
Well, okay. So, but here’s the thing that I would ask you. Are we talking about who’s going to finish with the best records or who has the best chance of going to the finals? Because those are two different things to me. Like I think Detroit and Atlanta could finish with a better record than Milwaukee. I think in a big playoff series I would pick Milwaukee. Milwaukeekey’s biggest nemesis is no longer in the mix in Indiana because they’re without their point guard and center and Hallebertton and Turner and Turner is on the the Bucks. Oddly enough, I think what this gives the Milwaukee Bucks and Miles Turner is is consistently a floor that is higher for a longer period of time. But I think that that if a healthy Dame ever was in the mix, the ceiling could potentially be higher. And that’s why I think they still have moves to be made here because I do wonder if they’re going to consider trading Kyle Koosma for someone if they can get anything for him. I do wonder if they’re they’re holding that pick back, you know, like the one that they would not obviously give because my assumption would be if they offered a team Dame Lillard plus a firstrounder, a team would be interested in taking him and you’d get two or three guys in return. You just would not get Miles Turner. So their their decision- making was hold on to the first to see if you can get the team better and probably use Koozma by way of doing that and maybe see if there’s some other guys that pop free, right? I mean, for those who are looking at this situation, how many teams thought Dame Lillard would pop free today? None of them. Not that he could play this year, but I’m sure there are teams I mean, I can give you a guy right now and but you’re going to laugh, but there’s there’s definitely a shot at some point I could see Chris Middleton getting bought out. Not that he solves your issues. I think you need a point guard. But you get what I’m saying. There are guys now if if if players around the league if players around the league are all of the belief that Giannis is there and he’s not going anywhere, the Bucks as a free agent destination, as an ass to get traded to, as a getting bought out, am I interested in becomes a higher um chance of an option for those teams than they were a day ago because now everyone’s going to be of the assumption Giannis 100%. Evan Cohen, ESPN radios and sportsmen like Evan, always appreciate talking a little ball with you. We’ll be listening to you beginning at 5 a.m. across ESPN Wisconsin tomorrow. Thanks, brother.
I got first take tomorrow and uh Thursday as well. So, make sure you listen to that. And what happened to Bruss is out at Tsunami Express in New Berlin. Brand new location for Kyle Bronman. Wonderfully produced program, I’d add, which starts in 13 minutes. So, he had to leave.
Yeah, I don’t agree with that last part. Okay.
Okay. Thanks, Evan. See you. The
great Evan Cohen, ESPN radios and sportsman like the the beautiful part about him is he was really locked in on all the news. He didn’t want to take a shot at me. He waited until the very end. That’s well done by him. That’s that’s a pros pro right there. Uh you can hear him on Sportsman beginning at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow and you can see him on first take beginning at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow central time. Guy’s a big shot now. Glad he could still make time for me. Appreciate that from the great Evan Cohen. We will wrap up this breaking news edition of the program. get you into Kyle Breston, which starts at two o’clock, as I mentioned, from Tsunami Express in New Berlin, brand new location. Um, and I I’m gonna I’m gonna ponder what’s next for the Bucks because, as I mentioned, I think the Ryan Rollins thing either tells me a the price going at Ryan Rollins was too high or b something’s cooking in terms of the point guard department. I like to choose the latter because I’m an optimist. My glass is always half full. My name is Alex Dro. We wrap up the program right after this on ESPN. Breaking news on ESPN Milwaukee. The Bucks have waved allstar Damen Lillard. Stay up todate on the move right here on 945 ESPN, the ESPN Wisconsin app, and ESPN Milwaukee on YouTube. You really want a summer of entertainment?
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been a really fun two hours and we’ve had some really smart guys on the program to break it down with me. I would never refer to myself as a brilliant individual. I think I know how to do my job by all means, but I would never refer to myself as a brilliant individual. The line Evan Cohen from ESPN radios on Sportsman like just dropped was the best line we’ve heard all two hours. And that was, “What the Bucks did today was bad business. They waved a guy with $13 million left on his deal and stretched it five years. That’s 22 plus million a year that you can’t do anything with. That’s bad business.” He’s right on that. But then he followed that up with if they were to lose the honest, that’s awful business. spot on from Evan Cohen of ESPN radio and sports life and ESPN’s first take the next couple of days. I I I think that’s pretty much a summation of what we’ve talked about the last two hours with the Bucks and specifically general manager John Horse who I probably haven’t given enough credit to and want to give more credit to over the course of the last two hours. Him taking the Miles Turner swing today amongst a couple of other moves that should be applauded, right? Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., to Prince and the other small moves that he’s made should all be acknowledged as really good moves. But the Miles Turner move and to move on from Damen Lillard and to say, “Hey, you know, we’d still like to compete for championships here in Milwaukee needs to be applauded because why you take a swing on Miles Turner?” Well, to keep Giannis happy. And as long as Giannis is on the Bucks roster, you’re still a playoff team at minimum. You still have the best player in the Eastern Conference. And I think you still have a a puncher’s chance at contending for a championship. So adding a guy like Miles Turner to the mix, who by all means isn’t the best center in the NBA, but he’s a good center. He’s a really good defender, it adds some youth, it adds speed, it adds a different dimension to this Bucks team that you lost as Brook Lopez aged. And Brook Lopez, by all means, thank you for everything you did, right? He was a huge part of bringing the title to Milwaukee in 2021. Same thing with Patton, who was traded to Charlotte today. uh with a second or two second round picks for Vicilia Meich who’s likely going to play overseas, right? So, you’re just saving some money by moving on from Pat Conan who had a $9.5 million contract for this year. But Patan did a bunch of great things for this Bucks team. So, props to him, thanks to him. I mean, you’re down to Bobby and Giannis from that championship team. You move on from Chris Middleton uh obviously last season trading him for Kyle Kosma. There’s more coming. I I I mean, I I don’t think I can state it any clear for that. I don’t know if they’re huge moves for the Milwaukee Bucks, but there is more coming because this roster isn’t filled out yet. Now, could there be a play of bringing back a thinis? Yeah, I hope so. Honestly, he’s the most valuable 12th man in the NBA. But I still think they’re looking for a point guard. And my gut tells me the ones that make the most sense are Chris Paul and and Russell Westbrook. Though I think both of those are unlikely, they’re certainly on the table. There’s never say never, right? Just like Miles Turner, never say never when it comes to what the Milwaukee Bucks could do over the course uh here of the next couple hours, couple days, couple minutes for all we know. There’s more coming. And they rescended the qualifying offer on Ryan Rollins, which tells you maybe maybe they’re making a move at point guard or point forward Giannis. Exciting times. Miles Turner, the newest Milwaukee Buck, four years, $107 million. They’ve got the Brook Lopez upgrade. How significant is it? Time will tell. That will do it for our breaking news coverage. Big thanks to Ben Brust, Tim Bontmps, Gabe Nitel, Evan Cohen who all joined me throughout. Big thanks to Josh Deaggio and Will Summers for producing the program. That will do it for us. Kyle Bronman is coming up next with Ben Bruss, Kyle Wallace, Brad Norton live from Tsunami Express in New Berlin. They will be with you in two short minutes. Thanks for hanging with us. Peace. Hey, this is Brad Norman here to tell you about my friends at Bank 59. Everywhere I go throughout the area, I see Bank 59. And it’s no wonder why. Not only do they have 14 branch locations, but their employees spend nearly9

The Milwaukee Bucks are making moves. They add former Indiana Pacer, Myles Turner and waive Damian Lillard. Live reaction to the NBA Free Agency news.

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