I Was NOT SHOCKED the Bucks Basically Traded Damian Lillard for Myles Turner, No Matter the Cost

I Was NOT SHOCKED the Bucks Basically Traded Damian Lillard for Myles Turner, No Matter the Cost

Now for the stunner of NBA free agency. Even wilder than Kevin Durant choosing the Houston Rockets. By the way, the Rockets are winning free agency. I think Dame time out of time in Milwaukee. The Bucks did what? They ate the rest of Damen Lillard’s massive contract. just just swallowed it whole so they could sign Miles Turner away from Indiana. Really? They waved and stretched Dame, meaning they owe him 110 million over the next two years. That’s LeBron money. And they accepted that they’ll owe another 22 million in roster charges over the next five years. They did that. They did. The Bucks just called the Pacers bluff. Speaking of luxury tax, the Pacers haven’t paid a penny of luxury tax for 20 years. They said they’d pay a little penalty tax to keep Miles Turner, but apparently that was an exaggeration because the rival Bucks just swooped in and blew the Pacers out of the water with a 4-year $17 million deal for Miles Turner. I saw Brian Winhorse say on ESPN that the Pacers should be disgusted. talking about the players that they should be disgusted, sick at their stomachs over Miles Turner defecting to such a hated rival. But this did make me wonder if maybe Miles Turner was sick at his stomach over how he never got the credit he deserved with Tyrese Hallebertton being considered the star on the Pacers and and maybe Seakum the second biggest star. Heck, there were some nights TJ McConnell was was considered at least as valuable as as Miles Turner. So maybe maybe it was Miles Turner who said, “Hell with you, Pacers.” Maybe. But that’s all just the subplot to the plot of free agency. The Milwaukee Bucks just dumped Dame in favor of Miles Turner. They did that and I applaud them for that. They they took an all-time financial bath and just cut Damian Lillard. But you know and I know Giannis signed off on this. In the end, all that Bucks ownership management really care about is keeping Giannis in Milwaukee. And obviously Giannis did not love playing with Dame. Did you happen to notice what Giannis did the last few weeks of the regular season when Dame was out? He he went MVP style crazy. Over the last few weeks of the season, he averaged 3316 and seven assists, shooting 60% from the floor. Maybe Dame was just too ball dominant, too egocentric for Giannis. I mean, Dame’s numbers were pretty good last season, 257 and five, but I don’t know, only five assists a game. And when he and Giannis were on the floor together, that team just never had the look of a contender. Obviously, they didn’t win a playoffs, even one playoff series together in two years. They just never really clicked. They never quite fit together. And by the way, you heard that here first. I first guessed that before it ever started. I’m assuming Bucks management and the coaching staff weren’t the biggest Dame fans either or that they would have fought tooth and nail against this move. But no, they plunged at an extremely steep price. They got rid of Damen Lillard in favor of Miles Turner, who’s who’s a little better Brook Lopez, eight years younger than Brooke. And Dame, of course, tore his Achilles. God bless him and his recovery, who didn’t tear their Achilles this year, but he tore his Achilles in that what was it? Third playoff game this year. So, he’ll almost certainly miss all of next season. and he’s about to be 35. So he won’t play again until he’s 36. And surely that also factored into the Buck’s decision. Maybe they just decided an aging Dame coming off Achilles reattachment would never quite be able to live up to the rest of his massive contract. Look, I said this many times before. I’ve never been the biggest Dame fan, although he is, trust me, beloved and sometimes, I believe, overprotected by many, many in the media. He’s he’s always so accessible and such a good good talker. Such a good guy to deal with for the media, but as I’ve pointed out many times before, all this dame time stuff a little overrated. He he has hit a couple of big playoff walk-off shots, especially the one in Oklahoma City. But remember that Thunder team was led by only Russell Westbrook. It was sort of Russ or bust and Dame did outclutch Russ. I’ll give you that. But Dames also had a whole lot of playoff flame outs as I have detailed many times before on television on this show. So, in the end, I for one was not shocked the Bucks basically replaced Damen Lillard with Miles Turner, no matter the cost. And by the way, just for the record, the Bucks odds to win it all for next year did improve. They went from 75 to1 to 50 to1 for what that’s worth. So Vegas said, “Okay, you got a little better.” Now, I was at first shocked that Brook Lopez suddenly signed with the other LA team after it was reportedly a done deal that he’d be the center the Lakers desperately need, still need. But wait, Brook Lopez is a Clipper even though they already have a very good center who was once a Laker. Zubots Magic gave him away. I don’t know. And and it wasn’t like the Clippers broke their bank for Brook Lopez. They gave him 9 million a year for two years. Okay. So, so Brook Lopez will be happy mixing and matching with Big Zoo the way maybe the Thunder played Cadet and Hardenstein often together. Yep. It sure worked for the Thunder, didn’t it? So, here’s my take on why Brooke Lopez chose Clippers over Lakers. He just didn’t want to join the circus. Brook Lopez was born in North Hollywood out here in Los Angeles, but he has no Hollywood in him. He’s 37 now going into year 18. And all Brook Lopez wants to do is his job quietly. Rim protect at the highest level. Shoot 37% from three, 83% from the free throw line. far better numbers than LeBron has ever managed or dreamed of managing. Talk about a stretch five. That’s the definition of Brook Lopez. So Brooke chose the stability, the egoless, even keelness of Tailoo and Kawhi Leonard over the nightly soap opera swirling around LeBron and Luca and JJ. Brook Lopez knows full well that the quote unquote goat often needs a scapegoat. And Brook Lopez, smart man, went to Stanford, didn’t want the the between the lines fingerpointing at him on LeBron’s mind game podcast. You know, that’ll be coming next year. I can’t blame Brooke. He just wanted to work in peace, not in pieces. So now that Brook’s a Clipper and Miles Turner is a buck and Clint Cabell is a rocket and Luke Cornet, my man from Vanderbilt, is a Spur, I’m assuming that leaves the Lakers with DeAndre Aton, whose talent is undeniable, which is why he went first overall in that 2018 draft when Luca went third. But what has has always been extremely questionable about DeAndre Aton is his motor, man. His motor, his drive, his every night desire. He cares, then he doesn’t. Does not. That’s why now two teams, Phoenix and Portland, have given up on the number one former overall pick. Maybe LeBron and Luca, maybe those two. Maybe they’re the two who could keep Aton’s fire lit night after night after night. I I’ll give you that possibility. But I will never forget the story my man Lil Wayne told me after game seven of the 2022 Conference semifinals. That was Mavs at Suns. Wayne was sitting courtside that day. As the Suns lost game seven by 33 points. Sun’s coach at the time, remember Williams, yanked and benched DeAndre Aton in that game. And along the sideline within earshot of Lil Wayne, Monty and Aton had a shouting match the likes of which Wayne had never heard between a player and a coach in such a public setting. Wayne’s been around a lot of athletes and attended courtside many, many NBA games. And he called me to tell me, “I’ve never heard anything about this. It just got vicious. It just got so profanely ugly.” Now, remember, Monty Williams is seen as a very nice guy, highly respected around the league, Christian, good man. And yet Aton’s attitude, which had probably been eating away at him all year, just really set him off during game seven. And he lost it. And he let Aton have it for many to hear. Eightton responded in kind for everyone to hear. This was a home game seven. And Monty Williams just could not live with Aton’s lack of effort. Lakers, beware. You have been warned. [Music]

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