Damian Lillard Opens Up About Milwaukee Exit and One Myles Turner/Brook Lopez Comp Not Discussed

Damian Lillard Opens Up About Milwaukee Exit and One Myles Turner/Brook Lopez Comp Not Discussed

Is there actually one big name left to monitor for the Bucks? And who is that? Plus, Damen Lillard opens up about his Milwaukee exit. Camille and I share the details coming up next on today’s Locked on Bucks. You are Locked on Bucks, your daily Milwaukee Bucks podcast, part of the Locked Onet. Your team every day. Welcome into Locked on Bucks. I’m Justin Garcia, joined as always by Camille Davis. You can find me during the season on the Bucks Radio Network. You can catch Camille on the Locked On NBA show and the Technical File podcast as well. Today’s episode is brought to you by our friends over at Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Um, bit of a grab bag of things that have popped up in the last day or so, uh, for today’s episode, Camille. But the place to start, I suppose, comes to us from Damen Lillard. And I know there’s been a little bit of Dame fatigue that we’ve definitely seen in the comments, but he had um a couple of interviews recently, his his introductory press conference in Portland where he talked through things and then an interview as well that just dropped what yesterday, this morning with the Journal Sentinel where he shed some more light on the exit in Milwaukee. And I was operating under the assumption there was a bit of I suppose a tip off that Dame wasn’t completely blindsided by this. And this is something that the organization approached him with leading into that July 1st date. I think that was even reported somewhere. Um coming directly from Damen Lillard’s mouth. Apparently that was not the case. Yeah. He mentioned, you know, going out to dinner, you know, with some Bucks Brass and being told and reassured that, you know, the organization will be supporting him throughout his rehab process. And then he was at the gym, you know, a couple days later, heard a knock and got the word of, you know, you’re being waved and stretched. And he said it was a shock. It was a shock to him, but like he understands it’s, you know, it’s business. It’s the cold side of the business, but it is the business. and you know he gave the Bucks a lot of credit too on the way out calling a top of mind organization um feeling like connected with people at the organization too. So like he acknowledged like hey it was a little cold but like I understood the why behind it and yeah kind of put finally to rest the did he know did he not know what was the situation behind it that we’ve been hearing kind of back and forth over the last few weeks since the news really broke. Yeah, it was, as Dame said, dinner with John Horse and Milt Newton, the Bucks assistant general manager in Portland where the the meeting was basically a catchup and they reassured him how the organization would support him through his rehab and as he was preparing for a session at the gym, he heard a knock on his door and it was his assistant telling him he needed to call his agent immediately and said, “I grabbed my phone to call him and I I saw it on my phone. My screen was on Instagram and when I grabbed my phone to call him, my screen unlocked and the thing at the top of my timeline was a double-sided image with me and Miles Turner and under my name it said waved. Under his name it said signed and he had a Bucks logo and I thought Miles Turner to the Bucks. I had to be waved for him to be signed and that’s how I saw it. It was definitely a shocker. So yeah, it it goes against I think what some of us assumed and even as I mentioned was initially softly reported out there, but um I you know what you said too about this wasn’t Dame blasting the organization. He said top-notch organization, worldclass organization and and still um had high marks of praise for everyone that he worked with. And you know, on the side of the Bucks, the more you think about it, the more you can understand of you can’t really tell them because that comes out, hey, Damen Lillard was just told by the Bucks they plan to wave and stretch him. They’re going to have some cap space. They’re going to be a cap space team. What are they going to do with that? And then that puts other teams on on guard a little bit. And again, that was I think that was really the big part of of the Miles Turner signing was you caught Indiana flatfooted where they were maybe prepared for what if Brooklyn gets frisky here and and kicks the tires on it. Maybe not the greatest fit. Maybe Detroit does something, but to see, wow, the Bucks are maybe the most ideal fit in a basketball perspective for Miles Turner and now they have the space to do it. That’s what created this and caught them off guard and and landed Miles Turner in Milwaukee. Yeah. And I mean, and we’ve also heard the the Bucks up operating like under that cloak of secrecy like to bring Damon in the first place where that was part of the conversation as well of Drew Holiday and him feeling kind of blindsided about this trade after he talked about, hey, I want to be a buck for life and you know, he signs his contract and everything is good and then boom, he’s traded for Damen Lillard. And there was a lot of conversation then around the way that happened if the feelings that real life people had about being traded Matt all the conversation went into that. Um so hearing the dame side of things too finally kind of clearing the air about it. Um, to your point, it it it’s the cold side of business for sure because to your point, like you don’t want other teams to know how you’re operating. And we understood how the Bucks felt internally about their operations from the article we saw with Eric at the Athletic where John Horse made mention the fact like, you know, besides a couple teams here in the East, we felt like we had a lot of flexibility this summer. So, it’s to hear it phrased that way of like we felt like we had flexibility knowing what was on their books and the only way to really get there is to try to get Damian Lillard off of your books. Like it it’s a different it’s interesting thinking about how front offices have to navigate. And again, people always saying like this business is business and it is. So, I love that Dame can separate that and be like I mean I get it. Injuries were tough on us and that was a big part of the Milwaukee run. Uh but at the other side of it like yeah it was still kind of cold though for it to happen that way. So I always say like multiple things can be true at the same time and it’s like you can acknowledge like hey he didn’t he we learn now he he did not know uh super ahead of time he was getting told one thing different thing happened but also that the front office had to operate in the way that they had to operate because they wanted to make sure they didn’t show their hand and you know didn’t tip anybody else off. Yeah. And I I think the the place to wrap it and at least for now, barring something earthshattering that comes out in this off season, Damen Lillard opens up and and trashes the Bucks, something like that. I think we can close the book on the Damen Lillard conversation now, but I’ll I’ll just close it with this. And I believe he said this at his introductory press conference with the Blazers. um talking and he he tiptoed around some of these things too towards the end with the Bucks, but talking about the situation in Milwaukee, it’s just basketball. I don’t feel it doesn’t feel incomplete to me. It just feels like it’s basketball. You got to be lucky to win big. You got to be healthy and you got to be playing your best at the right time. And we just had bad luck during that run in Milwaukee there. And that’s how I think every Bucks fan is going to view it. the excitement that started late September 2023 and the thoughts of this team’s back, championships, Dame and and Giannis paired together to seeing it not unfold that way and just from really day one it just felt like they were never really on the same track and couldn’t really get there for a number of reasons and and Dame I think sums it up best. It was just bad luck. And that’s how you view this two-year stretch of Bucks basketball. What we hope is not bad luck is Miles Turner and his fit with the Bucks. So, there’s a couple interesting numbers to throw out there and this pairing between Miles Turner and Giannis. The free agency wheel kind of slowed down to a halt now, but there’s still some interesting names out there and one that won’t go away when it comes to others linking it to the Bucks. We’ll share that coming up after this. If you’ve ever decided at the last minutes ahead to a ball game with friends or family, you know it can be a challenge. It might be game day and suddenly you realize you want to be in the stands. A couple of weeks ago, you might have been that person. You wanted to get to Milwaukee for the Jacob Miserowski experience. Well, that’s where game time comes in. It’s the easiest way to grab lastminute tickets without the stress. With the money you save on tickets, you can splurge on food, drinks, merchandise, even an invite to a bigger group to come with you. Game time makes it all possible. 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Um, again, something we’ve talked through quite a bit, but um, just looking at, and this is something for more of a future show, but thinking about the most talented guys that Giannis has played with in his career, um, I don’t know that Miles Turner would immediately pop to the top of the list. And granted, we haven’t seen it yet for a lot of Bucks fans, but what stands out is obviously the floor spacing ability. And we’ve, you know, talked quite a bit about Miles Turner, you know, being basically Brook Lopez, but eight years younger. And in some ways a better version of Brook Lopez, specifically the shooting. And that’s the big part to me is what we have not talked about quite a bit is just the volume. Miles Turner took five and a half threes per game last year which was a careerhigh for him. He made more than two of those. So he shot 40% if we round up. He’s a career 36% three-point shooter. And when you look at the volume of attempts and that percentage, there are only two big men in the league that achieved those numbers. Miles Turner and Chris Staps Porzingis, who is oddly enough, another one of those names that you like, well, I don’t know. Is is there a way you could get Chrisaps Porzingis? And he could be the guy to put next to Giannis. Could you buy low on him? And you can see why with those numbers. So, we mentioned five and a half threes per game for Miles attempts. That is um Bucks haven’t had a big take that many threes since Brook Lopez in his first year averaged 6.3 and he made the same uh volume per game as Miles Turner did a year ago. So, you can see the comps there, but I I think you know obviously the fit is what you’re looking for. There’s going to be a much higher volume, which is going to be music to the ears of a lot of Bucks fans of three-point attempts from your big than there was a year ago. And it needs to be. The Bucks as a team as a whole just need to shoot more threes. And I know um I’ve tuned in a few times to to Bucks talk after games listening to to you talk to some fans who are calling in and there can be complaints from time to time from Bucks fans from last season that the Bucks took too many threes last season which is something that I would not agree with given the fact that the Bucks were able to knock them down at such a high volume as a team. Like I want to see them put up more threes especially in this offense that’s being ran by Giannis at point guard. like you want him to be able to spray out and for guys to knock down threes to have Miles Turner there who can do this as you mentioned at a level that we haven’t seen since Brook’s first level or first year in Milwaukee it’s going to be nice to have and even looking at how Miles Turner gets most of his threes the shot diet is very similar to Brooke where it’s not many corner threes coming out of this like that’s not the area of the floor that you generally see them but you can get a lot of above the breakthroughs and with Miles Turner being a big there. You can get those threes with him being a trailer. Like we saw Brooke get quite a few opportunities from that, he can also be a killer in pick and pop situations. He’s good in situations where your ball handler can touch the paint, kick it back out to him because he can knock the catch and shoot down. Like it is a luxury to have a big that can stretch the floor in that way. And again, we’ve talked about why it’s so important to have that type of big next to Giannis and especially with Giannis having the ball in his hand more often. So, I’m kind of curious too what like the pick and pop, pick and roll situations look like between Giannis and Miles Turner, if they, you know, operate with any of those going forward in this upcoming season. So, definitely want to see more threes from the Bucks as a whole. And Miles Turner is somebody who can definitely help to that equation. So, there’s a couple things for me. Um, Miles took 394 threes last year with the Pacers. That would have ranked third in three-point attempts for the Bucks a year ago. Brook Lopez was third with 373-point attempts. The big thing is the Bucks leader in three-pointers made and taken a year ago was Damen Lillard. So, that’s going to change. Gary Trent Jr. was second at 180 makes 433 attempts. I mean, very quietly, Gary Trent Jr. was a 42% three-point shooter last year after a horrendous start to the season. That is something does not get mentioned near enough. Oh, by the way, this guy shot 41% on threes, 42 if we round up last year. Um, I would imagine that number for Gary Trent Jr. If he took 433 last year, I think you’d like that to creep closer to 500. AJ Green was 363. That’s going to be over 400. And that that should be Gary Tren Jr. numbers, you know, like neck andneck for three-point attempts. And and same story for Miles Turner, I would assume he’s going to be over 400 three-point attempts. Um, the big thing for me though, which we have not discussed, and the fit of Miles Turner, the ideal pairing between he and Giannis, the three-point shooting, again, the numbers and how the efficiency has been better than Brooke the past couple of years, the volume has been higher, too. The one thing that we do have to keep an eye on and it’s where the rest of the moves the Bucks made this off seasonason are very important to retain that front court is Camille, you could pencil in Brooke Lopez for basically every single game save for that one year when he had back surgery and and missed twothirds of the season. Other than that, in Milwaukee, 81 games, uh, 68 out of 73, 70 out of 72, the back surgery season where he just played 13, then 78, 79, 80. Mhm. Not the same story for Miles Turner. Played 72 games last year. He played 77 the year prior to that. That was the most he had played in an individual season since his second year in the league. 62 42 47 62 74. So, it’s not to say he’s injuryprone, but I do think we have taken for granted Brooke Lopez’s ability, his availability, and how much of an iron man he was. And you at least have other options. You retained Bobby Poris, you brought back Jericho Sims, but it’s it’s not going to be like in years past where you knew, well, our starting center is going to be there 82 games a year. Yeah. which was crazy to think about Brooke being that reliable healthwise given his age like and back surgery and back surgery a sevenfooter getting back surgery and he came back like he never let the lineup to begin with. That’s one thing I’ve been saying about this Clippers team this upcoming year where it’s like there’s a lot of question marks with that age of that group and the guys they’re relying on there. I was like, but I was like, at least I will say this, like Brook Lopez, he is 37 years old, but he has not missed many games there. So, like the health concerns with that team being older and Brook Lopez, he was the one of the old guys where I’m like, I think he’s actually going to be able to to play, especially as a backup. So, that’s a piece of the Brook Lopez game that I do think is underrated, like you mentioned. And Miles Turner is going to walk into a situation here in Milwaukee where whether right or wrong, he’s going to be compared to Brook Lopez going forward because that has been the defensive archetype that the Bucks are looking for for their centers. And also Brook Lopez was the anchor for this era of Bugs basketball defensively um you know since Giannis’s MVPess really started. So like there’s always going to be comparisons I think between the two players and just how they played. So for Miles Turner, he’s just going to have to be Miles Turner and and figure out what that looks like. But for the Bucks, again, we’ve talked about we feel good about their front court rotation. We like that they were able to retain Bobby Poris. We like that they brought Jericho Sims back. We enjoy all this. And if Cuz a four, what does that mean? If Miles Turner is out, do you see, you know, the Cuz Giannis lineups set in the front court a little bit more because you’re trying to spread those minutes out. How can the Bucks pivot if injury does strike to Miles Turner or someone else in their front court? And they have some pieces that can gobble up the minutes, but like the ideal form of the Bucks is going to have Miles Turner at center because of the way he can space the floor and play the defense. Yeah. And again, that’s why I think it was important to bring in everything that you did and and even, you know, we joked about it, but the summer league recap even to say, well, there are some nice things we saw from Pete Nance, like he might be counted on or or asked to to pitch in for five, seven to 10 games next year for that reason. So it would be a much different conversation if this was like years past where your front court was just Giannis Bobby Poris and in this case Miles Turner then you’re like this gets a little thin if something happens here. So you do at least have more options. But that was you know in in looking at the numbers that was the first thing that jumped out to me. We’re we’re gonna drift to three-point shooting and say hey this is going to increase and this is a perfect fit. But then you just keep going back to the games played and say, “Okay, there’s going to be a gap out there. I don’t anticipate Miles Turner playing 82 games or 78 games.” Um, maybe it’s 72 again. Maybe it’s mid70s, right? But that’s going to leave a gap of opportunities for somebody else to have to fill in in those spots. Um, couple of interesting names that have been out there. Everybody’s favorite site. We see it in the comments. Camille CBS Sports. It’s been added again with a number of different stories and one of them about free agents that are left on the market. Restricted free agents and one name keeps getting attached to the Bucks. We’ll get into that conversation in another busy summer for Giannis coming up after this. So, um, I hesitate to bring up the site, but CBS Sports did a story, I believe yesterday on the remaining free agents, and I think the impetus for this was the reporting that’s starting to come out on Jonathan Kaminga now that he’s in no rush to take any offer from the Warriors, and he has two offers available from the Kings and Phoenix Suns. But you look at the rest of the group of names out there, it’s basically restricted free agents on the market. You got Jonathan Kaminga. Um, not all restricted, but we still haven’t seen Al Horford sign. We’ve been uh informed. Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons are kind of tied to one another. So, we’re waiting to see one go someplace, and that could open up some things for the other. Gary Payton’s another one. Our old friend Malcolm Brogden is another one. But the restricted guys and Kaminga and Cam Thomas and a guy that doesn’t get mentioned a whole lot, Quinton Grimes. Um CBS puts together their list of where does this player fit the best. And again, in looking through this, none of this is sourced. It’s just, hey, I think this fits, right? They once again have Cam Thomas with the Bucks. And there was the site at the risk of it not being FanDuel, I’m not going to name, but there one of the sites listed um the the odds for where players would end up and Cam Thomas was the Bucks were number one or number two for a while. We’ve seen other teams kick around or or Kevin Okconor, I believe, was one and other names say, “Hey, the Bucks should go after Cam Thomas.” Well, again, they can only offer a veteran minimum contract. And I get the the the perceived need for who is your number two score. I don’t see Cam Thomas taking the veteran minimum number one. Uh I don’t see the Nets letting him go for that and not matching that figure. Signing trades makes it complicated. The Bucks aren’t really hampered by any of the apron restrictions, but what are you giving back to take in that salary in a sign and trade is what makes it tough because I’m going to go out on a limb and say the Nets are probably not interested in Kyle Kosma going to the Nets in a sign and trade for Cam Thomas. And that 2031 first round pick, I don’t think Cam Thomas is the guy that I would attach it to. So, do you have any thoughts on where Cam Thomas ultimately ends up? And do you actually think he would be a good fit in Milwaukee? Ultimately, I think he ends up staying in Brooklyn, but I think he it might be just like the qualifying like just I’m just going to be there for the year. Like, I’m just be there for the year so I can be unrestricted. Yep. And I’m going to bet on myself. I think we might start seeing that even more often with restricted free agency just how things are really starting to shake out. But I think that’s where he ends up being because as you mentioned like even if the Bucks did put out an offer all they can offer off like just purely off the rip is the vet man. And why wouldn’t Brooklyn match that? And why would Cam Thomas take that? Like that’s part of the delay. Like he wants to get paid some bigger dollars and taking a vet man is not going to be on the table. So then your only avenue as you mentioned is sign and trade and I don’t think the Bucks have the right assets uh to line that one up. So, I think this season Cam Thomas is back with the Nets. But I understand why he keeps getting like mocked to the to the Bucks. Uh because when you lose a Damen Lillard, someone who was giving you 25 points a night next to as a number two option, like some teams that’s number one option, but your number two was giving you 25 points a night. You’re like, well, where’s the secondary scoring going to come from on this team? And we’ve talked a lot about the committee approach that we might see from the Bucks and thinking like well Kevin Porter Jr. or Gary Tren Jr. like I can see them having a bigger Bobby Portoris Jr. like just being able to get the points but to think about a consistent second option like Cam Thomas fits those boxes because he is a bucket getter. Some might say too much on the tough shot express for Cam Thomas but like he is somebody who is going to put the buckets up. So like I understand why he keeps getting mocked to Milwaukee. I just don’t see a realistic pathway there this season uh to do it. Looking at the remaining free agents and most notable at least um again the Bucks roster is currently full. We’ve we’ve gone over at length how that may change and whether or not that is somebody that shares the last name of a player that wears number 34 or you do something else. But if they were to open up a roster spot, any of these names do you think would be worth it or interest you? Stop me when I name one that that interests you. Okay. Malcolm Brogton, Gary Payton II, Trey Lyles, Chris Bucher, nope. Monte Morris, nope. Ben Simmons, absolutely not. Russell Westbrook, repeat last answer. Seth Curry, no. Precious Aua, no. Thomas Bryant, no. Landry Shamut, nope. Corey Joseph, nope. Uh, maybe you want, could I reinterest you in a Don Wright campaign or Tory Craig reunion? No, thank you. Uh, Taylor Horton Tucker? Nope. Alec Burks? No. If you loved uh the names like Ben Simmons and Company, could I interest you? Markeel Faultz. No. Nope. Uh Cody Martin? No. Me? Okay. And then did I say Chris Bucher? You did. That’s still a no. All right. There’s one name left and I saved this for last because I I think I know what you might say. Air Coffee. Yes. That I Yes. Because again, a bigger wing type of player, younger guy, still up at 26, 27, I think, somewhere in that that 27 to 28. Yeah. Yeah. So, like Yeah, sure. Like that’s a that’s a flyer I would take. Yeah. Um below 30, a bigger wing to your point, had some nice moments with the Clippers last year especially, and was a 42% catch and shoot on threes guy. So, that makes All right, one last one. Malik Beasley. Oh, no. We can’t can’t. No, no, he got some things to sort out. Um, yeah. I mean, looking over the list of guys, I mean, you know, certainly for everything that we just said about their big situation, I mean, all right, if you wanted a break in case of emergency guy, maybe a Trey Lyles type. I I would assume Al Horford still ends up in Golden State with the Warriors, but the fact that it keeps going on this long, um, I mean, I take that as they’re just currently looking for, okay, how can we keep Jonathan Kaminga? So, what’s it going to cost? and how do we say Al can we give you this portion of the mid level that we have so we have x amount left and we can use that to to retain Jonathan Kaminga but it is notable that it’s still stretching into August at this point pretty much like we’re approaching Brook Lopez signing with the Bucks the first time territory for Al Horford. Um, but yeah, for that list too for me it’s it was pretty much you know what I’d be interested in air coffee as the 15th man on this roster for the the biggest reason being that’s the biggest blind spot this roster has right now of a guy that fits that um position. The other notable thing was um so before we get to Eurob Basket, um another story by CBS was, you know, reunions we’d like to see in light of Damen Lillard going back to Portland. Chris Paul goes back to the Clippers. And look, I know he’s he’s not currently on the market, but the fact that Chris Middleton and the Milwaukee Bucks were not one of those. Uh look, I I get it. It also happened six months ago. Um, man, but that would be number one with a bullet for me. Yeah, abs. Absolutely. Like, and again, he doesn’t really fit everything that we’ve talked about or what the Bucks need going forward. But, you know, the secondary score, I mean, that that part, but like again, buyout is different than trading for and assuming the contract. like when we have the Drew Holiday conversation where it’s like it’s like no I wouldn’t trade for him but if he happened to be bought out I would be I would I would think about it. Chris, I love him down. Like, I love Chris Middleton, it doesn’t look right with him in a Wizards jersey at all, but and wearing number 32. 32, none of it none of it looks right. And as much as I love Chris Middleton again, like I just I don’t know if that would make sense unless he is coming in and he’s like, you know what, I am cool with being this bench dude who, you know what I mean? Like the role for him would be so Yeah. I don’t Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I mean it’s a different conversation with um starting lineup that in terms of pace is not Dame, Chris Middleton, Brook Lopez, but it still on the surface doesn’t fit how you’ve assembled this roster. So, it would have to be a bench role. Um, and you know, quite frankly, I think that’s a role he would thrive in with any team, but it’s also a tough cell to a player of his stature. Um, that maybe hasn’t fully I don’t know. I don’t even want to put think or try to get in his head, but maybe hasn’t fully come to grips with because of the injuries, this is where my career is. But, uh, yes, number one, I think for every single Bucks fan, I I hope he gets to finish his career here, even if it’s a ceremonial one-day contract to retire. I hope Chris moves back here and lives in in Brookfield where he was before. And just we see you bump into Chris Middleton at Sandex and out and about. You see him on the golf course and that’s the way that that Chris Middleton ages into retirement. Um, we also got Eurob Basket coming up this summer and uh, Yianisko is going to be playing for Greece once again, which always seems to, I don’t know. I feel like it’s died down a little recently, Camille, but it, you know, it used to be pretty polarizing of like, I don’t want Giannis playing in Euro Basket. I don’t want any risk of injury. And then the rest of us like especially the last two years when you look at it and say last summer especially hey this is our first chance to see Giannis since the sole strain. Yeah. And I again I I get it. I never want to tell somebody how to fan. Um so I’m not going to be like I if you disagree with me and how I view it like you are wrong but this is important to Giannis. It is very important to him to play for his country. Um, and internationally these tournaments, international play is looked at so differently than how Americans tend to view Euro basket and the Olympics and everything like that. Um, I think in part because as Americans, like basketball’s our sport, like it’s a sport invented in North America here, like it’s it’s something that has been uniquely American and as the world continues to fall in love with the game, like this means something to them. and for Giannis to play for his country, like I’m always going to be here for it because I know it means that much for him. Like seeing them, you know, last summer getting into the Olympics and just the emotion that overcame Giannis and everything with that. Like I love that for him. Like you can get injured doing anything anytime, anywhere. And I like you can’t play scared. Like you can’t play in the bubble of like well we’re just going to shut him down forever because you might get hurt that way of not being able to ramp yourself up like going into Euro Basket which is the end of August if I remember correctly going into September like he’ll be done before Buzz training camp and then you get to training camp and you can roll right on into it August 27th to September 14th. So it’s going to basically butt up against training camp starting. But that’s uh that’s Giannis’s offseason five on five pretty much is is going through that. And um we don’t have a decision yet for Nicole Jokic. Luca Don had said back in December that he intended to play for Slovenia. Victor Wimmen and Ruby Gobear are not playing for France. So the big names out there right now that you can look forward to seeing uh the Bosnian beast Ysef Nerk playing for Gaz Bosnian Hersa Gavina, Zachary Reach and Gersonell probably the biggest names that are going to be playing for France and noted Bucks killer Musa Diabate. Uh you got Dennis Shruder and France Vagner playing for Germany. Giannis the only notable name NBA wise on team Greece. Denny Az playing for Israel. Dante Dvenenzo playing for Italy along with Simony Fontio who’s now with the Heat and was once the apple of my eye and a player I wish the Bucks would have targeted. Um who Nicovich on Montenegro Jonas Valenunis playing for Lithuania now with the Denver Nuggets. No questions about that. And uh Santiel Dama playing for Spain. That’s really the gist of the big names out there. So, it’s not like, you know, I’m old enough to remember in the 90s when you would occasionally have some international rosters included on like NBA 2K. Yeah. Or NBA Live and you’d say, “Oh, wow. That’s where that guy went.” Like now you pretty much know a lot of the guys on these rosters and and we get that to look forward to for three weeks to see Giannis and uh team Greece playing in Euro Basket. Last thing to throw out there as we start to wrap this up, Camille, how excited are you for the return of the NBA to NBC this fall? Oo, I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see it. Like, they’re assembling a pretty good like studio team. The the broadcast teams are looking really nice. I keep hearing the music in my head. I’ve been rewatching um a lot of just random older games. So, like I was just watching the 93 finals and like when it starts and you hear in the music and you’re just like I I can’t take it. Uh the Charles Barkley is I mean the current number 34 is going to have a say. But Charles Barkley is my all-time favorite athlete and um that 93 finals ruined my summer as an 11year-old. It was just it was over from there. And seeing John Paxton hit that above the break three to to wrap up the series, I I never fully recovered from that. Still hard. When you hear 93 finals, you just go, “Oh.” Mhm. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, um, we’ve it’s been quite a list and you look at they even added, I think, five more yesterday in their press release and announcement. you look at and you’re like, why can’t like so why why why does ESPN seemingly just have like six guys that were cycling through like why can’t we get the same Michael Grady who uh used to be the sideline reporter for the Brooklyn Nets has been the the the radio playbyplay guy for the Timberwolves for the past couple of years. Michael Grady will be on Playbyplay. Uh Mike Trico’s number one in their play-by-play guys. Noah Eagle, Terry Ganon, that’s their play-by-play group. They already announced Jamal Crawford, Reggie Miller, and Grant Hill as analysts. And then yesterday, they announced Derek Fiser, Brad Dohy, Robbie Hmel, Brian Scallabbrini, and Austin Rivers as uh one of their analysts. And that joins names like Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter. Uh yes, those two. I was going to say somebody else, but I believe that’s Amazon. And then Maria Taylor is their studio host. We’ll see Michael Jordan as a special contributor as well. So, it’s a big list of names here. And I think the the biggest thing I’m looking forward to is not only the return of Round Ball Rock and just the nostalgia of seeing the NBA on NBC. Hopefully, they use the same graphics packages and do the intros that you were alluding to as well where they’re actually telling a story. Yeah. Um, but I I think the biggest thing is just change like it it felt like we’ve had the conversation many times this was a league in how the TV presentation has been just needs a change and needs to be shaken up a little bit. So to see NBC and Amazon get in and I would assume do that is probably something long overdue. So long overdue. Like there’s there’s not much more to say that like make the games feel special. Make them feel like events. And NBC is is a company that historically has always made you feel that way when you’re tuning in to those games. Like even back in the day, like when ABC games would come on, it was like, “Oh, this feels different than a normal NBA game.” So just adding some of that back into it. And I think the NBA heard a lot of the complaints this year about presentation, especially once they got to the finals of just how regular everything felt. So, they have to put a little bit more into that and I think NBC is going to be a nice step in the right direction. Yeah. And this fall, we’ll get a chance to see that. The NBA returning to uh NBC. That’ll do it for today’s show. Um so, starting next week, we’re not saying there’s only going to be three, but you may see less shows on a weekly basis as we finally moved through the busy parts of the offseason. now into a bit of a a dead spot for about a month or so in the offseason. So, the frequency of the show may be a little lighter than you’ve seen. We’ll still do at least three shows a week. And again, you’ll you’ll still get some weeks where there’s a show every day, especially when the news warrants, but just more of an FYI. That’ll do it for today and for the week for Camille. I’m Justin. We’ll talk with you guys once again next week on Locked on Bucks.

Bucks shake up roster: Lillard’s exit, Turner’s arrival, and Giannis’ EuroBasket plans. What’s next for Milwaukee?

Justin Garcia and Camille Davis analyze the Milwaukee Bucks’ recent moves, including Damian Lillard’s surprising departure and Myles Turner’s potential impact. They explore Turner’s three-point prowess and how it could benefit Giannis Antetokounmpo on the court. The hosts also discuss remaining free agents, debate Chris Middleton’s future, and examine Giannis’ commitment to international play. Plus, get the scoop on the NBA’s return to NBC and what it means for basketball broadcasts.

Tune in for expert insights on the Bucks’ evolving strategy and how these changes could shape their upcoming season.

0:00 Damian Lillard opens up about Milwaukee exit
5:08 Analyzing Bucks’ approach to Lillard’s waiving
10:10 Myles Turner’s fit with Giannis and the Bucks
15:11 Remaining free agents and potential Bucks targets
20:41 CBS Sports’ free agent predictions for Bucks
26:57 EuroBasket and Giannis playing for Greece
35:19 NBA’s return to NBC and broadcast changes

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