Milwaukee, WI
Monday Morning Media Roundup: Stasis; It’s What’s (Likely) For Dinner
I’ve spent the column space here each Monday since the season ended thinking about the possible futures of your Milwaukee Bucks. Those thoughts have led me to lament how bad the team’s coming free agent class is, restate my adherence to the Giannis-as-C theorem, and to find ideas on how the team can build if the recent Finals contenders are models to emulate.
Underlying all of this digital ink spillage, though, is the very real possibility that there is no change on the cards. For reasons of contractual, continuity, and chemistry reasons, the baseline expectations for the Bucks should be that they will enter the 2024-2025 season without Jae Crowder and with some other random veteran player in that slot. They could take a contingent of five or six “young guys” — Beauchamp, AJ Green, Andre Jackson Jr., Chris Livingston, Draft Pick X, Draft Pick Y — but that would be anathema to how this front office builds. Expect, then, some draft night trades that see the team buying future capital at the expense of immediate scratch off tickets.
Expect, also, the likes of Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton to be back, too. They have very tradable contracts and feel like they’ve played out their usefulness with this group. They also can’t be aggregated with other salary because of the Bucks cap situation and they may not have much value around the league besides protected picks and other also-ran vets.
Finally, expect little change in the way the team plays on both ends of the floor. Not for a want of trying on the part of the coaching staff, of course. It is simply the reality of what this group of (very (very)) established players is capable of doing. Brook Lopez doesn’t have another arc in his career that doesn’t lead to his retiring to a massive estate in Orlando. Damian Lillard isn’t going to self-actualize into a superb passer. Khris Middleton has ran at his peak for two playoffs in a row and must be more concerned with maintenance than growth.
It isn’t all that interesting or satisfactory, but it is the likeliest outcome. We’d do ourselves well to prepare for the possibility.
Let’s roundup!
Milwaukee Bucks Links
Bucks offseason primer: Milwaukee’s key roster questions as NBA Draft nears & Who could the Bucks select in the 2024 NBA Draft? Bub Carrington, Tyler Kolek and more options (The Athletic)
You may or may not have already hit your free article limit over on the Times, but if you haven’t I’d say these pieces by Nehm are worthwhile to get a solid baseline understanding of where the Bucks stand. That’s especially the case vis a vis the cap, the first and second aprons, and how difficult it may be to get under the second apron in particular.
One note on Nehm’s draft piece: Found it very interesting that he scouted almost exclusively guards and a few wings. He is rarely in the news breaking business in the way Shams/Woj are, but he isn’t just pulling names for the hell of it, either.
Chronomat Giannis Antetokounmpo (World Tempus (???))
Cracking me up that the AI writer of this never refers to the Bucks by name, but often as “Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team”. Now ain’t there something poetic and true in that.
I’ve no idea how large the crossover is between Brew Hoop readers and Swiss luxury watch purchasers, but if you’re out there, this one’s for you.
How Celtics and Mavericks built their rosters and lessons other teams can learn (CBS Sports)
Some interesting observations in here that were more likely than not inspired by my intro to last week’s MMMR where I tried to determine a few lessons for the Bucks from the Mavs-Celtics Finals. Tend to agree with Sam Quinn on all of his points, and the Bucks aren’t far off on a few, either. Being opportunistic is something GM Jon Horst will often attempt to do, but he’s fallen short occasionally in terms of “hard choices” (trading Jrue could count here, too, though) and the depth of the roster. We shall see where things lead now.
The Seven Commandments of Scoring in the NBA Playoffs (The Ringer)
Again, another interesting piece that tackles a key component to playoff winning: Scoring. As with most of these pieces, if you read them through a Bucks-tinted lens and ask whether the ideas apply to that team you may come up feeling a bit wanting. Giannis is a fearless guy and physicality is his great strength, but his durability issues have prevented us from seeing whether he has truly learned from his failures as well. Beyond him and his two co-stars, I often wonder about the other guys’ skillsets on this plane. In a world where playoff basketball is more iso-heavy as the years go by, maybe it doesn’t matter if the seventh man brings next to nothing in terms of scoring.
Mock Draft Prospect of the Week
Tyler Smith – G League Ignite – 6’9”, 225 pounds, 19 years old, SF/PF
With the MarJon Beauchamp experience underway — and still to be determined even if my hopes aren’t particularly high — will Jon Horst find himself allured by another G League Ignite prospect with his first round draft pick? Tyler Smith at 6’9” with a 7’1” wingspan could be a possible project piece if placed in the right developmental system that will keep him on his nascent upward trajectory. The highlights!
Not bad, actually! The first half of the video is mostly clips of him finishing a ton of dunks off pick and rolls or his reading and reacting to a tough shot/miss by a teammate to finish a play. Crucially, he can elevate off of one foot on the move which is something MarJon can’t quite nail. A couple of made threes shows some promise, although scouting reports say the 36.4% he made as a member of the Ignite could end up being an outlier if his amateur numbers are more reflective of what he’s capable of. On defense, the one-on-one capacity just really isn’t there, but you’d be happy seeing some of those off-ball rotations of his to close and block attempts where he starts on the weak side.
Smith played in 27 games for the Ignite with two starts in there. That team won a total of 2 games all season.
He averaged 22.0 minutes played, 13.0 points (.481/.364/.725), 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.7 stocks (0.7 steals+1.0 blocks). For a guy his age and coming mostly off the bench, his usage rate was pretty substantial (24.4%) and his offensive game mostly matched the coaching staff’s expectations when allowing that many possessions to run through him. Of course, it all comes down to how his body develops and whether he can add strength and defensive understanding to hang in the NBA. If the Bucks were to draft him I see no world in which he makes an impact in the first season outside of marginal appearances during the regular season. But if he does continue to strengthen and can keep hitting threes, he’d be a very promising guy to pair next to the likes of Antetokounmpo on both ends of the floor.
It’d take courage and a lot of faith in Doc Rivers’s staff as a developmental group. Very few Ignite guys have broken through properly at the NBA level, so Smith would have to be the first guy to buck that trend to be a success.
The Social Media Section
Give it like five more years and Kobe apocryphal-isms will have passed from stories told on podcasts to foundational national myth/lore
Think we’ve identified what caused all that Achilles pain for Dame
We’re going to party our asses off here at MMMR HQ once this dude’s contract officially expires
Please Notre Dame God, convince Pat his calling is golf. I need cap room like something bad
Yes
I’m too isolated in my continent-spanning country to get the joke. Mbappe commented with crying face emojis, so that’s good I guess
Hala Madrid, indeed
We’re a little over two weeks out from the Draft and, shortly thereafter, free agency. The team will move quickly from open questions to a cohered answer and then we can finally kick off previewing what the future may hold. Nearly there!
Happy Monday!
Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam talks greater involvement, Giannis future
Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam says that he will have a greater involvement with the team and that includes the decision on if to re-sign Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Milwaukee Bucks know their placement in the 2026 NBA Draft, slotted No. 10 for their first lottery pick in a decade. Who are some of the possible selections at that spot when June 23 rolls around?
Check out what the first post-lottery wave of mock drafts has to say, most of them pointing to same prospect, that being Nate Ament of Tennessee, a 6-10 freshman small forward.
Nate Ament, forward, Tennessee
From Spencer Woo of ESPN: “While Ament’s stock has slipped from an early top-five projection, he had productive stretches this season within a tricky team context and has room to help himself in workouts. Although scouts are split on whether he has star potential or projects better as a long-term supporting player, there is still plenty of intrigue around Ament in the lottery. As a tall skill player with shotmaking upside, Ament fits a player archetype that teams often love to swing on. As Milwaukee considers a post-Antetokounmpo future, a malleable upside swing such as Ament could be a fit.”
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo! Sports: “The Bucks should take a swing to jump-start their new era, whether or not Giannis Antetokounmpo is part of it. Players who can handle, shoot off the dribble, and stand at 6-foot-10 don’t grow on trees. This physical foundation kept Ament in lottery consideration even after a dreadful start to his freshman season when he struggled to score efficiently and make an impact defensively. But over the second half of the year for Tennessee, he flipped a switch and shots began to fall. He averaged 23.8 points over a six-game stretch in January and February that reminded everyone why he was a top recruit in the country. Then he dealt with an ankle injury that ruined his momentum entering March and he severely struggled during the tournament. Bucks general manager Jon Horst has never been afraid to take risks though. If Ament pans out, it could look like a stroke of genius.”
Gary Parrish of CBS Sports: “Ament had an up-and-down freshman season for the Vols – but the upside isn’t hard to spot. Less than a year ago, the 2025 McDonald’s All-American was considered a possible top-five pick. So getting Ament here would be nice for a Bucks franchise that seems on the verge of rebuilding after presumably trading Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason.”
The Ringer: “Barring some transactional magic, this could be Milwaukee’s best bite at the talent apple in the draft for a while. The Bucks don’t currently have control over a first-round pick until 2031. If Giannis Antetokounmpo decides it’s time to move on, this roster will be rudderless and talent-deprived. If Giannis decides not to move on, it’ll have a rudder but still won’t go anywhere. Less than ideal, but that makes this a ‘best player available’ scenario, or rather ‘best wager available.’ There are definitely more stable options in this range, but Ament’s higher possible outcomes justify this pick. Ament fell short of expectations this past season, and he slid from top-five consideration as a result, but the jumbo-sized, smooth-moving ball handler is still a worthy bet here. Handling the ball at 6-foot-10 is an intriguing enough skill to instill some belief that he could develop into a quality asset. And the Bucks can take the risk given their circumstances.
Adam Finkelstein of CBS Sports: “Ament is a polarizing prospect with a wide range of outcomes on draft night. A late-blooming 6-foot-10 combo-forward who is fluid, has touch, and skill, he’s also inconsistent and needs to get stronger. While his freshman year was up and down, Ament’s overall arc has been linear, and there’s still glaring potential. That upside makes him a logical choice for a Milwaukee team that has a very uncertain future ahead of them.”
Brian Lewis of New York Post: “After the run on guards, taking an upside swing on a gifted developmental player here seems like a worthy gamble for a Bucks team that could be in full-on rebuild in a post-Giannis era.”
Two other names mentioned
From Eric Nehm of The Athletic: “This was an incredibly difficult pick to make without knowing what the Bucks are going to do with Giannis Antetokounmpo. If the 10-time All-Star forward remains in Milwaukee, it might make more sense to look at someone like Yaxel Lendeborg, who could make an impact right away and give the Bucks more size and skill. Instead, though, I went with Philon, who has a lot of offensive upside and could be protected on the defensive end by Ryan Rollins. Philon is an electrifying offensive player who shot 50 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3 while averaging 22 points, 3.5 rebounds and five assists per game last season.”
From Kurt Helin of NBC Sports: “The Bucks need all the backcourt help they can get, and Burries may not be flashy, but he does a lot of things well — he can play on and off the ball, can knock down catch-and-shoot jumpers but also attack closeouts, and he gets downhill off screens and has a midrange pull-up game.”
Brad Paisley (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE – Brad Paisley is scheduled to perform at the BMO Pavilion in Milwaukee on Sept. 4.
Ticket information
What we know:
The ticket pre-sale for Brad’s fan club members, Paisley Nation, begins on Tuesday, May 12 at 10 am. All tickets available at BradPaisley.com.
The tour will also offer a variety of VIP packages and experiences for fans to take their concert experience to the next level.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
Packages vary but include premium seats, a guided backstage tour, VIP-exclusive gift item, early entry & more. VIP package contents vary depending on the selected offer. For more information, visit VIPnation.com.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by Live Nation.
Billionaire Wes Edens, co-founder of Fortress Investment Group and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA club, is shown at Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 9, 2015. The Wall Street Journal on Sunday identified Edens as the victim of a billion-dollar extortion plot allegedly hatched by an ex-lover. File Photo by Andrew Gombert/EPA
May 10 (UPI) — Wes Edens, the billionaire co-founder of Fortress Investment Group and an owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, was the target of a billion-dollar extortion scheme allegedly perpetrated by an ex-lover, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
A spokesman for Edens, 64, confirmed to the newspaper that the financier is the unnamed alleged victim in a federal indictment brought against Changli “Sophia” Luo of New York City.
Edens, one of world’s most successful global investment management firm leaders with Fortress, has developed and owned businesses in real estate, transportation, infrastructure, health care, financial services, media and entertainment.
He is also a high-profile sports team owner, including the Bucks and soccer club Aston Villa of the English Premier League. He is credited turning the Bucks from a perennial cellar dweller into a champion squad over a five-year span, culminating in the 2021 NBA championship.
But he also fell victim to a lurid alleged “sextortion” scheme, his spokesman confirmed to the WSJ, admitting the Edens is the unnamed “Victim 1” cited an indictment filed last year in Manhattan federal court against Luo.
The indictment reportedly accuses her of trying to extort Victim 1 of more than $1 billion by threatening to release videos and photos of them engaged in sex. Prosecutors alleged Luo also threatened to contact the victim’s family members and business partners in a threat to destroy his fortune if he did not pay up.
According to the indictment, Luo was arrested June 14 at JFK International Airport as she tried to board a flight to China, the New York Post reported.
“Mr. Edens will be making no comment on the case as the indictment speaks for itself with respect to the charges against the defendant,” his spokesman told the Journal. “Mr. Edens expects to testify under oath at the upcoming trial.”
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