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League sources say that Milwaukee has very much been carrying itself like a franchise in recent days that expects to have the No. 13 selection as well as its own No. 10 pick. The Bucks, of course, can only make a selection at No. 13 if they acquire that pick from Miami as part of an Antetokounmpo trade.
The Knicks faced another existential choice last summer. Giannis Antetokounmpo had let it be known in league circles that he would be interested in a trade to the Knicks, if the Bucks were to trade him. The Knicks were, of course, interested, sources said. They believed they had a team good enough to win, and that replacing Thibodeau with Mike Brown would help them become more flexible -- and dangerous -- for a long playoff run. But they also knew Antetokounmpo was a top-three player in the world and felt they would be foolish not to explore trades for him. "I don't think Milwaukee was really serious about trading him," said one source with knowledge of the discussions. "But if they had been willing to trade him, the Knicks would've traded for him."
Jake Fischer: If Milwaukee does move forward with trading Giannis to Miami, the Bucks will assuredly receive the Heat’s No. 13 pick along with other draft capital. League sources say Milwaukee is also calling rival teams in search of a third top-20 pick, and potentially another pick in the top-10 ahead of the Bucks’ current 10th selection.
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Gery Woelfel: A few tidbits on the Antetokounmpo situation: — As I tweeted several weeks ago, Miami is still his preferred destination. — A national report claims Antetokounmpo had concerns about how the Heat roster would look after the trade. Nonsense . With the exception of Tyler Herro, the Heat’s starting lineup would remain in tact. — There have been reports about how the Heat haven’t worked out any lottery prospects because they’ll be sending their pick (No. 13 overall) to Milwaukee. Nonsense. Some of the same prospects the Bucks (10th pick) have worked out have also worked out for the Heat. — The Heat still remain the most likely team to acquire Antetokounmpo, but the draft isn’t until June 23. That means some other teams won’t show all their cards until the last minute in this high-stakes poker game.
It is widely presumed that the offer firmly on the table for Milwaukee calls for Miami to package Herro, Ware and Jacquez Jr. with prime draft capital to the Bucks to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo. Yet there have undeniably been rumbles throughout the week that Boston, at the very least, has to be monitored here.
Milwaukee has also worked out Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr. and has likewise expressed interest in Illinois' Wagler and Houston's Kingston Flemings. None of those four guards is projected to still be available at No. 10, which is where the Bucks will pick unless they move up. Yet one source cautioned that the Bucks might simply be hoping that a player in that high-profile quartet actually does unexpectedly slip, because there are no obvious trade partners at the moment believed to be open to a trade-up swap with Milwaukee.
The NBA concluded its investigation into the Milwaukee Bucks over the shutdown of Giannis Antetokounmpo and has determined that no further action is warranted, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania on Tuesday. The league launched its probe early last month after Antetokounmpo and the Bucks told different stories about his ability to return to the court. Antetokounmpo hyperextended his left knee on March 15 and did not appear again for the Bucks during the regular season.
I've heard both Milwaukee's Darvin Ham and Brooklyn's Steve Hetzel have made strong impressions on Pelicans officials in their discussions to date. There is a growing sense, meanwhile, that New Orleans is unlikely to have a shot at San Antonio's in-demand assistant coach Sean Sweeney, who is expected to be part of Chicago's search and possibly Orlando's.
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“I feel like the national media conversation isn’t always necessarily fair for smaller-market teams. As somebody that is from a smaller market, and I feel like my teams don’t necessarily get the same kind of recognition that they deserve, what are maybe some misconceptions that you would want to clear up about the city of Milwaukee, the Bucks fan base, and the Milwaukee Bucks franchise?” Ryan Rollins: “I would say the main thing is just recently, how LeBron said the whole thing about Milwaukee — and I think Memphis was the other city. Milwaukee is a great city. They’ve got great food spots. Everybody in Milwaukee is super friendly. There are a lot of hidden gems out there. But I think more so what he was trying to get toward was, if you’re a visiting team, it’s not really a lot to do. But if you’re from there, and you get to go around the city a little bit and meet people, it’s a great city. Everybody’s nice, everybody’s friendly, they’re welcoming, and they show a lot of love out there, too. Milwaukee is a great fan base, and I like it, man. It’s a low-key spot. I’m a low-key guy, so I guess it fits me.”
Per league sources, new Bucks coach Taylor Jenkins signed a long-term deal with a salary that is well north of $10 million annually. Jenkins isn’t the highest-paid coach in the league, as that honor goes to Golden State’s Steve Kerr at $17.5 million annually (for now, as he continues to contemplate whether to return). Miami’s Erik Spoelstra is second (approximately $15 million). And Jenkins, the former Memphis Grizzlies coach who was once a Bucks assistant in Antetokounmpo’s early days, is up there now.
With so many experienced coaches around him, Rondo was given a spectacular opportunity in Milwaukee to observe how to do the job, but he also asked questions. “He has a trait that every aspiring, currently active or former coach should have, and that’s being inquisitive,” Darvin Ham told The Athletic. “He’s very curious to learn the process of things, what triggers certain actions, what triggers certain reactions on both sides of the ball. “He knows the game, but the art of trying to teach it so the players can comprehend it, that’s the part he’s picking up. The preparation process, how it goes from paper to film to actual on-court methods to after game time, and then, boom, rinse and repeat, so to speak. He’s been great, man. He’s just very intuitive, really asking questions.”
Ryan Rollins is the new combo guard in Milwaukee that rival teams are chasing. When the Bucks explored the feasibility of trading for Memphis' Ja Morant earlier in the season, as part of their quest to upgrade the roster around Antetokounmpo, league sources say that the Grizzlies were seeking Rollins in any iteration of a Morant deal.
