It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infiniti Sports Network. It's been a busy week in the NBA as the legal tampering period opened on Monday. We've seen some wheeling, we've seen some dealing. I mean, about 30, 40 minutes ago, we just learned that DeAndre Ayton is now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. We learned that Mike Brown is going to be the next head coach of the New York Knicks.
But in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. People are trying to figure out what's next. For the Bucks, Miles Turner is in, Damien Lillard is out, Giannis is still around, Brooke Lopez is now in LA, and there's a lot going on in Milwaukee. Joining us right now to break it all down is someone who keeps up with the team very closely from CBS fifty eight It is Lance Allen. Lance, I appreciate the time.
No problem, JR. Anytime. You did a really nice job of breaking down most of the moves, and that's not even all of the moves. It's insane.
Well, we've seen Pat Conitson get moved to clear cap space, and Bobby Porter sticking around. Has anything surprised you? I mean, even Damian Lillard being waived, was that a surprise on your part? It was. I'm rarely shocked at anything these days, JR, because I've been in this business for 33 years.
So I've kind of been there, done that, seen pretty much everything. Getting Miles Turner was the first shockwave, and then waiving Damian Lillard, which It makes sense because cap-wise, you have to do it in order to bring in Miles Turner. I know I'm kind of somewhat contradicting myself, but I think That's another shock. And so that was part of it. And then just the way the bucks are built.
And they're so tight up against the cap, is keeping Gary Trent Jr. and keeping Torian Prince and keeping Kevin Porter Jr. and just all the moves that they made, in addition to what you talked about. It's pretty amazing. Obviously, people have to go, Brooke Lopez and things like that, and then they rescind the qualifying offer to Ryan Rollins.
But overall, I think they're making the best of a bad situation. Is the contract of Lillard ideal? Basically, you're spreading out $22 million a year over five years and stretching it. That's not a good look. But you get a guy like Miles Turner who can instantly play and Lillard is going to be out.
most, if not all, of next year and at 35 years old, you don't know what. The future holds, it's actually a pretty good move for them because they're in a win-now situation.
Well, Lance, when you think about the Bucks as the the team is currently constructed, I know they brought on a Gary Harris Junior as well and just some guard depth. This is a big team. Unconventional in a lot of cases, but Miles Turner is huge. Giannis is huge. Kyles Kuzma, I don't think people realize how big and tall that he is.
6'9, 6'10. Kevin Porter Jr., I assume he might be in the starting lineup. We all know Bobby Portis is big. This is a big team. What are your thoughts on the actual roster construction, knowing that it feels like we haven't seen these guys really play together or at least have a lead guard as a part of the squad outside of Giannis?
I forgot to mention Gary Harris Jr., and I just realized how many juniors there are on the team. That's another interesting dynamic in the lineup. And you're right. I think sometimes you have to sacrifice certain things, but when people look at their front, the front line, Basically, of Turner, Portis, and Giannis, that's pretty formidable to go up against.
Now, yes, do you have to have guys that can. You know, carry their weight in the back court and know if, ands, or buts about it. I think Kevin Porter Jr. is a guy that is gonna have quietly a lot of focus on him. Everybody's gonna look at Giannis and Miles Turner and the big splash plays, and Bobby Portis is kind of like your local hero, your local favorite.
But quietly, that is a big deal because you're essentially replacing Damian Lillard and you've got to hold up your end of the donkey.
So, yeah, I think you hit on something there where they definitely are strong in one area. Gary Harris Jr. adding to that and having a lot of flexibility and having a lot of strength in that area. Apparently, they feel like that will help them win in the East because clearly it hasn't been good enough the last few years. Lance Allen is joining us, CBS 58 Sports Director in Milwaukee.
Of course, the whole idea is to try to maximize what you get out of Giannis and what you have surrounding him. I mean, we move another year away from the championship. We have a lot of talent who helped him win that that are now gone. There's so many rumors about if he's going, if he's staying. I think at minimum, we'll see him through to next year.
What are your thoughts on the reality of Giannis ultimately saying, okay, it's time for me to go? I'm with you, J.R. I thought. Thought it was just ludicrous, and I'm going to bite the hand that feeds me, just media craziness that you know, just fanning the flames of Giannis always wants to know. You know what are the Bucks doing to win?
And that's. Any star, any player wants to know: like, are we committed? Are we all in? Whatever. But beyond that, just go look at like the TMZ video from a few years ago where they're following him and Mariah, his wife, you know, down the street in LA, and he literally wants to go running down the nearest alleyway and get away from them.
Like people in Milwaukee treat him with respect. He likes it here. He is a very loyal guy. Likes it here. Yeah.
Does the team have to be competitive? Absolutely. Does he want to have assurances that they're doing everything possible? Absolutely. But you look at a deal.
First of all, in order to trade a guy like that, it doesn't happen just overnight. It takes months, if not a long time, to figure out all the picks and the compensation or whatever. All things being equal. He's here for now. Does stuff get floated like that, you know, occasionally, and we see it where someone gets dealt a year, two years, three years down the road because the team is underachieving or not doing what they're supposed to do?
Absolutely. And that's why you float that information out there is just to kind of maybe prepare possibly for the future. But all things being equal, I was always of the opinion he wasn't going anywhere this year. When you think about the team, and obviously the goal, and he said this in the past, too. Hey, I want to win championships.
I want to be here in Milwaukee, but I want to win championships. When you think about the roster and its flexibility and how it's constructed, are you confident that they're going to even be close to that? Of course, they have the best player in the Eastern Conference. That's going to stand for a lot. MVP candidate every year.
But do you feel that they're moving or have that flexibility over the next couple of years? It's going to be close. And I tend to agree with you. I can hear the doubt in your voice, JR. Is they have fallen short.
There's no ifs, ands, or what's about it. I'm not a pom-pom waiver for the team, even though I cover the team and I've been in Wisconsin. My entire life. Um, you know, they want a championship. You give them that.
There have been seven different NBA champions last I checked in the last seven years.
So, no dynasties at this point, even though everyone wants to annotate OKC as the next one. But That being said, they've had some spectacular Playoff flameouts as well. And you are right in the sense that chemistry, it is a chemistry issue. It's just like going back to high school. You have to have, in addition to really good players, you have to have a very good chemistry with the players on that team.
You have to have good bench play, which at times they have not had good bench play. At times, they have not had good defensive play. And you have to have everything kind of go right. And they just have not had that the last few years. They've had some injuries as well.
But yeah, there have been a lot of upheaval. I mean, you look at Mike Budenholzer, you know, some thought he got fired a little early. Adrian Griffin came in, didn't even last a full season. You know, Doc Rivers has done okay, but you know, he's brought in for a reason, and that's to get them to the Eastern Conference finals for sure, and then probably the finals. And that hasn't happened.
So I think there are a lot of question marks that need to be thrown at this team. Lance, you you mentioned Doc Rivers. I was certainly going to ask you about him. In a lot of cases, and especially on social media, which we know is a can be a complete dumpster fire, he's the whipping boy. in in seemingly a lot of spots that that he ends up in What is the level of patience for Doc Rivers from both the fan base and the organization as it stands right now?
So there are some, because he went to Marquette. He's not from here. Obviously, he's from Illinois. He's from Chicago across the border. There are some who like Doc.
And Doc's, you know, obviously with being on TV and just being likable and whatever, people, there are some people who like Doc. But then there are other people who point out.
Some of the shortcomings and some of the times, you know, regard, you know, maybe you got to include the Celtics championship that he won. You can't overlook it, you can't deny it. Can't just say, oh, yeah, he got lucky. No, he won a championship. And I always defer to that and say, hey, there is a reason why certain coaches get their team, you know, even if it's only one year, they get their team to play at that level.
That being said, he has also had some shortcomings in the playoffs and some shortcomings overall. And I think this is a prove it year. They did not want to have the whole, you know, the year of in salary cap basketball where they say, well, you got a gap year. And well, when you've got Janason is still kind of in his prime toward the end of his prime, you can't take a gap here. And clearly, for all the shortcomings of the Bucs and what they've done of late, The one thing I will give them, it's like a poker game, and they are putting all their chips in the table.
They've traded away almost all their draft picks and things like that. They are definitely trying to win now. And that is the thing. If you want to win now, you're going to have some tough questions come your way.
So, yes, they need to be ready to win now. And that is a big question going into next year. Lance, as our chat comes to a conclusion, we've seen the development of so much in the city, the downtown, the arena, since Giannis has stepped onto the scene and elevated into a champion and an MVP. If he leaves, certainly that doesn't leave a void or put everything for naught. But isn't that kind of depressing for everybody?
It's going to feel like we're stepping into the Bucs from, I don't know, pre-Casselle. Yeah, yeah. The 90s when they had Todd Day and Lee Mayberry, no offense to them, and they were winning like 20 games a year. Pre-Big Dog. Yeah.
Correct. Pre-Big Dog before they had the number one overall pick. No, you don't want to go back to that. And I would argue with you a little bit. I think it would leave a void.
You know, you don't get a super, and that's why it's so cavalier to say, oh, yeah, trade Giannis, and you'll get a bunch of number one picks. And, you know, maybe like an all-star caliber or close to an all-star caliber player. And this, you know, maybe a young piece that's, you know, going to blossom on the that, that's always a dangerous thing. And I know people will point to the Paul George trade because it's fresh and say, well, yeah, OKC did it. Yeah, but.
Me, Giannis is a once-in-a-lifetime player. No offense to Paul George. I think Giannis is one of those guys that's just, you know, you know, transcends the game. And so you need to be very careful if you're if you're even Delving into those waters. And you're right.
I think that you don't want to go back to the 90s where it was so dark that they were giving tickets away. And there was, you know, anytime Michael Jordan and the Bulls came to town, it was like a pseudo-Bulls home game because 75% of the place had Jordan jerseys or Bulls jerseys or whatever going on.
So you better be very careful because right now has been one of the best. Eraas of Bucks basketball, with the exception of when they won the title in 71 with Kareem and Oscar, and then 74 they finished runner-up, and then the 80s with Delhi were very, very good. They just couldn't get past the Celtics and the Sixers. But you don't want to go backwards that far where you've got some good things going here and you just bury the franchise. Yeah, thinks that that that might be a possibility, but we have to see how things play out first.
Hey, Lance, I appreciate the time and your insight, especially uh keeping and covering with the team. Uh please tell everybody where they can follow you and your work with CBS fifty eight. Absolutely. It's at Lance Allen on the X, as they say. And uh I'm on Instagram as well at LanceAilen22.
And CBS 58, I'm out there as well as the sports director, so follow me anytime. Thank you, Lance. Hopefully, you get a little bit of time off, less Giannis news, and a little bit of rest and relaxation for yourself, okay? Hey, Packers training camp's coming around soon, my friend.
So, in this state, anything the Packers do is huge.
So, it's only like about a two to three week respite, and then we're right back at it. Hey, enjoy it, Lance. Thank you so much for the time. We'll catch you down the line, okay? No problem.
Anytime JR.
