Monday Morning Media Roundup: July 23rd, 2018

I thought we'd run out of things to discuss when the Bucks season came to an end two months ago. I thought things would run dry after the draft. I thought, surely, after free agency had died down, topics worth discussing would get thin.

I was wrong about all my previous predictions of NBA boredom.

This Monday morning, we're all staring into the equivalent of the NBA abyss: That long stretch between the close of Summer League and the eventual start of training camp.

If you though the Monday Morning Media Roundups of the past few weeks have been light on content, I'm here to reassure you that you ain't seen nothing yet.

The “DJ Wilson working on his passing in a gym” stories are yet to come, though. For now, we've gotten a respite in the form of continued Jabari Parker debate, BucksCoin, and dreaming about Brook Lopez under the direction of Mike Budenholzer. Blowing all of that out of the water, we also had an outstanding (if not overdue) series run on SB Nation that was put together by our very own Rachael.

Let's roundup!

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There’s no blame for anyone in the Jabari Parker-Bucks break-up (SB Nation) & Bucks unprecedentedly squander value of a No. 2 pick (Yahoo)

A tale of two takes, you could say, and indicative of just how divisive the decision to allow Jabari Parker to join the Chicago Bulls was and will continue to be.

Personally, I'm not too broken up about how the final phase of the Jabari-Milwaukee relationship worked out. There were plenty of mistakes made in handling Parker's early to mid tenure with the team, but that will happen when you're a guy like Jabari dropped in a maelstrom of chaos that has been the Bucks organization these past couple of seasons.

Whether the failure of the Jabari era will prove to be a dagger in the heart of Milwaukee's competitive dreams won't be known for a while. I side with those who claim that the team will be better off, this season especially, without the difficulty of finding a place for Parker.

Still, I reserve all rights to change my opinion if Giannis leaves in three years because the franchise isn't competitive enough for his liking.

Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t believe in the ‘2K curse,’ does believe he’ll be a ‘Buck for life’ (Yahoo)

Luckily for my heart, Giannis gave me a shot of antacid with yet another public declaration that he'll be a “Buck for life”. He was prompted into such a statement because of the recent shipping out of Raptor legend DeMar DeRozan a year after he was featured on the cover of the Canadian version of NBA 2K18.

With Giannis now gracing the video game cover, it is only natural for the supernaturally-inclined among us to fret whether the executives at 2K have already written our fates.

I'm sure the constant “Buck for life” reassurances won't age poorly AT ALL given the direction of the team.

Billionaire Marc Lasry doubled his investment in the Milwaukee Bucks—here’s why he won’t sell the team (CNBC) & Billionaire Investor and Milwaukee Bucks Owner Predicts Bitcoin Could Reach $40,000 (CryptoSlate)

Sure, Marc Lasry could say that a driving factor behind retaining ownership of the Bucks includes the extensive real estate investments the owners have made surrounding the new arena, the clause forcing repayment of the cost of the arena if they tried to move the team, etc. That'd make sense, as cynical as it'd sound.

Instead, he chose to highlight the fact that he “enjoys the process” of more or less running the team. I'm sure that will brighten the moods of any Bucks fan worried that GM Jon Horst shouldn't be in charge of basketball decision-making.

Oh, and Lasry thinks Bitcoin will one day reach valuations of $40,000. Color me skeptical. BucksCoin is definitely going to be a safer long-term bet for your financial future.

Brook Lopez will make threes aplenty (Bucks.com)

Does it feel like the Brook Lopez signing has sort of floated under the radar to anyone else? I mean, sure, we at Brew Hoop wrote a bit about it, but Lopez was a guy who essentially carried the load for the Brooklyn Nets but two years ago.

It can be argued that the sheer fact of his being a big number guy on a bad team should raise serious question marks, but the pedigree he’s bringing raises my eyebrows, at least. Add his abilities to a system manned by coach Mike Budenholzer and my interest jumps up that much higher.

I get an inkling that this season will be one with Lopez playing a secondary role to perfection. Adding a reliable contributor for but $3.4 million is a steal for Milwaukee.

Meet the women of SB Nation’s NBA team brands (SB Nation)

Finally, this one is near and dear to our hearts here at Brew Hoop. Rachael, the brains behind every aspect of Brew Hoop's astounding social media and a site contributor in her own right, was the driving force behind the wonderful final product you'll find above.

I know the amount of hard work she put in to make this series happen, and the subject matter, namely the women who make up a goodly part of SB Nation's NBA coverage, is quite interesting.

Please, give it a read and enjoy!

From the Social Media Realm

Frank Madden: Podcastmeister, Basketballexpert, und BMW Besitzer:

Thon Maker got a three-game suspension from international basketball. He disagreed with the decision:

I'm not even going to pretend what factors went into running this simulation, but the maths say the Bucks are getting the four seed:

Charlie Villanueva reflects on the path that brought him to Milwaukee:

Hopefully the Bucks have a clause in Delly's contract in case he gets his hand chewed off by some Aussie sharks:

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Well, we once again are out of things worth predicting. If you have something you want The Great Riley to preordain for you, just leave it in the comments. The only thing I'll give you today is the declaration that DJ Wilson will not have his team option picked up for next season. Some would say I'm going out on a major limb, but what's life without a little risk?

Hopefully I'll have something a bit more compelling to predict this time next week. Will Done DiVincenzo have changed his hairstyle? Can Giannis eventually become Prime Minister of Australia? What MMA move will Thon Maker next add to his arsenal?

All these and more will be answered as we go deep into the off-season. For now, though...

Happy Monday!