Monday Morning Media Roundup: November 9th, 2020

It was some of the biggest news that broke in 2020. For months, everyone had been on pins and needles waiting for a resolution, with the fates of millions in the balance. Some felt that the stakes couldn’t be any higher, yet when a decision had been reached it was greeted joyously by countless people across the country and around the world:

The NBA is coming back in 2020.

Yes, the league and players’ association finally came to an agreement which will see the NBA crash dive every roster in order to start a 72-game season on December 22nd, 2020. We know very little about A) How they will schedule games and road trips, B) When free agency and trading moratoriums will lift C) Whether additional roster flexibility will be granted to teams D) How high the escrow value will go on players’ contracts to offset a shortened season, or E) Whether or not some teams will have to move jurisdictions as Covid-19 strikes in their markets. One thing we do know: By giving 72 games the ol’ college try the NBA estimates they can recoup $500 million in revenue. Revenue which would have been missed if the league waited until January 2021 to begin.

So, anyways, the almighty dollar means a relatively short/compact offseason and the start of games in the not-so-distant future. At least we won't have to wait that long to wash the taste of The Bubble out of our mouths.

Let’s roundup!

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NBPA reps approve plan to start season Dec. 22 (NBA.com)

The one key thing to note in all this is that the latest agreement simply revolves around the start date of the next regular season. From what I can gather adjustments to the CBA still have to be worked out between the two sides. Deciding on a start date at least gives players and organizations a goal date for which to prepare themselves. We can safely assume that the December 22nd plan comes with informal arrangements for how the NBA league office will set up the sequence of off-season goalposts for teams to construct themselves through.

Every day that passes between now and November 18th (AKA the NBA Draft) is one less day for Jon Horst to finagle some sort of trade involving Milwaukee’s draft pick. Transactions are going to be coming fast and furious whenever the league gives the OK.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future, All-Star trades, the NBA draft and everything else to watch this offseason (ESPN)

A lot of interesting little tidbits in here from Zach Lowe, including confirmation of Milwaukee’s infatuation with Bogdan Bogdanovic and the, uh, less-then-stellar package of assets the Bucks can toss at other teams to acquire talent upgrades.

I have to also say that I find the idea of Giannis signing a supermax and then asking for a trade right before it kicks in to be morbidly hilarious. It’d be the ultimate rollercoaster of emotions for us as elation turns to utter despair. Might be worth it for that one year of smugness we’d get to exude in the faces of all those vultures right before they peck our eyes out.

Bulls’ Billy Donovan reportedly adds Maurice Cheeks, Josh Longstaff to coaching staff (Blog A Bull)

Looks like Milwaukee will be down an assistant coach (for now) as Josh Longstaff departs an hour south to join Billy Donovan as Donovan constructs a new direction for the Bulls. Longstaff has had a pretty long run as a developmental coach, and prior to joining Budenholzer in Milwaukee he was the head coach of Atlanta’s G-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks. It sounds like it is a chance to move up the pecking order of a different staff, so congrats and best of luck to Longstaff.

Right now it is unclear how Budenholzer plans on reshuffling his assistant group. An internal move may be likely, but what the hell do I know?

Things are complicated between Antetokounmpo and Bucks (CGTN)

A new outlet entrant in this week’s MMMR as our friends over at CGTN chime in with this somewhat late recap of the bind Milwaukee is evidently in. I do note that CGTN appears to be an arm of the People’s Republic of China’s government media empire, which makes this line that much more scathing:

If Antetokounmpo decides to say goodbye in the summer of 2021, Milwaukee will have no star and no future.

Yup. That about sums it up.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Korver is selling his $4 million Santa Barbara home (MarketWatch)

Color me strange, but I would have thought $4 million in Santa Barbara would’ve gotten you way less than ~4K square footage. If you can’t tell, I’ve been a perpetual renter for going on a decade now.

The other thing of note: Perhaps this is a sign of Korver’s intent to make a permanent move to Milwaukee? Join the coaching staff in place of John Longstaff? Grab a two-year vet minimum deal instead of the paltry one-year given to him last offseason? The possibilities are endless, even if the playoff minutes aren’t.

The Social Media Section

When this game happened I was convinced a title was in the bag

Don’t sit on stovetops, kids

“direction over speed”

Sometimes I think the Lopez brothers’ Disney thing is a schtick, and then Robin busts out a deep cut like this for Halloween

Checking in on future Bucks All-Star Bogdanovic

Friend of the site Kane Pitman did a little free agency prep of his own

Site overlord Mitchell Maurer also joined Kane last week on Locked On Bucks for your listening pleasure

And former site overlord Frank Madden made an appearance on the Teutonia World Presents podcast where, I’ve been informed, he “cooked”

Thank God, I thought we’d get swindled by Miami

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The thing I’m most excited about with a condensed transactional offseason is dispensing with the myth of the “moratorium” between when Free Agency begins and when teams/players can sign deals. I don’t think it’ll go something like Woj tweeting “the NBA offseason has begun” and then a machine gunning of tweets about trades and probably signings, but there won’t be a long delay from event to event.

Which will make our centerpiece move — acquiring Joe Harris to replace Kyle Korver — that much sweeter for the calm it will help emit for all to glory in.

Happy Monday!