Monday Morning Media Roundup: April 20th, 2020

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m running low on intro/outro ideas to paste onto these weekly “columns”. I already did the lecturing of others thing, did the lament about vampiric competitors still hoping to poach Giannis, mused on the long pause the league/world will presumably continue to be on for the foreseeable future, etc.

It’s indicative of the wider trouble society writ large is running into: We’re too deep into the process of halting most activity to lift things wholesale, but too early to have a clear idea of what our next steps out of the mud look like. Unfortunately, even if other aspects of life get a pulse again, I’m not sure whether the NBA will be among the advance guard of orgs roaring back into the picture. According to Adam Silver, it’s still a matter of waiting-and-seeing:

Given the first-out nature of the NBA’s suspension, I can’t help but think they’ll also be one of the last groups back in even if other sports muddle through. That will make the general impatience much more acute, but a cautious strategy seems appropriate for a situation without antecedent in sports.

Let’s roundup!

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With the NBA season paused, what does it mean for Giannis’ supermax offer? (The Athletic)

A very valuable piece for anyone trying to game out the moving target that is the Superman offer this summer/fall/year (hopefully).

If you can’t get past the paywall (they are offering 90 days of reading free, though the merits of it are up to you), the jist is that as of this moment we can’t readily predict how much the cap would drop in 2021-2022 which would be the season upon which the rate of pay would be based around.

Reading between the lines, most indicators would seem to suggest a three-year extension is most appropriate for Antetokounmpo. He’d retain flexibility to stay or leave depending on Milwaukee’s status at the end of that extension, would still make a boatload of money, and could rightfully say that he gave the Bucks 10 years of spectacular play and remained committed for most of his career.

With an aging roster, it’d only make sense to thread the “loyalty v. will to win” needle with an expensive half-measure of sorts.

Milwaukee Bucks Face Coverings Available Online Now (Bucks.com)

Now THIS is doing social distancing and PPE right! And, on top of it, all proceeds are going to charity which is a nice gesture. I’d just like to see some testing that shows these fall within the effective boundaries of the suggested cloth face-masks coming into use now, and maybe the second run of masks could include design aesthetics from the 60s-80s & some green and purple.

In Uncertain Times, Bucks Fans Find Yet Another What-If (Milwaukee Magazine)

This was a trip down a dark rabbit hole that I didn’t enjoy, but relates to a lot of discussions we’ve had within the fanbase and elsewhere about what completing the season even looks like for Milwaukee.

It’s a shame that we won’t be able to rally the city and the state around the team conveniently when the weather improves and heading to the ‘Deer District’ to partake in activities outside of the arena becomes viable. Even if you couldn’t afford to get into the arena, you’d have a chance to partake in the emotional roller coaster of playoff basketball alongside thousands of fans falling to pieces and being brought back to life with each possession.

So even if basketball does return without fans, we’ll feel the impact from our isolated bubbles. It’ll hurt a little less thanks to the internet, but it’ll still hurt.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ misfortune could be the Dallas Mavericks’ gain (Mavs Money Ball) & Why Giannis Antetokounmpo to Warriors has ‘chance’ if Bucks don’t win title (NBC Sports)

I shouldn’t be that surprised that we still see this type of scheming going on by other fanbases, even with the world at a standstill. After all, how else can they reliably generate the clicks? You’ll find in each some speculation grounded in imagination and one-off theorizing, though the Mavs piece is more compelling as it makes the bold assertion that Dallas is a uniquely well-positioned free agent destination for Europeans because they have Europeans on their team.

Too bad they already jettisoned an Antetokounmpo brother. I’m sure that will speak well of the organization with the family.

Why NBA games won’t start immediately if the season is cleared to resume (ESPN)

A bit of grounding here on the likely ways forward for the league whenever play comes back. Namely, if they do return to a post-season, how in shape players are could be a crucial factor to how well teams perform. Not to say that lacking a hoop to even get shots up on (a la Khris Middleton) would be problematic per se, but you’re almost starting from scratch at the end of the summer or early fall.

Could the league and its partners take a hit for another month while teams get back into the swing of things? Given the H-O-R-S-E competitions, I’d say the incentive lies in going back to play on as expedited of a plan as they can manage. Just find your shooting rhythm in-game, I guess.

Giannis helps Bucks end 49-year title drought against Clippers – Stats Perform AI predicts NBA playoffs (Yahoo)

It ain’t much, but it’s enough for me to justify putting together a parade for if/when parades are ever allowed.

The Social Media Section

I have no idea how I missed all this Ersan content

Mixtapes are all we have left

The hand-wave was an almost spot-on impression

Yeah, losing outreach and other camps for kids this summer is going to be tough

...this is good

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Oh, and before you ask: No, I did not watch the first episodes of ESPN’s Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance”. You’re welcome to hijack this comment thread to discuss/reminisce about a player I can only guess routinely clowned the Bucks throughout the 90s. Anyways, here’s a clip of Brad Lohaus blocking MJ:

Poetry in motion.

Happy Monday!