clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Tuesday Morning Media Roundup: August 10th, 2021

The “All part of the plan” Edition

By Riley Feldmann

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

NBA: Playoffs-Milwaukee Bucks at Brooklyn Nets Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Writer’s note: I was under the weather over the weekend and into early Monday morning. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the energy to knock the MMMR together, so here’s a special edition of the Tuesday Morning Media Roundup!

One of the perks of waiting out the major drama of the offseason transaction window is being able to see the forest and the trees. In their immediate aftermath, you’d have been (rightfully) concerned about Milwaukee’s intentions after they traded away pick no. 31 and stiffed PJ Tucker. The timing was poor, optics bad, and gave us our first sour moments after basking in the glow of a title for a few weeks.

Now, with free agency winding down and draft capital shifted about, things don’t look so bad for the Bucks. Hoping Semi Ojeleye will fit into the PJ role either on- or off-court is a fool’s errand, but you can objectively get why the team opted to move in that direction. They addressed their iffy guard rotation by signing up a backup PG upgrade in George Hill and by nabbing Grayson Allen for what appears to be peanuts. Rodney Hood may not play many playoff minutes, but he should be serviceable in the regular season and is also a reasonable buy-low guy who you hope can figure his health out. Sandro Mamukelashvili had success in college and may be able to refine his quirky game into something helpful a year down the line.

No, it isn’t perfect, and the PJ non-deal definitely did a bad job setting the tone, but in a vacuum things look decent. When your cap sheet is up against it it pays to nail the marginal moves to anchor the rotation past your main stars. Milwaukee did that, and they look to be in good position to compete near the top of the East yet again.

Let’s roundup!

Jrue Holiday showcases his ‘super champion’ defense in gold-medal win (Los Angeles Times) & ‘Super-champion’ Jrue Holiday caps ‘hell of a summer’ with Olympic gold medal (USA Today)

Want to talk about being an ironman? These guys barely had much of a true offseason last year, next to no training camp, and have just been gutting it out for nearly a year. To win a title, celebrate, and then go be an impact player in Tokyo for your national team is taking it to another degree. We’ll need the benefit of time and perspective to fully appreciate what Jrue (and to an extent, Khris) have accomplished. For now, congrats on the gold!

NBA title and Olympic gold: Jrue Holiday and Khris Middelton join ultra-exclusive club (Yahoo)

If Khris and Jrue are the new MJ and Scottie, what does that make Giannis? A mega person combination of the two? Sounds spot-on to me.

Brook and Robin Lopez Enter the Manga World (Sports Illustrated)

They’re a pair of interesting fellows, and it’s very cool that they’ve gotten a chance to pursue their creative interests off the court. I don’t read/consume manga, so I won’t be picking this up, but it’s a good reminder that even if you’re fabulously wealthy or successful in your professional life it can be nerve-wracking attempting to put your creative endeavors out into the world.

Milwaukee Bucks’ Finals Success Giving Region An Economic Boost (Wisconsin Public Radio)

We often hear about how some teams will push for playoff slots simply because the money made from a few home games is that lucrative. Less discussed is the positive impact for surrounding businesses, and those around the Forum (whether in the Deer District or not) appear to have gotten a nice shot in the arm from the Bucks title. After a year-plus of enormous challenges and unbelievable stress, the city deserved a chance to come together and share the love...

Wisconsin health officials say nearly 500 COVID-19 cases could be linked to Milwaukee Bucks’ championship run (AP/ESPN)

...and maybe pass around a little bit of the ‘vid while they were at it. Even with widespread vaccination packing in that many people was bound to spread things about. Of course, it’s nearly impossible to directly trace the jump in cases to Bucks games, but just a reminder that there was a risk to holding events in the manner they did.

A last-minute guide to finding former Bucks in BIG3, which comes to Fiserv Forum today (Milwaukee Record)

This is a little late for those who wanted to see Larry Sanders, Shannon Brown, or Stephen Jackson in live action yet again, but uh... those guys and some other former-Bucks also visited the consecrated grounds of champions last weekend.

Fan Post of the Week

We weren’t quite down when the post went up, but I appreciated a chance to try and assemble all our off-season moves in once place. So thanks to you, naveed211, for your “Free Agency Grades...and are we done?”

Know Your Enemy

It’s an unfortunate situation for everyone involved, but they’re wearing other colors, so technically they’re the enemy. So, to give this segment a little life again, I’ve been left with no choice.

I recall in the immediate aftermath of the Forbes signing reading up on Spurs fans’ takes of his departure, and their takeaways — that he was a good shooter, but limited in too many other ways to overcome — seemed about spot on! And yet! In a limited role, it all worked out for us through at least the first round of the playoffs. Good luck, Bryn!

PJ was a hell of a player with us and it’s a real shame that the one part of the bargain outside of his control — whether the Bucks would offer him cash to stick around — was the thing that got him heading to other pastures. There will always be that Nets series, and for that, he’ll be a legend in this town for forever.

The Social Media Section

Just a couple of Arkansas fellas chilling out

Atop the Acropolis, trophies in tow

Gold!

Welcome to the new guys

Bring me all the Bucks title tattoos

This guy knew

If we were truly depraved, we’d be keeping track of Milwaukee’s Summer League results/predictions here, but neither I nor retired janitor are that disturbed... which will look good once we win the Summer League title for the full 2021 hardware sweep.

Jordan Nwora will probably average 50 points a game which is what matters most.

Happy Tuesday!

More From Brew Hoop