It’s shocking it took this long for Damian Lillard to consider giving up on the Raiders.
As a Bay Area native, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Damian Lillard has been a long-time Las Vegas Raiders fan. And, to put it lightly, he’s endured so much. A blowout loss in Super Bowl 37. From JaMarcus Russell to Derek Carr, so many quarterbacks who either failed or just petered out. Trading Khalil Mack in his prime. A move from classic Oakland to Nevada. Oh, and you know, all the last-place seasons over the years.
In what I imagine is a common feeling right now among any remaining Raiders fans, Lillard claimed that the franchise trading an All-Pro caliber receiver would have him finally give up on his favorite football team:
If the Raiders trade Tae for a damn 2nd round pick I’m done.
Listen, man, I don’t begrudge any Raiders fan who feels like this. They have put their fans through the wringer for decades. Trading Adams might be the right long-term move for Las Vegas, but that wouldn’t necessarily take away the immediate sting of losing someone who made fans’ experience with the team worth watching. Because, you know, the prospect of being better in the future with more draft capital isn’t necessarily guaranteed.
Lillard and probably all Raiders fans have simply had enough.
There seemed to be a little something brewing between Damian Lillard and Glorilla this spring.
The rapper shot her shot at Lillard toward the end of the NBA season. She confessed to having a crush on the Bucks point guard and even put on a GloLillard jersey to show her love.
Lillard was asked about it back then and, well, he didn’t really seem to shut things down. He gave a “no comment,” but you know how that goes.
Well, now, he’s being asked about it again. This time, it happened at Bucks media day. And now Lillard is saying there’s not really anything there, if there ever was.
They really asked Dame about Glorilla at media day 😂
“I keep my personal life personal and I let it be that. I respect her as an artist. We know each other,” he said. “But as far as anything else, it ain’t nothing going on. That’s what I can tell you.”
Interesting answer, Dame. Interesting.
Alright, guys. I guess there’s nothing going on there. Still, this is a hilarious question for Lillard to get. And then to add the 7 PM Friday song on at the end? Chef’s Kiss.
The elite-level basketball camp hosts the top high school and collegiate players yearly, free of charge. The players work to develop their on-court skills with Lillard and hear from an assortment of speakers, including Bucks coach Doc Rivers.
Baylor freshman VJ Edgecombe and Miami freshman Jalil Bethea were named MVPs of the event as players who will use the information received to take “their game and lives to the next level.” They received custom Tissot watches for winning the award.
Johnson was pictured with Lillard on the court, one of his first opportunities to hit the gym with his new teammate. Lillard likely used the camp, in part, to get to know Johnson a bit more and start building chemistry with one of the newest members of the team.
The 23rd pick, a four-star recruit out of California, played last season with the Illawarra Hawks in the NBL as part of the “Next Stars” program. He averaged 2.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 26 appearances with the Hawks in the regular season.
Johnson debuted with the Bucks in the NBA Summer League, averaging 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 32.3% shooting from 3-point range. He scored in double figures three times, including 22 points, four rebounds and four assists on July 16.
Are the rebuilds really a mirror image of one another?
Are the San Antonio Spurs copying the Milwaukee Bucks when it comes to building a contender around a transcendent talent? The Bucks stuck to a very rigid model under former head coach Mike Budenholzer that they have struggled to abandon since. But given the players and play style having delivered an NBA title, it’s understandably something some teams might want to emulate.
And that is the case that the folks behind the “Backyard Buckets” YouTube channel explore in a recent video put together exploring the parallels between the Spurs’ current rebuild around Victor Wembanyama and the Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Are the rebuilds really a mirror image of one another? Or is there more going on than a copycat league leaning into a model that hasn’t worked for a few seasons now? Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what they had to say about how they are the same (and also very much not).
Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo in these games, Greece moved past the Dominican Republic and Egypt during the group phase. In addition to a win over Slovenia, they also earned a victory against Croatia as well.
Antetokounmpo finished with 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in order to advance. He was clearly emotional following the win versus Croatia, visibly expressing all of his feelings on the sidelines as he absorbed it all.
Photographers captured a beautiful image of him celebrating with his sons Liam and Maverick Shai, who were wearing matching outfits. It’s moments like these that make Olympics competition particularly great.
Antetokounmpo later tweeted that he “never” cheats the game and that he will see everyone in Paris.
Antetokounmpo isn’t the only superstar playing in the Olympics.
Many of the other elite players (including LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, and plenty more) will represent Team USA.
But other formidable opponents include Canada, France, Serbia, and Germany.
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Mike Sykes
Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you’ve had a great week and that your rhythm wasn’t completely thrown off like mine was because of the Thursday holiday.
Because of those moves, we’re talking about all those teams right now. And we were already talking about the Celtics because they’re the champs. That’s what happens when you win a championship. Folks think Boston might be a dynasty in waiting.
The talk has been about one of those four teams winning the East for most of the summer. But nobody has anything to say about Milwaukee these days.
I get it. The Bucks just petered out last season. After making the move for Damian Lillard last season, the team fell flat and got eliminated by the Pacers in the first round last year. That was after Milwaukee ousted Adrian Griffin for Doc Rivers who did a worse job running the team.
You can blame the end of the season on injuries. Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounpo were absent at the end of that series against the Pacers. But the Bucks never really felt like a championship threat this season at any point, no matter what the reason. People can’t seem to shake that.
But I think they should.
It’d be a mistake for everyone to forget about the Bucks here. When healthy, this Milwaukee team is easily one of the best in the NBA. It has one of the best trios in basketball: Antetokounmpo, Lillard, and Khris Middleton.
That three-man unit was+17.5 last season in 758 minutes together. Obviously, it would be best if they played together more. Health will always be a huge impediment for this team, considering their core’s age. But still, that’s impressive, especially considering how tumultuous the season was.
Milwaukee is running that same core back. Some may think the core is stale, but with a year of experience and a full training camp, the fit together might look much cleaner than most anticipate.
Does that mean this team will beat the Celtics next year? No. But I don’t think we should talk about Milwaukee as if the team is lightyears behind Philadelphia and New York, either. The Bucks have their share of problems and those teams do, too.
Let’s make sure we’re putting a bit of respect on Milwaukee’s name by the time the season rolls around.
LeBron’s reign isn’t over yet
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
LeBron James may have just signed a new deal with the Lakers, but folks shouldn’t anticipate this being his last one.
I wrote about how he has a couple of tools at his disposal with his new contract that make me think he’s got a deal or two left in him — partially because I think he’ll end up signing another new one next season.
“Two key inclusions in the contract signal that he might be playing more: The included no-trade clause and the player option he’s getting in year two.
The no-trade clause is self-explanatory. James won’t be leaving the Lakers unless he wants to leave the Lakers. The team has to get his approval before trading him and, if he doesn’t want to go anywhere else, he won’t. They’re locked in for better or worse.
What’s more key here, though, is James’s player option in year two. This is a clear flex of power for James. He basically signed a one-year deal with the Lakers here, with the option to come back for a second year next season.”
For those of you who think Bron might try and stick around to get Bryce James on the Lakers, too, this is where it all starts.
A key Lakers rotation player and one of their best 3-point threats is reportedly joining another team.
So far, this offseason has been perceived as a weak or disappointing one for the Los Angeles Lakers. They haven’t made any additions or improvements to their roster, other than draft picks Bronny James and Dalton Knecht, and fans feel the team perhaps simply hasn’t made an attempt to bring in any new blood.
Under new head coach JJ Redick, it looks like 3-point shooting will be a greater emphasis, especially in terms of volume. Los Angeles was eighth in 3-point shooting percentage this past season, but it ranked just 28th in 3-point attempts.
On Wednesday, their hopes of improving in both 3-point accuracy and volume took a hit when forward Taurean Prince agreed to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Prince shot an excellent 39.6% from 3-point range on 4.6 attempts a game during the 2023-24 season. The Lakers will now need to replace that production, not to mention his ability to adequately eat up plenty of minutes at the small forward position.
All of these players did the Irish proud before making the jump.
Nobody on Notre Dame’s veteran-laden team from this past season will be selected in Thursday’s NBA draft. In fact, given the inexperience across the board on the upcoming season’s roster and under a new coach no less, it could be quite a while before we see another Notre Dame player drafted. On the bright side, that means no early departures except via the transfer portal. Then again, it sure would be nice to have NBA-ready talent in South Bend.
The only way to deal with a challenging present and short-term future is to look to the past. In this case, the way to go about that is to look at former players who heard their names called on draft night over the past several years. Of the 62 former Notre Dame players who have suited up in the NBA or ABA, 41 have entered professional basketball via the draft. Here are the most recent ones:
ESPN released a new NBA mock draft on Monday and All-American Duke forward Kyle Filipowski got paired with a star who won multiple MVPs.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo released a new NBA mock draft on Monday morning, factoring in the latest rumors about Wednesday’s first round.
Several picks after the duo slotted Jared McCain to the Philadelphia 76ers with the 16th overall pick, Givony and Woo paired Kyle Filipowski with the Milwaukee Bucks with the 23rd pick.
The Bucks, now led by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and seven-time All-NBA guard Damian Lillard, actually hosted McCain for a workout earlier in the process, but now Woo thinks they might circle the other Blue Devil on the board.
“Filipowski primarily conducted workouts for teams selecting inside the top 20, but he looks to have a wide range of outcomes on draft night,” Woo wrote. “He worked out for every team in the Nos. 9-to-13 range, but teams selecting in the 20s are also speculating he might be available to them.”
As a sophomore last season, Filipowski averaged 16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
What could have happened to the Brooklyn Nets if they beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 NBA Playoffs? Possibly a title or more.
The Brooklyn Nets are rebuilding after the downfall of the Big 3 of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving beginning with the 2021-22 season when Harden requested to be traded. Most of Brooklyn’s recent history is filled with what-ifs about what could have been if the superstar era lasted just long enough to win a title.
As many Nets fans remember, the closest that Brooklyn came to winning a title was the 2020-21 season when the Nets made it to the second round of the playoffs only to lose to the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games. The Bucks won on to the Eastern Conference Finals and beat the Atlanta Hawks, a team that benefitted from a controversial play by current Net Ben Simmons, before defeating the Phoenix Suns, Durant’s current team, in the Finals.
Dallas Mavericks forward Markieff Morris is already on record saying that he believes that the Nets would have won the title that season if Irving did not hurt his ankle in Game 3 of that series. Also, Harden was dealing with a hamstring injury during the best-of-7 matchup so the fact that the series came down to a Game 7 shows that Brooklyn had enough to at least make it to the Conference Finals.
Ultimately, Nets fans remember that Durant made a clutch shot following an inbounds pass from Jeff Green with mere seconds remaining on the clock after getting a step on PJ Tucker. Brooklyn was trailing 109-107 with 6.0 seconds left in the fourth quarter and many hoped that Durant made a three-pointer, but his foot was on the line.
The rest is history as the Nets went on to lose in overtime mostly due to the fact that Durant had used all of his energy to try to win the game in regulation and the Bucks had more depth on their side for this series. Who knows what could have happened if Brooklyn made it to the Eastern Conference Finals that season?
