NBA Rumors: Dillon Brooks still delusional about LeBron James matchup
Dillon Brooks is spending his summer with the Canadian national team in the FIBA World Cup. From the look of things, Team Canada is going to make some noise. Brooks notched 12 points and four rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting in their opening-round victory over France.
Brooks was able to get a head start on training for the World Cup when the No. 2-seed Grizzlies were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers only needed six games to send the grit n' grind squad packing. The outcome wasn't particularly shocking, but Brooks was the subject of vast criticism after making a few cocky remarks about his matchup with LeBron James during the series.
"He's old," Brooks told ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "I poke bears. I don't respect someone until he gives me 40."
Well, that didn't sit well with most folks, who found Brooks' arrogance especially damning once the Lakers delivered the finishing blow in Game 6. James averaged 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on .486/.195/.677 splits across the series. Certainly not the King's most productive six-game stretch, but he still captained the winning offense for a Lakers team that never felt truly at risk of defeat.
In a recent interview with Arash Madani of Sportsnet, Brooks refused to back down from his previous statements: "I feel like I always had [LeBron]. I feel like that series was thrown upon me cause of the words that I say, but I've been saying things all year and we won 50 games."
Brooks is a gifted defender and you need a certain measure of self-confidence to achieve what Brooks achieves on that end, but James has earned the respect of his peers and there is a long track record of players who smack talk LeBron later regretting it.
Brooks called LeBron old and then his team got thoroughly beaten. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. The series was thrown on him because he invited it (and didn't exactly show out on offense, either).
NBA Rumors: Giannis Antetokounmpo won't commit to Bucks extension
Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes eligible for a three-year, $173 million extension in a few weeks. He does not plan to sign it.
"The real question's not going to be this year — numbers-wise it doesn't make sense," he told Tania Ganguli of the New York Times. And he's right. Giannis can make more money, over a longer time period, by waiting. "But next year, next summer it would make more sense for both parties. Even then, I don't know."
It's only natural for Milwaukee fans to get a bit queasy when reading those words. Giannis brought an elusive NBA title to the great state of Wisconsin. He's a bonafide legend there and one of the best basketball players in the world to boot. It's hard for small-market teams to land players like Giannis, much less keep them. His exit would be a blow to the city, the franchise, and to small markets everywhere.
So, what would it take for Giannis to commit? Well, it would take a commitment from the Bucks: a commitment to winning.
"I would not be the best version of myself if I don't know that everybody's on the same page, everybody's going for a championship, everybody's going to sacrifice time away from their family like I do," he said. "And if I don't feel that, I'm not signing."
There is also the Bucks' new head coach to consider. Mike Budenholzer, who Giannis publicly supported, was ousted in favor Adrian Griffin, a longtime assistant of Nick Nurse in Toronto. The Bucks' first-round loss to the No. 8-seed Heat was considered unacceptable (and rightfully so), so Bud was sent packing. Still, Giannis wants to make sure the vibes are right. "You've got to see the dynamics. How the coach is going to be, how we're going to be together."
Giannis then went on to state, in no uncertain terms, that he will be out the door if the Bucks even think about a rebuild. "There will never be hard feelings with the Milwaukee Bucks," he said. "But at the end of the day, being a winner, it's over that goal," he said. "Winning a championship comes first. I don't want to be 20 years on the same team and don't win another championship."
NBA Rumors: Damian Lillard refuses to speak about the Blazers
Speaking of superstars pivoting away from their small-market team in the face of a rebuild... Damian Lillard's trade request from the Portland Trail Blazers is an ongoing affair, with the Blazers still content to ride out an uncomfortable summer if the right offer isn't made. Joe Cronin and Portland's front office have been in contact with the Miami Heat -- Dame's preferred destination -- but the Heat's offer doesn't move them.
In a recent sitdown with Marc Spears of ESPN, Lillard was asked about the future of the Blazers organization. He refused to comment: "I'm not going to speak on the Blazers." He was then asked about the trade request, which he confirmed before bluntly restating that he would not talk about the Blazers.
This is pretty cut and dry. Lillard won't back down from the trade request, which could mean training camp and the regular season get awkward if the Blazers don't act fast. The team has every intention of extracting maximum value out of Lillard, but it's fair to wonder who will top Miami's current offer given Lillard's massive contract (over $200 million and four years left) and his Heat-only desires.
Lillard can still help any team win, and win at a high level. The Blazers have failed him on numerous occasions, to the point where it's difficult to fault him for asking out. If anything, he deserves criticism for peddling his own loyalty to the media all these years, only to turn and run when the team drafted his presumed successor in Scoot Henderson.
We still have a month until camp and even longer until the season starts. Portland has plenty of time to settle on a trade, and one has to imagine more teams will at least make a half-hearted effort to get involved before the saga ends. The NBA has made it clear Lillard can no longer publicly request "only Miami," so the door is open for a surprise team to sneak in.
