Stephen A. Smith's 1-word Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo take may frustrate fans
The post Stephen A. Smith's 1-word Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo take may frustrate fans appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and his future with the Milwaukee Bucks are in the spotlight, as many are wondering whether he will stay with the team or request a trade. Antetokounmpo is one of the best players in the league, and with him being in the prime of his career, he should be chasing as many championships as he can.
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The latest debate on First Take was what would be the one word to describe Antetokounmpo if he doesn't win another title, and Smith may have frustrated some people with his answer.
'Underachiever,' Smith said. 'He's one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Over the last four years, minimum 200 games, Giannis is second in the league with 30.4 points per game, fifth in the league with 11.7 rebounds per game. Nine All-NBA selections in his career, nine All-Star selections, and top-10 in MVP voting nine times. He has more of that than postseason series wins. That's unacceptable.
'You don't look at somebody that dominant, that fantastic, with that kind of fire in his belly to compete on a night-in, night-out basis, and all you have is one championship to show for it. He's got one playoff series win in the last four years. Not fault; he was hurt a couple of times.'
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Like Smith said, it's not Antetokounmpo's fault that he was dealt this deck of cards, but it's hard to diminish what he's done throughout his career because he only has one ring.
Will Giannis Antetokounmpo stay with the Bucks?
Everyone is wondering what Antetokounmpo will decide to do regarding his future with the Bucks. With the team's lack of playoff success over the past few seasons, there is considerable uncertainty about whether this team has reached its ceiling and needs to start anew. At the same time, Antetokounmpo can lead a team by himself, but he will need help to get to the next level.
The Bucks may not have the pieces and cap space to make that work, and with Damian Lillard set to miss most of next season as he recovers from an Achilles injury, Antetokounmpo might not want to wait for the dominoes to fall, and he can try to request a trade to another team.
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That scenario could also bring some problems because Antetokounmpo can cost a team a lot of assets, and by the time he's traded, the team might not have that much talent to work with.
Related: Shams Charania responds to Bucks star Giannis' missing 'Woj' post
Related: Bucks rumors: Brian Windhorst makes firm declaration on Giannis Antetokounmpo trade
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Will Tyrese Haliburton play in NBA Finals Game 6? Decision is complicated, experts say
Will Tyrese Haliburton play in NBA Finals Game 6? Decision is complicated, experts say Show Caption Hide Caption Shaq talks NBA Finals matchup and NBA on TNT Shaquille O'Neal joins Sports Seriously to talk about all things NBA and his upcoming Netflix docu-series 'Power Moves'. Sports Seriously Tyrese Haliburton, even with a strained right calf that raised questions about his availability for Game 6 of the NBA Finals, has managed to keep the basketball world on its heels. 'If I can walk, then I want to play,' Haliburton said Monday after the calf injury he aggravated in Game 5 clearly affected him during the Indiana Pacers' loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, which left the Pacers trailing 3-2 in the best-of-7 series. The day before Game 6, set for Thursday, June 19, Haliburton said he is a competitor and wants to play yet also remarked: 'I have to understand the risks, ask the right questions…' Cynics may think Haliburton is trying to keep the Thunder guessing (his coach said he "probably will be a game-time decision for Game 6"). But two orthopedic surgeons who have worked with NBA teams told USA TODAY Sports that decisions about whether to play with an injury are complex. 'An ankle sprain can be two hours of conversation,'' said Brian Cole, head team physician for the Chicago Bulls since 2005. 'X-rays, X-rays, repeated MRIs. Talking to different levels of trainers, the family, the agent. 'Especially at a time where you're dealing like this, where it matters more than ever.'' Why it matters: The Pacers are trying to win their first NBA championship in franchise history. It's hard to imagine them doing it without Haliburton, their All-Star point guard. But it's unlikely Haliburton will play without conferring with his agent, said Robert Anderson, a member of the NBA's committee studying ankle sprains and team orthopedist for the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Anderson said an MRI, which the Pacers said Haliburton had, usually will go to two consultants. Then the risks of playing with the injury are assessed, said Anderson, who said the player and agent then likely will discuss the risks involving the injury. 'It also becomes a business decision,'' Anderson said. The role of the pain threshold Willis Reed limped out of the locker room with a leg injury before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. Reed, then the Knicks' star center, gritted through the pain and helped the Knicks win the NBA championship. Fifty-five years later, the story epitomizes toughness. Fair or not, the "pain threshold" likely will become part of the conversation regarding whether or not Haliburton plays. 'Athletes play in pain all the time,'' Cole said. 'It's an issue of what they can tolerate and if their mechanics are compromised in any meaningful way.'' William McGarvey, an orthopedic surgeon who worked for the Houston Rockets, pointed out that pain depends on how a player functions. McGarvey also noted that Haliburton is a triple threat, with the Pacers star averaging 17.9 points, 9.1 assists and 5.8 rebounds during the playoffs. 'If he's just bringing the ball up, distributing or in a position where he is just jumping up and down, trying to grab a rebound, it's a little more controlled,'' McGarvey told USA TODAY Sports. 'But if he's jumping for a rebound, if he's going up for a layup or a dunk, he's got to push off. He could hurt himself on landing. He could hurt himself if he's going up against another player. These guys get in awkward positions and they have to be fairly agile to be able to land effectively and things like that. 'The other issue here is how the injury is affecting him. Is it causing him to just have pain when he pushes off or is it because it's irritated? Is it causing him spasms so that even when he's sitting and resting, he's getting a crampy feeling in his leg?" Treating the injury Keith Jones, an athletic trainer who has worked for the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets, said of a muscle sprain: 'Normally you'd do seven days of really not much, and then you reassess.'' No such luck for the Pacers, who had less than 72 hours after Game 5 to potentially get Haliburton ready for Game 6. Jones said he would prescribe hands-on therapy, be it massage or other manipulation of the muscle or muscle tissue. 'But a lot of ice, a lot of rest,'' he said. 'You could put someone in a boot just to take the strain off of it so ... they're walking on a boot instead of the heel-toe motion. Really isolate it and let it rest. Keep it elevated. Try to avoid inflammation, (there's) anti-inflammatory medications you can take. But the main thing is the body heals on its own. 'You can't speed it up. You can do things to create a better environment for healing to take place. But it's going to heal when it's supposed to heal." Cole said the treatment options are limited. 'If it's a calf strain, a true muscle strain, not a tendon, but muscle strain, they take a while to heal and there's no magic,'' he said. 'You can't inject anything in there. You can't give any kind of medications. There's no special hyperbaric oxygen or anything that's going to cure this thing in that period of time. 'So, it's just, is he a good healer? How bad is the strain? I haven't seen the MRI, so I don't know. … There's just not a lot of time to let a muscle injury recover if that's where it is.' Haliburton said he expected treatment to be near-constant. "I think just around-the-clock stuff as much as I can," Haliburton said. "Massage, needles, hyperbaric, H waves. Everything you can do to get as comfortable as you can going into it. The right tape and stuff while I am performing. I'm sure there's a bunch of medical professionals who could give you a better answer. Just doing everything I'm told. Trying to do everything I can." What are the risks? The mention of Kevin Durant might create fear for Pacer fans, if not Haliburton. During the 2019 playoffs, Durant, then playing for the Golden State Warriors, missed nine games with a calf injury. He returned to action during Game 5 of the 2019 Finals, with the Warriors trailing the Toronto Raptors 3-1. Two minutes into the second quarter, Durant ruptured his Achilles tendon, which sidelined him for about 18 months. The three orthopedic surgeons who spoke to USA TODAY Sports said there is no evidence that a strained calf can lead to a ruptured Achilles tendon. 'I would argue that playing with the strained calf just runs the risk of getting an escalation of symptoms related to the strained calf,'' Cole said. 'But ... an Achilles tendon ruptures in a very different location. A strained calf injury is a little bit higher up. 'So, I think that we would typically let a player play if they can tolerate the ability to play basketball, cut, pivot, change direction, and so forth. If they can tolerate all that, then we let them play.'' Anderson said Durant had preexisting issues with his Achilles tendon. He said an MRI would provide the Pacers clear evidence of whether the injury stems from the Achilles tendon or muscles above the tendon associated with calf strains. 'So when you have a calf strain, if it's in the muscle, there's absolutely no increased risk of Achilles tendon rupture,'' Anderson said. While talking about Haliburton, McGarvey said was he reminded of Michael Jordan playing with the flu during Game 5 of the 1997 Finals. Jordan scored 38 points and led the Chicago Bulls to a victory over the Utah Jazz. 'If you know your injury isn't going to be a career threatening thing, then it's really up to the individual as to how much they can tolerate and how much they want to go out there,'' McGarvey said. 'And leaders tend to get out and deal with it.''


USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
On this day: Bias dies; Carlisle draft; Carr hired as coach; Boston trades back for Tatum
On this day: Bias dies; Carlisle draft; Carr hired as coach; Boston trades back for Tatum On this day in 1986, Len Bias, the Boston Celtics' selection with the No. 2 pick of the 1986 NBA draft, died just two days after his selection by the team. Bias, a highly-rated 6-foot-8 small forward out of the University of Maryland, returned home from the June 17 draft in New York City and went to a party at his alma mater. He and several friends used cocaine for several hours, triggering a fatal arrhythmia. The loss devastated the family, friends, Celtics, and the wider basketball world. It was a major catalyst of a two-decade decline for the Celtics. They did not win another championship after Bias' death until 2008. It is also the date of the 1984 NBA draft, in which the Celtics took two players of note. The first was Michael Young, a 6-foot-7 small forward drafted out of the University of Houston. He never played for the Celtics but managed to carve out a career for himself overseas, with short stints playing for the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers before landing a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers in 1989-90, his last in the NBA. The Celtics also drafted a 6-foot-5 shooting guard out of Virginia by the name of Rick Carlisle. Fans today typically know him as a recent head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, but he played five seasons in the NBA as a player, three of which with Boston. He won a championship with the team in 1986 (and made a bit of an awkward cameo in Michael Jordan's "Last Dance" documentary) while averaging 2.2 points and 1.1 assists per game with the Celtics. Boston also hired, on this date, M.L. Carr as head coach, a job he held for two seasons with a team he also played for in the 1980s. Carr's tenure as head coach for the team (1995-97) was the effective low point in Celtics history. The 1996-97 season produced the worst win total in Celtics history, with just 15 wins. Carr resigned at the end of that season, leaving with a 48-116 coaching record, the worst winning percentage (.293) in franchise history. Finally, it is also the day in 2017 that then-team president Danny Ainge traded the top pick for the No. 3 pick owned by the Philadelphia 76ers, which the club used to draft Jayson Tatum three days later. The deal netted Boston another first-round pick that was used on Romeo Langford for the trouble of taking the player Ainge would have selected first anyway.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
After a whopping sale, the Los Angeles Lakers will no longer be the Buss family business
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Buss family's decision to sell a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Lakers at an eye-popping franchise valuation of $10 billion marks the end of nearly a half-century when one of the most valuable properties in the sports world was run by an eccentric father and his sometimes squabbling children. With high-living playboy Jerry Buss and current team governor Jeanie Buss in charge, the glamorous Lakers essentially have been the professional sports equivalent of a quirky family business for two generations. Sports became increasingly corporate and monolithic in the 21st century while franchise values skyrocketed and ever-more-wealthy titans seized control of this perpetual growth industry. Just not around Hollywood's favorite basketball team, with its gold uniforms and 17 golden trophies. 'The majority of businesses in this country are family-owned businesses,' Jeanie Buss told NPR earlier this year in a rare interview to promote a Netflix comedy series based on her career. 'And everybody has a family. If you're in business with them, (disagreements) happen. But at the end of the day, what brings you together is the team or the business, and you want to build something successful.' The Lakers and the Buss clan have been inextricable since 1979 — the longest active ownership tenure in the NBA — but Mark Walter's stunning sports coup Wednesday effectively ends this improbable era. A person with knowledge of the agreement confirmed it to The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because neither side immediately announced the deal. The sale should make an extraordinarily wealthy woman of Jeanie Buss, one of Jerry's seven acknowledged children and a longtime employee of his various sporting concerns. And that's the biggest reason many Lakers fans are rejoicing: This lavish sale comes with the knowledge that the buyers have exponentially more resources than the Buss family — and Walter has showed he knows how to spend it intelligently. Walter, who heads a group that already bought 27% of the Lakers in 2021, has a sterling reputation in Southern California for his group's stewardship of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The iconic baseball team has become a perpetual World Series contender with bold, aggressive financial moves grounded in smart organizational planning ever since Walter's firm, Guggenheim Partners, paid $2 billion to wrest the Dodgers from the reviled Frank McCourt in 2012. 'He's really committed to the city of Los Angeles in various ways, and sports is something that he's very passionate about, and certainly Los Angeles sports," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Speaking (as) a Dodger employee, he's very competitive and he's going to do everything he can to produce a championship-caliber team every single year and make sure the city feels proud about the Lakers and the legacy that they've already built with the Buss family.' In the Buss era, the Lakers could sell prospective players on their trophies, sunny Los Angeles and that family-business intimacy. While that was enough to win big in most decades, Walter's group epitomizes the modern, deep-pocketed approach to building a consistent championship contender. Guggenheim Partners reportedly has $325 billion under management, with Walter particularly leveraging insurance investments to pursue gains across the breadth of the sports world. 'He does everything he can to provide resources, support," Roberts said. 'He wants to win. He feels that the fans, the city, deserve that. I think that that's never lost, and it's more of challenging us always. How do we become better and not complacent or stagnant, to continue to stay current with the market, the competition to win?' Before this sale, the Buss siblings were not thought to be particularly wealthy, at least not by team owner standards. Jeanie Buss occasionally appeared to balk at writing certain checks — ask any Lakers fan about Alex Caruso's departure — and the team's front office and infrastructure are thought to be on the NBA's smaller side. The new ownership group's wealth could knock down some financial barriers in the restrictive, apron era of salary cap management. It definitely will provide the Lakers with every resource in scouting, player development and any other competitive avenue to assemble a team commensurate with the Lakers' brand. 'I know that my sister Jeanie would have only considered selling the Lakers organization to someone she knows and trusts would carry on the Buss legacy, started by her father Dr. Buss,' Magic Johnson wrote on social media. 'Now she can comfortably pass the baton to Mark Walter, with whom she has a real friendship and can trust. She's witnessed him build a winning team with the Dodgers and knows that Mark will do right by the Lakers team, organization, and fans!' There is a familial symmetry to these two transactions 46 years apart: Jerry Buss got a steal when he bought the Lakers, and his kids might end up with the wealthiest deal in sports history when they sell. Jerry Buss was a chemist and USC instructor who heavily leveraged his real estate investments to buy the Lakers, the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, the Forum arena and a large ranch from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million. Buss loved a good time almost as much as he loved basketball, and he built the Showtime era of Lakers basketball on Magic and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but also on his own undeniable charisma and hunger for titles. Buss and his front offices then landed Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in the 1990s, ushering in a second championship era. All told, the Lakers reached the NBA Finals in 16 of Jerry Buss' 34 seasons as their primary owner, winning a whopping 10 championships. Jeanie Buss succeeded her father as the Lakers' governor upon his death in 2013. Her brother, Jim, was the Lakers' head of basketball operations until Jeanie fired him in February 2017 and installed Johnson and Rob Pelinka, Bryant's former agent. Pelinka gradually took over basketball operations and presided over a string of Lakers-worthy player additions, including LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic. The Lakers won the 2020 championship in the Florida bubble, and they reached the 2024 Western Conference finals. Their seismic trade to acquire Doncic last winter rejuvenated the franchise, positioning the Slovenian superstar as the Lakers' centerpiece for years after the matchless career of James, who has essentially confirmed he will return in the fall for his record 23rd NBA season. Jeanie Buss hasn't yet announced her reasons for agreeing to sell her inheritance, and she will remain the Lakers' governor — at least for now, because a governor must own at least 15% of the team. But she is following a recent trend of high-profile NBA owners ceding their teams to ownership groups with even more extensive resources. Buss is close friends with both Mark Cuban, who sold his majority ownership of the Dallas Mavericks for $3.5 billion, and Wyc Grousbeck, who sold the Boston Celtics for $6.1 billion. ___ AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds and AP Sports Writer Beth Harris contributed to this report. ___ AP NBA: Greg Beacham, The Associated Press