August. Continues. To. Stagnate. Still, there are bits and pieces—rumours and news and everything in between—that you might have heard about (yes, it took a lot of resistance not to force a deer-related pun in there—and for the headline). Let’s catch up.
Brayden Burries keeps balling
You love basketball. I love basketball. Brayden Burries loves basketball. Playing for team Problems, Burries has proven to be a problem, carving it up in the Drew League:
- 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists on July 20
- 24 points, five rebounds, one assist on July 26
- 40 points, 12 rebounds, two assists on August 9
- 23 points, six rebounds, eight assists on August 17
He’s gone to the line 40 times over the four outings, so, as you’d expect, it
seems no one can guard him. But, having made just 26 of those (65%), perhaps we are destined to have stars who struggle at the line. Eek. Regardless, his play was good enough for Week 6 Player of the Week honours.
Speaking of Burries, ESPN published its rookie-focused Summer Forecast, projecting just how well the 2026 draft class will fare next season and beyond. While he didn’t feature as prominently as the top picks, Burries was voted the rookie most likely to be the biggest draft steal:
Burries got the most votes by a big margin here after the Bucks snatched him up at No. 10. It was not surprising that he was the last of the talented freshman guards picked in the lottery: Burries (who turns 21 in September) was significantly older than his peers by draft standards and is viewed as more of a true combo guard at 6-foot-4. He should have a good opportunity to spread his wings in Milwaukee, with the Bucks entering a full rebuild post-Giannis and sorely needing the injection of backcourt talent.
Between his offseason play, stature and positional uncertainty, and physicality—and, more likely, my unbridled offseason optimism—I can’t help but see flashes of Dwy— No, I won’t go there. I just won’t. Yet.
Schedule release geeking
With both the preseason and regular season schedules released, we finally have something tangible to fawn over (okay, so maybe I couldn’t resist after all). I can’t wait for all of these, but here’s what has me most geeked:
- Opening the preseason against the new-look Minnesota Timberwolves. My strategy? Feature Kyle Kuzma and convince Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly that he’s the answer to their hole at power forward following the trades that sent out Julius Randle and Naz Reid. Anything less than 20 shots will be a failure. Seriously (not seriously).
- Every game against the Miami Heat. Duh! Giannis will probably go for 40+ each time, but the Bucks will split the series—if not win it.
- Wednesday, January 27 at Utah. In a loaded draft class featuring a bevy of guards, Darryn Peterson was the consensus best. How does Burries stack up? In fact, while we’re at it, let’s add Thursday, November 8 vs. Mikel Brown Jr. and the Brooklyn Nets; Tuesday, December 1 vs. Kingston Flemings and the Atlanta Hawks; Friday, January 8 vs. Keaton Wagler and the Los Angeles Clippers; and Thursday, January 21 vs. Darius Acuff and the Sacramento Kings. Bring the smoke. I want all of it—and I’m sure Burries does too.
Hall of Fame enshrinement
Despite no former Milwaukee Bucks being enshrined into the Hall of Fame—how Marques Johnson continues to be snubbed is ludicrous to me—there was a certain former coach who got inducted. Yes, Doc Rivers’ time with the Bucks was uninspiring, but they did claim the 2024 NBA Cup title, which is at least something. And, in all honesty, you don’t win as many games as he did as coach—1,194, the sixth-most ever—by accident, regardless of how many good players you’ve had.
In a Q&A with Andscape’s Marc J. Spears, Rivers provided insight into all things coaching, with some particularly notable remarks about Rajon Rondo, who worked with the Bucks last season:
The guy that is not a part of the tree yet, but I think Rajon Rondo is going to be one hell of a coach. He’s the smartest human being I’ve ever coached, and he works at it. He was with me all this [past season in Milwaukee]. Now he’s a savant — and that doesn’t go well at times, because he sees [the game differently].”
On another note, Rivers didn’t seem particularly concerned with any of the criticism that has come his way coaching in the social media era:
I don’t say anything to anybody. I don’t care. Social media is what it is — a lot of cowards. A lot of people make comments. I wish everybody would love me. And the ones that I don’t, I don’t care either. You know what I mean by that? I don’t care about all that stuff. It definitely changed players for sure, but it has had no effect on me.
Ultimately, Rivers reflected on his enshrinement with humility, ending by speaking to the simple truth that too often goes overlooked when it comes to professional sports:
I’m uncomfortable. I love it, but it’s just too much attention. But it is cool. But come on. If you’re anything in sports, and they tell you you’re in the Hall of Fame, there is no other higher honor that you can get to. It’s the highest of the highest honors, and I embrace that. I fully understand the magnitude of it. But it makes you very humble more than anything. And as a coach, you just know how hard coaching is, and how hard it is to win. People don’t give winning enough credit. Winning is hard.
Congratulations on all that you’ve achieved in this game, Doc.
Oxymoronic: Restricted free agents
The Bucks are apparently still sniffing around on restricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin, but the stagnation continues here too, according to Marc Stein:
Not much has changed, I’m told, on the Bennedict Mathurin front. Sources say that the restricted free agent’s representatives remain engaged with the Pelicans, Bulls and Bucks. And the door on a return to the Clippers, according to one source briefed on the process, remains open even after LA re-signed Bradley Beal earlier this week.
The same can be said for Peyton Watson. Still, The Athletic’s Sam Amick believes that there is a plot twist yet to come and continued delays might actually benefit the Bucks:
As for Watson’s leaguewide suitors, the Bucks would benefit from a longer delay here because it would open up sign-and-trade options that might be more amenable to their priorities. More specifically, Sept. 6 looms as the first date on which they can aggregate players acquired in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade with Miami. If they were looking to avoid sending a first-round pick (or two) Denver’s way, as our Eric Nehm reported recently, the prospect of sending rotation players instead would be a possible solution. That route could allow them to avoid using the $25.5 million trade exception that was created in the Antetokounmpo deal (that scenario would require the Nuggets to be out of the second apron).
So, while nothing appears imminent, there are at least a few reasons to believe the quiet might not last forever.
Not so tantilising trade speculation
One last one—just for a laugh. In my perusal of all things Bucks, I kept stumbling across this trade idea from Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes:
Golden State Warriors Acquire: Tyler Herro*, Myles Turner, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kevin Porter Jr.
Milwaukee Bucks Acquire: Jimmy Butler, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Will Richard, 2027 first-round pick (top-4 protected), 2031 first-round pick
Look, I love a frivolous trade idea as much as the next person, especially in August. But seriously? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised—they did predict the Bucks to go 18-64.
That’s a wrap on Bucks-related news, folks—for now at least. Which of these has grabbed your attention? Share your thoughts in the comments and, if I’ve missed something, be sure to spread the word (perhaps even via a post in The Feed). While you’re there, don’t forget to vote in this week’s Bucks Reacts poll and stay tuned for the shooting guard installment of our “Choose Your Own Adventure” starter series, coming tomorrow.
