ATL - Luka Extension - 3/165

[Ron Swanson]

I'm sorry but we can't be out here laughing at Memphis paying JJJ after all that we did to get 29-year old Myles Turner here lol. They're a smart player development organization and that's a completely fair contract for Jaren based on his current level and age.

[Profound23]

I'm sorry but we can't be out here laughing at Memphis paying JJJ after all that we did to get 29-year old Myles Turner here lol. They're a smart player development organization and that's a completely fair contract for Jaren based on his current level and age.

Truth....because if you asked me if we could pay JJJ 50mil per year or pay Turner 4/107mil while still paying Dame 22.5 in dead capspace for the next five years I would gladly give JJJ five years/240.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Yeah only a handful of guys are ever truly worth a max but franchises can go decades without ever getting one of those guys. So you over pay some really good players and hope for the best, especially when you're a bottom teir FA destination like Memphis.

The NBA fans seem to obsess about this more than other sports.

[soxperry]

I'm sorry but we can't be out here laughing at Memphis paying JJJ after all that we did to get 29-year old Myles Turner here lol. They're a smart player development organization and that's a completely fair contract for Jaren based on his current level and age.

Okay, here's where that logic fails

Try to trade JJJ in a couple years

Now try to trade Turner given, you know, his actual contract

The defense rests

[DanoMac]

People laughing at Memphis giving JJJ so much money and I understand their POV. However, this is the problem with having guys that are stars but not superstars. This is why you do everything to keep a player like Giannis.

That was us with Michael Redd, I think. All-star, good guy, just not a superstar.

The angst when Redd visited Cleveland as a free agent. Man.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

I'm sorry but we can't be out here laughing at Memphis paying JJJ after all that we did to get 29-year old Myles Turner here lol. They're a smart player development organization and that's a completely fair contract for Jaren based on his current level and age.

Truth....because if you asked me if we could pay JJJ 50mil per year or pay Turner 4/107mil while still paying Dame 22.5 in dead capspace for the next five years I would gladly give JJJ five years/240.

if jjj declines as a player or blows an achilles or does his acl then what?

were better off. im telling you. were better off. turner or a healthy khri back at this money is a much better match than dame if were gonna blow "max money" on guy. dame was not a fit. we know that

[soxperry]

I hope we never spend more than half of a max on a one way player ever again. That was incredibly annoying

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

I'm sorry but we can't be out here laughing at Memphis paying JJJ after all that we did to get 29-year old Myles Turner here lol. They're a smart player development organization and that's a completely fair contract for Jaren based on his current level and age.

Truth....because if you asked me if we could pay JJJ 50mil per year or pay Turner 4/107mil while still paying Dame 22.5 in dead capspace for the next five years I would gladly give JJJ five years/240.

I'm confused, if we didn't sign Myles we somehow get the Dame capspace back? We werent going into the tax and had to pay Dame $55m next year if we didnt stretch him. Maybe we could've traded Dame and a first next year to clear space, but that cap space became dead the moment he tore his Achilles

[tedbrogen]

I'm sorry but we can't be out here laughing at Memphis paying JJJ after all that we did to get 29-year old Myles Turner here lol. They're a smart player development organization and that's a completely fair contract for Jaren based on his current level and age.

Truth....because if you asked me if we could pay JJJ 50mil per year or pay Turner 4/107mil while still paying Dame 22.5 in dead capspace for the next five years I would gladly give JJJ five years/240.

I'm confused, if we didn't sign Myles we somehow get the Dame capspace back? We werent going into the tax and had to pay Dame $55m next year if we didnt stretch him. Maybe we could've traded Dame and a first next year to clear space, but that cap space became dead the moment he tore his Achilles

Realistically the Bucks were either burning all the Dame cap space over two years or five years. No matter what other actions occurred.

Five years makes sense with the cap scheduled to increase and cap space being more precious now in Giannis’ prime than in three years when he’s not even currently under contract for those years.

Adding Dame’s cap hit to Turner’s silly because if you go to trade Turner, Same’s cap hit isn’t included in the deal.

[Profound23]

I'm sorry but we can't be out here laughing at Memphis paying JJJ after all that we did to get 29-year old Myles Turner here lol. They're a smart player development organization and that's a completely fair contract for Jaren based on his current level and age.

Truth....because if you asked me if we could pay JJJ 50mil per year or pay Turner 4/107mil while still paying Dame 22.5 in dead capspace for the next five years I would gladly give JJJ five years/240.

I'm confused, if we didn't sign Myles we somehow get the Dame capspace back? We werent going into the tax and had to pay Dame $55m next year if we didnt stretch him. Maybe we could've traded Dame and a first next year to clear space, but that cap space became dead the moment he tore his Achilles

I am not saying it was a dumb move, but it was done out of desperation....as the JJJ signing was done out of desperation. For teams like Memphis and Milwaukee they have to make moves like this to compete and keep their core players. Us even more so since we have practically no picks (or at best late first round picks, no lottery picks even if we bottom out) for a few years.

We could have taken a GAP year and hoped Dame comes back 100% next year, but we didn't and now instead of paying Dame 56+ mil for two years in a row, we are paying him 22+mil for five years. If we win the title over the next few years it is worth it, but if not come 2028 when we have nothing but late firsts d/t swaps and trades and still paying 22+mil to a player on our team it could really come back to hurt us.

Horst and Co. take risks, luckily it worked out with Jrue but I am worried if this one doesn't work, on top of the Dame move not working this team will be in trouble for the next 5 years.

[emunney]

I'm sorry but we can't be out here laughing at Memphis paying JJJ after all that we did to get 29-year old Myles Turner here lol. They're a smart player development organization and that's a completely fair contract for Jaren based on his current level and age.

We gave him a 4/107m contract? We're paying Dame either way.

[emunney]

Truth....because if you asked me if we could pay JJJ 50mil per year or pay Turner 4/107mil while still paying Dame 22.5 in dead capspace for the next five years I would gladly give JJJ five years/240.

I'm confused, if we didn't sign Myles we somehow get the Dame capspace back? We werent going into the tax and had to pay Dame $55m next year if we didnt stretch him. Maybe we could've traded Dame and a first next year to clear space, but that cap space became dead the moment he tore his Achilles

I am not saying it was a dumb move, but it was done out of desperation....as the JJJ signing was done out of desperation. For teams like Memphis and Milwaukee they have to make moves like this to compete and keep their core players. Us even more so since we have practically no picks (or at best late first round picks, no lottery picks even if we bottom out) for a few years.

We could have taken a GAP year and hoped Dame comes back 100% next year, but we didn't and now instead of paying Dame 56+ mil for two years in a row, we are paying him 22+mil for five years. If we win the title over the next few years it is worth it, but if not come 2028 when we have nothing but late firsts d/t swaps and trades and still paying 22+mil to a player on our team it could really come back to hurt us.

Horst and Co. take risks, luckily it worked out with Jrue but I am worried if this one doesn't work, on top of the Dame move not working this team will be in trouble for the next 5 years.

I don't see it as desperate. There was an opportunity to get an above average starter on a pretty decent contract and they took it. You can't stretch an expiring contract so if we wanted to take advantage of that and add someone, it had to be now. Dame popping his Achilles is what killed that money; it was already dead by the time we cut him.

Do YOU feel hopeful about Dame returning at 100% after tearing his Achilles at almost 36 years old?

I'd have probably taken a different path but I also wasn't in those meetings with Giannis.

[FrieAaron]

Dame popping his Achilles is what killed that money; it was already dead by the time we cut him.

Do YOU feel hopeful about Dame returning at 100% after tearing his Achilles at almost 36 years old?

I'd have probably taken a different path but I also wasn't in those meetings with Giannis.

This. It's technically true but a little disingenuous to paint it as just choosing to throw away 20M a year for 5 years. If we did nothing we were throwing away $54M this year. Now throw on top of it all the stuff about Dame allegedly being miserable here, the two sides already talking about maybe parting ways soon anyway, etc. it's pretty easy to see how the decision could have been made. Maybe it would have been more prudent to wait until Dame's return at the end of the season and move him then. But what if he's 50% of what he was? Then we're throwing away $54M for two years.

[Ron Swanson]

I really don’t understand your guys’ obsession with this weird semantics and mental gymnastics
argument about Turner’s contract. They’re both fine deals (Turner and JJJ) even with all the future cap flexibility we had to sacrifice just to sign him.

If Turner were 25, a better scorer, and won a DPOTY, he’d be getting paid a lot more. Just really funny that anyone’s trying to dunk on Memphis by acting like they just signed Bradley Beal to a super-max while we just got KG 2.0 on a sub-max contract.

[Profound23]

Windhorst will tell you Ayton "moves the needle" for LA but Turner doesn't for Milwaukee.

[MickeyDavis]

Read on Twitter

[Ryan5UW]

I'm glad we're not in the Deandre Ayton business.

[soxperry]

Windhorst will tell you Ayton "moves the needle" for LA but Turner doesn't for Milwaukee.

Yeah, well, i think its touching how the league came together and denied them a modern center. Clippers deserve a fruit basket

[soxperry]

I really don’t understand your guys’ obsession with this weird semantics and mental gymnastics
argument about Turner’s contract. They’re both fine deals (Turner and JJJ) even with all the future cap flexibility we had to sacrifice just to sign him.

If Turner were 25, a better scorer, and won a DPOTY, he’d be getting paid a lot more. Just really funny that anyone’s trying to dunk on Memphis by acting like they just signed Bradley Beal to a super-max while we just got KG 2.0 on a sub-max contract.

To frame it correctly....

We are simply annoyed that the national media keeps painting it in a way that makes it sound as bad as possible when its not a functionally accurate assessment of the situation

[BigO]

This is not a nice man:

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2025/07/02/former-milwaukee-bucks-guard-malik-beasley-paid-local-barber-dentist-60000/84446880007/