Coach said to show up to the home opener so I did. There were a fair amount of Bulls fans, so there were a noticeable amount of cheers when they made a good play. Understandable.

What I didn’t understand were two separate individuals near me cheering when both teams hit 3’s, when Caleb Wilson scored, when Ware grabbed rebounds, and a couple of other stats. They wore Bucks merch and were on their phones for half the game.

If you can’t watch a game without betting, then don’t show up. You’re after the thrill of the wager, not the game.

The league is already influenced by its partnership with betting apps, sponsorships with players, and recent scandals. Making your bets part of the crowd’s ovations furthers their influence and makes our team feel less important.

It looks like OKC will be getting a Disabled Player Exception for Jalen Williams this season, which I believe will be equivalent to the Non-TP MLE. This would give them enough space to swallow Caris LeVert's contract. While I am a fan of keeping LeVert around to mentor the young guards so long as he doesn't complain about his playing time, I think if we can extort more than his value from a desperate team then we have to do it. What do we think? Would OKC do it? How much could we get?

I'm thinking if we can get a 1st then we do it. Free up salary and a roster spot so we can absorb more in trades at the deadline for the purpose of acquiring even more picks. OKC has 3 1st round picks in the 2027 draft and the Bucks currently don't own one, so it could be a good opportunity to get back in. I just don't know if they are desperate enough to give up a 1st for LeVert.