"Folks gone pull up to Milwaukee": Evan Turner made to eat his words as Damian Lillard is traded to Bucks in massive deal
Former NBA player Evan Turner was among the people who reacted to Damian Lillard moving to the Milwaukee Bucks in a megastar three-team trade. Turner's reaction came a couple of weeks after he called out Giannis Antetokounmpo for his take on why he doesn't practice with other NBA players in the offseason.
During his appearance on the 48 Minutes podcast a couple of weeks ago, Antetokounmpo said (via Bleav and Clutchpoints):
"I don't know how to be phony. I don't know how to be fake. That's why I kind of keep my distance, because I know that if I work out with people, it takes active players, it takes off my edge when I play against them."
Evan Turner took to Twitter after Antetokounmpo's statement and said that players (and especially megastars) don't want to move to Milwaukee and join the Bucks.
"Ain’t nobody coming to Milwaukee to work out wit you and your brother," Turner tweeted.
Following Damian Lillard's trade, Evan Turner, who last played in the league back in 2020, changed his mind and said that NBA players do want to join Milwaukee and become teammates with Giannis Antetokounmpo. A fan even called him out for changing his mind so quickly.
"Folks gone pull up to Milwaukee and workout now!" Turner tweeted.
Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts to Bucks trading for Damian Lillard - "I am excited"
Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted to find out whether the Milwaukee Bucks had the same winning mentality as him and the desire to return to track and claim the championship for the second time in four years.
The two-time NBA MVP made it clear that if the Bucks were in no position to win, he would not sign the contract extension he is eligible for this season and next summer. The "Greek Freak" can sign for three years and $186.6 million until October 23, 2023, or wait until the summer of 2024 for a four-year, $234 million deal.
Antetokounmpo recently reacted to the news of Damian Lillard's arrival in Milwaukee and couldn't hide his excitement about a megastar joining the franchise.
"Now at the same time, I'm excited to have Dame. He gives us a chance to win a championship. I'm excited to play with the caliber of player that he is. He can score the ball in his sleep and shoot the lights out," Giannis Antetokoumpo told Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
"Jrue took us to the promised land. I'm 10 years in now. I know it's a business. At the end of the day, Jrue will alway be be my brother for life. He's one of the best human beings I've been around. But we've got to focus on the goal to win the championship. Dame wants this. He's hungry to win, and he's going to push us. I'm very happy to have him on our team," he added.
Damian Lillard's trade transformed the Milwaukee Bucks to the odds-on favorite to claim the 2023-24 title and also extended the franchise's championship window with Lillard under contract for another four years (through 2027) and the "Greek Freak" for another three (2026), respectively.