Screen Shots: Are The Florida Panthers The NHL's Most Hated Team To Face?
Screen Shots: Are The Florida Panthers The NHL's Most Hated Team To Face?Adam Proteau discusses the Florida Panthers acquiring Radko Gudas one week after picking up Brady Tkachuk, the Toronto Maple Leafs making Matias Maccelli a UFA and the Red Wings' Larkin situation.3:17Now PlayingPaused
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Screen Shots: Are The Florida Panthers The NHL's Most Hated Team To Face?
The Hockey NewsTue, June 30, 2026 at 2:36 PM UTCAdam Proteau discusses the Florida Panthers acquiring Radko Gudas one week after picking up Brady Tkachuk, the Toronto Maple Leafs making Matias Maccelli a UFA and the Red Wings' Larkin situation.
Screen Shots: Are The Florida Panthers The NHL's Most Hated Team To Face?Adam Proteau discusses the Florida Panthers acquiring Radko Gudas one week after picking up Brady Tkachuk, the Toronto Maple Leafs making Matias Maccelli a UFA and the Red Wings' Larkin situation.3:17Now PlayingPaused
PWHL Detroit Kicks Off Franchise History, Selecting Superstar Netminder With First Ever Draft Pick3:17Now PlayingPaused
Red Wings Re-Sign Former 32nd Overall Pick To Two-Year Extension3:17Now PlayingPaused
Dylan Larkin's Trade Request Allows The Red Wings To Tear It Down3:17Now PlayingPaused
Goaltender Michal Postava Determined To Crack Red Wings Lineup Next Season3:17Now PlayingPaused
Red Wings Icon Nicklas Lidstrom Lands Influential Position With Swedish Hockey Federation3:17Now PlayingPaused
Red Wings Officially Tender Simon Edvinsson, Decline to Qualify Carter Mazur3:17Now PlayingPaused
Former Red Wings Goaltender Jimmy Howard Steps Into New Local Coaching Role3:17Now PlayingPaused
On This Day: Red Wings Sweep Capitals To Win Ninth Stanley Cup3:17Now PlayingPaused
UFA Watch: Blue Jackets Veteran To Be Target For The Oilers?3:17Now PlayingPaused
Top Four NHL Center Trade Candidates Of 2026 Off-Season3:17Now PlayingPaused
Top Targets for Milwaukee Bucks in NBA Free Agency
Top Targets for Milwaukee Bucks as NBA Free Agency Begins
Plenty of roster sorting to do in the post-Giannis eraTi Windisch|
In this story:
Milwaukee BucksThe Milwaukee Bucks find themselves in unfamiliar territory as NBA free agency opens on Tuesday.
For the entirety of the 2020s, the Bucks have opened free agency targeting 1-2 rotation players to fit in their various cores built around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Often needing shooting and specifically shooting guards, the Bucks signed veterans they believed could plug and play into a contending team.
With Giannis heading to Miami, Milwaukee’s focus has obviously changed. The Bucks priority is not winning as many games as possible in 2026-27, but instead building a new core. Unlike the 2026 NBA Draft, where the Bucks prioritized their rookies fitting together more than fitting Brayden Burries and Nate Ament into an existing team, free agency provides an opportunity to prioritize roster fit.
Players hitting free agency in the Bucks’ price range (the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, starting at roughly $15 million in year 1) simply don’t have the upside of lottery picks. And as much as the Bucks aren’t going all in to win games this season, since Milwaukee doesn’t control its first-round pick there’s no incentive not to win either. It’s just not the all-encompassing goal it used to be.
Finding players who both fit Milwaukee’s current roster and offer some sort of medium-term upside makes the most sense. For this specific team, given the glut of guards and pair of true stretch fives currently on the roster, that means power forwards present the best fit. Outside of Kyle Kuzma, on an expiring contract and seemingly very available in trade talks, there aren’t really any “true” fours on Milwaukee’s roster.
Ament should be a developmental priority for the Bucks, but his current frame isn’t ready for full-time minutes at the power forward spot. Adding a player who puts the power in power forward would help the Bucks young pieces slide into their best positions in the short term.
Finally, even though a free agent contract isn’t as valuable of a rebuilding tool as the 10th overall pick, there is still inherent value in adding a player who is “worth” eight figures annually to the roster. Despite the Bucks currently not having any roster spots, it’s worth exploring free agent options and signing a good young player even if such a move requires cutting or trading veterans later on. So let’s talk about some free agent options!

Tari Eason
Tari Eason is the trickiest player on this list for Milwaukee to add. He’s a restricted free agent, meaning the Houston Rockets can match any deal Eason signs with an outside team. Eason is a good enough player and fit to be worth the Bucks swinging and missing on him though.
The 25-year-old Eason is a rugged defender at 6’8” who would immediately pair well with both Ryan Rollins and Brayden Burries in potent, switchable defensive lineups. Eason’s biggest knock is his relatively unrefined offensive game. He has scored more than 10 points per game in back-to-back seasons, but is coming off of an inefficient campaign where he shot 35.8% from 3 and 46.3% from 2.
Nobody will mistake Eason for a point forward as his career assist-to-turnover ratio is barely above 1:1, but he is a good rebounder who’s pulled down 6 boards per game despite playing 25 minutes or fewer in all four of his NBA seasons. Eason has played his role well in Houston, but given the focus on Amen Thompson more or less at his position has not been a priority there.
Milwaukee’s pitch to Eason is obvious – he would slot in as a starter on the wing and likely get more offensive opportunity than a team with Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun (not to mention Thompson) can offer. This would be a slam dunk acquisition for the Bucks, but the big question is whether the Rockets would simply match their offer to keep their skilled forward in town.

Jonathan Kuminga
Kuminga is younger (turns 24 in October) and offers more theoretical upside than Eason, although his fit isn’t quite as clean. He’s certainly a more skilled offensive player. Kuminga’s scoring numbers and minutes trended down in year 3 as his relationship with the Golden State Warriors deteriorated, but this is a player who averaged 16 points per game at age 21 back in the 2023-24 season.
Kuminga also doesn’t profile as a three-point shooter, but he can get downhill with the best of them. He’s also been above two assists per game for three straight seasons now, as Kuminga leverages his downhill burst to distribute to open teammates.
Milwaukee has enough guards that they don’t necessarily need their power forward to be a shot creator. To be extremely clear, Kuminga nor any free agent can truly replace Giannis, but if the Bucks did want a player who could slot into those huge shoes in strictly the sense of adding rim pressure, then Kuminga is the best available option.
The Atlanta Hawks are declining Jonathan Kuminga's $24.3 million team option, making him a free agent, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Zu57MTTp3g
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2026
Atlanta declined a team option on Kuminga, so he’s now an unrestricted free agent who can sign with any team. Two teams in a row opting to get rid of Kuminga rather than pay him is certainly a red flag, but the Bucks are limited to offering a modest annual value contract offer anyway and should at least investigate adding Kuminga if they can.

Ousmane Dieng
Bucks fans should be familiar with Ousmane Dieng. The lanky shooter overlaps with Ament to an uncomfortable degree, but is still a worthwhile free agency target given his age (just turned 23 in May) and skill level.
The biggest problem is despite many fan-made Bucks depth charts listing Dieng as a four, he’s simply not a physical enough player for that position. Especially if Ament is starting or playing a lot at the small forward spot. While Dieng is young, he’s now four years into his NBA career. I wouldn’t expect him to show up to camp as a bruiser all of a sudden.
Dieng got the opportunity to play real minutes for the first time in Milwaukee last season, and was impressive at times. His shot-making was up-and-down, ending in a sub-par 33.1% rate from three, but 11 points and 3.6 assists to 2.2 turnovers is solid for what was a mess of a situation.
Sources: The Milwaukee Bucks declined to tender Ousmane Dieng a qualifying offer, which will make him an unrestricted free agent. Bucks have significant interest in re-signing Dieng in free agency. He averaged 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season for Milwaukee. pic.twitter.com/BD13ckM5tW
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 29, 2026
The Bucks have already shown their hand to an extent here, declining to tender Dieng a qualifying offer but still reportedly looking to re-sign him. That showcases some interest but not a strong desire, as Dieng is now also an unrestricted free agent who could sign anywhere. It doesn’t seem like Dieng will be a huge financial priority for Milwaukee, but he is a good flier worth bringing back.

Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton is obviously not a member of any young core unless we’re looking into the Big 3 league, but the Bucks would truly benefit from bringing him back into the fold. Middleton is not the player he once was but would be added back more for his leadership and mentorship than his on-court contributions this time around.
Middleton is a great vet, a Bucks champion, and much of the glue that held the Giannis era together for so long. It’s not a coincidence that the house of cards toppled soon after he was traded for Kuzma.
Outside of purely basketball aspect, it’d be great for Bucks fans to have a hero back in the fold for them to celebrate on a nightly basis too.
Obviously Miami plus any other contending team loom as fits for Middleton to chase a second ring and more team success, but the Bucks should be open to welcoming him back in Milwaukee if that’s something Middleton is interested in doing.
Published 35 minutes ago
TI WINDISCHTi has covered the Milwaukee Bucks and Wisconsin Herd since 2015, including as host of the Gyro Step podcast covering all things Bucks since 2019. His first favorite Buck was Brandon Knight and he was the one who asked the question that prompted Brandon Jennings to state that Bucks in 6 is for the culture.
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Vikings, J.J. McCarthy Are Unexpectedly Dragged Into the Dianna Russini Drama
Vikings, J.J. McCarthy Are Unexpectedly Dragged Into the Dianna Russini Drama
The NFL's biggest offseason story has added another chapter.Tony Liebert|
In this story:
Minnesota VikingsThe Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel controversy has been among the most salacious NFL talking points this offseason, and the Vikings were wrapped up in the latest chapter on Monday.
Russini, a prominent NFL insider and media personality, resigned from her role at The Athletic in April after a series of photos were published indicating a close relationship between her and the New England Patriots head coach, with the pair both married to other partners.
Last week, the New York Times, which owns The Athletic, published an article last week referencing a February appearance by Russini on the "Stugotz and Company" radio show, where she mentioned FaceTiming an NFL head coach to get out of a ticket for texting while driving.
The name of the coach and team involved was not named, but nonetheless sparked speculation up until Monday, when dashcam footage of the traffic stop was obtained by The Center Square and published online.
It turns out that story wasn't entirely true in that Russini didn't FaceTime a coach, but she did appear to use her sources with the Minnesota Vikings. The dash cam footage from Jan. 19 allegedly shows Russini showing the officer a text exchange with Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.
After being pulled over, Russini identified herself as an NFL reporter and says she "just broke that Sean McDermott got fired from the Bills."
"You know who I was on the phone with? Brian Daboll. He wants the job," she continues, before asking the New Jersey-based officer if he's a fan of the Giants or Jets.
“I’m a Vikings fan, unfortunately," the officer says a short time later, a statement that will resonate deep in the soul of any Vikings fan.
Russini then shows him her phone and an apparent text exchange with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell. But she didn’t FaceTime the coach as she previously suggested.
At the end of the clip, she emphatically said: "Your quarterback sucks, though."
BREAKING NEWS: Former NFL insider Dianna Russini accused of using NFL connection to avoid ticket pic.twitter.com/PtGVicKybM
— The Center Square (@thecentersquare) June 30, 2026
It's fair to presume that Russini was referencing J.J. McCarthy, who spent the majority of last season as Minnesota's starter. The entire exchange appeared to work, and she was not given a ticket by the New Jersey-based officer.
Russini no longer works for The Athletic, but was notably consistent in reporting Minnesota's interest in potentially adding Aaron Rodgers as a free agent two offseasons ago, and has previously criticized the local Vikings media for "lifting up" J.J. McCarthy ahead of the 2025 NFL season, where McCarthy was the starter but struggled mightily.
The released bodycam footage has led to as-yet unfounded speculation that maybe Russini was basing her views on McCarthy on information she was receiving from inside the Vikings organization, despite public proclamations backing McCarthy.
That said, it's eminently plausible that she simply didn't rate him as a starting NFL quarterback, and she merely used her communication with O'Connell to get out of the ticket.
The Vikings ultimately added free agent Kyler Murray in the 2026 offseason, and Murray is expected to be the start for the coming NFL season, with McCarthy serving as his backup.
Published 5 minutes ago
TONY LIEBERTTony Liebert is particularly known for his coverage of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, though he also contributes to coverage of the Minnesota Vikings, Timberwolves and Twins. His writing style is noted for providing in-depth analysis and insights, making him a go-to source for fans looking for comprehensive coverage of Minnesota sports.
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