Milwaukee Bucks Thread 2008–2009 (part 1)

[Chio151]

I doubt Harrington plays. He might not even make it to MKE.

 

Went to a game last weekend. Despite being an NBA hater, I really liked watching Sessions and Prince Luc. Those guys hustle.

[fondybrewfan]

The Knicks also just traded Zack Randolph. They will be very short handed tonight, the Bucks better take advantage.

[Hammer]

The fact that tonights game is not on DirecTv is really ticking me off. Rant over.

[ILuvDaBush]

So what's the over/under on the amount of games until Sessions is starting? Ridnour continues to hoist 3's, and after last night's game, I figured it was pretty obvious that the offense runs a lot smoother with Reno's finest running the point. On a side note, it was great to see the Alopecia'ed One put on a good show last night. I like having him running with the #2 team for the offense, though I think he plays better with Bogut on defense. As for Mikey Redd, how is it we continue to hover around a playoff spot without him? My only worry is that he will come back and inject some killer chemical agent into the homeostasis we've developed.

[davego]

I like Ridnour, but he does need to shoot less. I guess as long as the minutes are fairly even, I don't care who starts. Sessions is doing fine, but I question how he will hold up if he plays 35 minutes a game @ the point. He certainly can play some #2 and sure helps that guard rotation.

 

They need Redd back for the points, but I agree that keeping the rotation going (maybe 32-34 minutes per game for Redd) is pretty important. I wonder if there might be some times where he slides over to the 3 as well.

 

CV really fills that 6-man spot well. From what he says in the paper; doesn't seem to have an issue with it, either.

[bbrauch2000]

well, we are going to find out how good Sessions is this week. No Redd for the road trip and Ridnour is out. Should be exciting

[MickeyDavis]

The fact that tonights game is not on DirecTv is really ticking me off. Rant over.

 

Which games are broadcast is an FSN/Bucks decision not DirecTV. If the game is televised, DirecTV will carry it, on channel 669.

[Diskono]

well, we are going to find out how good Sessions is this week. No Redd for the road trip and Ridnour is out. Should be exciting

Unfortunately, that also means that we get to find out how good Charlie Bell and Tyronn Lue are.

[ILuvDaBush]

Maybe Vanilla Sky can get some time in as the 3, bumping RJ to the 2 position. One could hope, right?

[Diskono]

Unfortunately, that also means that we get to find out how good Charlie Bell and Tyronn Lue are.

And Bogut is out for a week. Now we can add Dan Gadzuric and Francisco Elson to this list. So um...whats Tragic Johnson up to these days?

[davego]

The Detroit game was an example of what happens when you can't really score. I actually liked how they played in the game and hung in there against a team that is so much more talented. 7-11 is not good, but miles ahead of what the past two years were like. 2008 Bucks = 2003 'Crew.

[nate82]

Looking ahead to 2010. According to Real GM and over at ESPN Redd and Jefferson will be free agents in 2010 along with Lebron, Wade, and others. Would it be possible for the Bucks to get Wade and another player that year? Or do the Bucks wait until 2011 and try and get Carmelo? In 2009 the big name free agent will be Marion I'm not sure that the Bucks should go after Marion especially if he wants a long contract with his injury issues.

[trwi7]

Redd and RJ expire in 2011 (actually Redd has a player option in 2010 but he'll almost certainly pick that up.) We have no cap space until those two along with Gadz expire in 2011.

[JJHardy7]

Redd and RJ expire in 2011 (actually Redd has a player option in 2010 but he'll almost certainly pick that up.) We have no cap space until those two along with Gadz expire in 2011.

 

That is unless we trade one for an expiring contract this year or next year to a team that needs one of them and is willing to pay them. I don't think the Bucks are going to land Wade or Carmelo. The Bucks are the type of team that has to overpay for free agents, which isn't the route to go (ie Bobby Simmons). The best way IMO for the Bucks to build a good team is to draft well (which hasn't always happened), find nuggets (Mo Williams), and make smart trades. I don't think this current team is all that far away from being a 4 - 6 seed in the East, but a few injuries could easily knock them out of the real playoff hunt by the end of December or mid-January.

[trwi7]

That is unless we trade one for an expiring contract this year or next year to a team that needs one of them and is willing to pay them.

 

Still won't happen. Let's say we trade Redd, the most expensive player, we'd still have $49 million in salaries commited to eight players and we'd still need to pay our draft picks and Sessions. That gives you a couple of million in cap space which is pretty much nothing.

[nate82]

Redd and RJ expire in 2011 (actually Redd has a player option in 2010 but he'll almost certainly pick that up.) We have no cap space until those two along with Gadz expire in 2011.

I doubt Redd will exercise his 2010 option. Especially with a chance to get on a winning team and playing with his friend Lebron and in a bigger team like the Knicks or the Nets. Do you see Redd passing that up at all? I don't see Redd passing up that opportunity and his contract won't be any worse than what he is getting now. I believe Redd is gone after the 2009 season along with RJ. I just don't see both of them staying with the Bucks after the 2009 season.

[trwi7]

I doubt Redd will exercise his 2010 option. Especially with a chance to get on a winning team and playing with his friend Lebron and in a bigger team like the Knicks or the Nets. Do you see Redd passing that up at all? I don't see Redd passing up that opportunity and his contract won't be any worse than what he is getting now. I believe Redd is gone after the 2009 season along with RJ. I just don't see both of them staying with the Bucks after the 2009 season.

Redd will make $18 million in 2010 if he exercises his option. There's no way he gets anything close to that in 2010 and with LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Joe Johnson, possibly Paul Pierce, possibly Dirk Nowitzki, Tracy McGrady, possibly Yao Ming, Steve Nash, possibly Amare Stoudemire and Manu Ginobili, Redd will pretty much be an afterthought in that free agent class. What's likely is he exercises the option, collects his money and then signs for less to go to a contender in 2011.

[ILuvDaBush]

What are the chances the Bucks could package Charlie V. with Danny Gadz, and pick up something...less useless? Dare I say I miss the days of Danny Santiago?? No, too far. But I miss Zaza and his untapped (even to this day) potential. Imagine if we would have signed Big Z instead of the Flying Dutchman, for a far more palatable contract, as well. The Larry Harris Regime. Thank you!

[homer]

There was a pretty heated debate around here when the Bucks signed Gadz over Zaza. Most people felt that Gadz provided more defense which is probably true but they weren't banking on the fact that thats' ALL he would provide.....ever.

[Gobias Industries]

And he hasn't even provided that most of the time. He's a horrible defender with how foul-prone he is.

 

Gadz did have an excellent game last night, and as Skiles has said, he hasn't played that bad during his limited minutes this year.

 

It's good to get a win, but the Bulls are pretty weak. Bogut surely wasn't ready to play, as he was laboring quite a bit. I'd rather have the guy close to 100% than rush him back.

[Diskono]

Bogut probably wasn't ready to go last night, but it's refreshing to see someone actually play when listed as day-to-day. When they said he was 50/50 for last night, I assumed that he'd be out for another 2 weeks at least.

 

Count me in as one who was confused by Gadz over ???? ???????. I had assumed that, when faced with choosing between fairly equal players, its generally better to go with the younger choice.

[bbrauch2000]

David Thorpe was very complimentary of the Bucks in his column today, especially of his take on Sessions.

 

]http://sports.espn.go.com...s=spotlight&lid=tab3pos1]

[ILuvDaBush]

So now that the Bucks are well into this season, who are the cornerstones? I have to think the Prince, Vanilla Sky, and Sessions are the future, while Redd and Jefferson are the present. Bogut seems to be both the present and future. Everyone else seems to be expendable. Chuckie V. would be a good piece to keep, but I doubt we have the necessary funds and he doesn't fit the Skiles-mold. He brings good offense, and good help defense, but he is useless in the post on the defensive side. And I still don't like having to watch Danny Gadz hacking his way to the bench.

[Gobias Industries]

I think Prince projects to be a solid glue guy, whereas JA could be anywhere from just a rotation player to a second banana. Sessions has the ability to be a top-tier PG if he becomes average at D and his jump shooting. Right now he's a decent starting PG or an excellent backup, so he's definitely a keeper if you pay him accordingly.

 

Redd is a good scorer, but with his salary he's a huge net negative. Is it me or can this guy not shoot that great anymore? Jefferson is a pretty good all-around player, but he's certainly expendable along with Max.

 

Bogut is a good all around player. He's limited offensively because of his lack of athleticism, but he's the absolute best in the league at taking a charge, a good passer, and has always been a good rebounder, although the stats may haven't shown in it in seasons past. He's terrific at boxing out his man, and letting our guards grab the rebound. (This happened back-to-back with Ridnour in the first quarter last night, and does a couple of times nightly),

 

Everyone else is too flawed to even talk about imo.

 

The game last night was embarrassing. I watched on and off while studying, and there was only one redeeming part of the game for me, and that was watching the Gadz and Elson 2 on 1, which ended exactly how you'd expect.

[bbrauch2000]

Last night was really the low point of the season for me. This doesnt remotely look like a team at this point. Its sad that the most the Bucks have looked like a team this year was when they were ravaged by injuries and without their starting guards