Milwaukee Bucks 2011/2012

[Baldkin]

Methinks they are following the Detroit model. They didn't have any superstars and won a title. Granted, that is certainly not the norm but to get a superstar you have to be incredibly lucky in the draft (as in, get the #1, 2, or 3 pick in the right year) or be incredibly attractive to a free agent (i.e. Boston, Miami, LA, etc)

 

And they've been going with that model for 20 of the last 25 years. It's gotten them exactly 2 playoff series wins -- and they got those because they had one of the best 2-guards of all time in his prime.

 

Then, instead of building around him.... they traded him for a washed up point guard and signed a much worse player to a max deal.

[homer]

And if they had the #1 pick the year Lebron was drafted instead of Bogut they probably would have been a in championship series or two.

[ninja33]

i think this means that gooden is gone. they still need a wing player and now they have no cap room to get one. the other option is a trade for one of the young 4's for someone.

 

I also think (and hope) it means Gooden is gone, but it doesn't mean they can't sign a wing player. They still have the MLE to look at a wing player. Of course there aren't any very good ones out there (I think Randy Foye has been mentioned a few times), so a combo of Gooden and Udoh or Sanders might be necessary to get the best player they can into the fold. If they wanted to trade just Gooden, they could probably look at a guy like Tayshaun Prince or Josh Childress. I don't really care for either of those guys or their contracts (which are essentially the same as Gooden's), but they probably fill a bigger need than Gooden does with the # of PFs on the roster. They could also decide to give Harris a lot of time at the 3.

 

And back to the Ersan contract, it sounds like the 5th year is an option year. Details haven't been released (or at least I haven't seen them yet), but that makes it more like a 4/$36 million contract. Which is still a little high, but it looks a lot more team friendly. And if that fifth year is used, it will probably be a great value because Ersan has continued to produce throughout the contract.

[patrickgpe]

latest on the howard trade (from hoopshype)

 

In the proposed deal, Howard, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark would be sent to Brooklyn, and the Magic would receive the Nets' Brook Lopez, Damion James, Sheldon Williams, Cleveland's Luke Walton and three future first-round picks, sources said. Cleveland would receive Orlando's Quentin Richardson, Brooklyn's Sundiata Gaines, Kris Humphries (on a one-year guaranteed deal), a first-round pick and $3 million from the Nets. Brooklyn also would send Brooks to a fourth team to get them an additional first-round pick to send to the Magic. Yahoo! Sports

 

I would love the bucks to be team #4, and get brooks for a 1st.

[brwrsfan]

While I think Ersan is a good player...it just makes no sense to me given the current makeup of the roster and their recent drafting of Henson. Gooden, Ersan, Udoh, Henson, Sanders...when is everyone supposed to play? Even if you let some of them play center there isn't enough room for them all. I sure hope there is another trade in the works here at some point, we have way too many PF's and not nearly enough guards. Or small forwards for that matter.

[fondybrewfan]

Udoh would be competent at a back up 5; Sanders really has no role anymore. I would think both Gooden and Sanders are available to basically any team that would want them.

[Outlander]

I'm actually fine with this move since Ersan will be in his 20's for the life of the contract and they still have future cap flexibility, especially with the team option the fifth year. They actually remain in good position money wise to sign Jennings to an extension as well.

[FVBrewerFan]

Nice contract for Sova. Worse case, he will always be a good commodity to trade if you want to go another direction. So there's really no down side. Even if his jumper is broke, he's a guy who can hit the boards- especially the offensive glass, and there will always be teams interested in that.

 

I don't think they'll want to trade him though. I don't think we're seeing a player coming off his career year, I think we're seeing a guy who is just starting to take off.

 

The whole "tear it down and build back up again" fails as often as it succeeds, we just focus on the times it works. Bucks could go down to $0 salary, and offer a star a max contract- they still won't come here.

[patrickgpe]

ersan excels at something that few bucks have (offensive rebounds) therefore i still think its a good move at a high price. i just don't think we can evaluate this move until the fall to see what else hammond does.

[jmeks23]

Well the actual financials haven't been released yet I don't think (ie yearly breakdown). As the guys at Brew Hoop went over, there could be incentives like Bogut had for being finals MVP and other things that will more than likely never happen. Also, the option year could be a team option for 10 million or something along those lines where really they only end up paying 4 years 35 mil. It's not that bad of a deal in that case.

 

As far as the Howard deal...is it really worth it for the Nets? They can sign him as a free agent next summer for just cash and no picks, players, etc. Plus they should be competitive enough this year to make the playoffs without him. Oh well, they want to make a splash, and I guess a 4-team mega deal is the way to do it.

[Baldkin]

Well the actual financials haven't been released yet I don't think (ie yearly breakdown). As the guys at Brew Hoop went over, there could be incentives like Bogut had for being finals MVP and other things that will more than likely never happen. Also, the option year could be a team option for 10 million or something along those lines where really they only end up paying 4 years 35 mil. It's not that bad of a deal in that case.

 

As far as the Howard deal...is it really worth it for the Nets? They can sign him as a free agent next summer for just cash and no picks, players, etc. Plus they should be competitive enough this year to make the playoffs without him. Oh well, they want to make a splash, and I guess a 4-team mega deal is the way to do it.

 

If they go after him as a free agent, they don't have his Bird rights, so they can't offer an extra year, nor can they go over the cap for him.

[Warning Track Power]

That garbage that the Magic would receive in that four team deal is not worth Howard. I would much rather take my chance with Andrew Bynum and trying to convince him to stay in Orlando after this season than having all those mediocre players Orlando would receive.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Apparently the 4-team deal is dead because Cleveland pulled out. The Lakers are also out according to Ric Bucher. If the Magic make a deal with the Nets it'll just be between them, but it looks unlikely. So the Magic are opening up discussions with other teams, such as the Hawks. In my opinion the Hawks could basically take Howard if they want to. All they have to do is offer Horford. They could probably convince Howard to stay too since Josh Smith is one of his best friends, and they have the cap space to go after Chris Paul or some other big free agent next offseason.

[bthurley19]

Dwight will only go where Emperor Stern wants him to go.

 

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2a18cC9rD1qk4a0ho1_1280.jpg

[RockCoCougars]

Who would want Howard? The guy is the biggest cancer going in sports right now, and he obviously knows that he will never win unless he rides someone else's coattails.

 

If I'm Orlando, I'd wait for the guy to start whining about a trade come training camp and then suspend him for insubordination.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Who would want Howard? The guy is the biggest cancer going in sports right now, and he obviously knows that he will never win unless he rides someone else's coattails.

 

If I'm Orlando, I'd wait for the guy to start whining about a trade come training camp and then suspend him for insubordination.

 

Why would they do that when they can just get rid of him and end their headache? They just need to dump him ASAP for the best package, and let someone else deal with him. I definitely wouldn't touch him for any significant package if I was a team other than the Nets though. He seems dead set on going there. If he gets traded somewhere else he'll probably be a problem again, and then walk in the offseason. Too big of a risk for anyone other than the Nets in my opinion.

[RockCoCougars]

Who would want Howard? The guy is the biggest cancer going in sports right now, and he obviously knows that he will never win unless he rides someone else's coattails.

 

If I'm Orlando, I'd wait for the guy to start whining about a trade come training camp and then suspend him for insubordination.

 

Why would they do that when they can just get rid of him and end their headache? They just need to dump him ASAP for the best package, and let someone else deal with him. I definitely wouldn't touch him for any significant package if I was a team other than the Nets though. He seems dead set on going there. If he gets traded somewhere else he'll probably be a problem again, and then walk in the offseason. Too big of a risk for anyone other than the Nets in my opinion.

 

Mostly just for cap space and spite. If the Magic were to move Howard now, they'd have to take garbage salaries back in return. Additionally, he's going to have a very difficult time getting that huge deal without a sign and trade. He's pretty much a rental guy at this point anyway, and he's killed a big chunk of his residual trade value anyway at this point with his prima donna behavior.

[LouisEly]

Salaries need to be included to balance out for Howard's salary, and salaries can eventually be dumped. It's essentially Howard for 1-2 serviceable players plus 3-4 first round draft picks. It's either that or lose him in free agency the next year for nothing; sure Orlando can use Bird rights to offer him the biggest contract but that doesn't mean that Howard will resign with them. Just look at LeBron and Bosh - both turned down bigger deals with their teams to sign with the Heat.

 

So if it is Howard for 1-2 serviceable players and 3-4 first round picks or risk losing him for nothing in free agency, I'll take my chances on the 3-4 first round picks.

[patrickgpe]

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/222304/Kwame_Brown_Signs_Two_Year_$6M_Deal_With_Sixers

 

WOW!, Kwame we hardly knew you

[patrickgpe]

was excited to see Henson play last night, but he was scratched due to illness. Still watched a little of the game after the brewers gave up it up and was pretty impressed with Lamb. He could be the next Michael Redd.

[Outlander]

Yeah, I have high hopes for Lamb, he gets compared to Meeks but Lamb was a much better college player than Meeks. Also nice to see Sanders get 10 personal fouls. Jarrid Famous looked good too but I can't see them finding a roster spot for him.

[RockCoCougars]

Lamb is less athletic than Meeks, but he can shoot. Had he not played for the Cats, he certainly would have put up more prolific numbers in college. I see the Redd comparison, but I'm thinking that his upside is going to be more of a scorer off the bench. I see a bit of Ricky Pierce in him. Hopefully, they don't let him rot on the bench in favor of Delfino, etc. and give him a chance before trading him for a Euro stiff like they did with Meeks. One of the problems with the Bucks are that their forwards are better shooters from medium/long range than their guards, hopefully Lamb can help alleviate that a bit.

[patrickgpe]

could be an interesting option as the backup 5

 

[patrickgpe]

I'll put this here instead of starting a new thread

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/48130/coming-soon-ads-on-nba-jerseys

 

i hate this, it creates a larger gap between the larger and small market teams. Its bad enough that the tv deal for the knicks and lakers is so much larger than the bucks and bobcats, but now patches will be sold for much higher in the larger market to further the gap between big and small market teams.

[FVBrewerFan]

I have DVRd all the Bucks summer league games, just can't stomach watching every minute. I feel better about both Henson and Lamb. Henson already has more to his offensive game than I expected, and Lamb shows some ability to get to the basket, not just a jump shooter.

 

I'm most excited about Tobias Harris. Yes, he's playing against horrible competition, I get that. But he looks like hs floor is a solid contributor, and his ceiling is higher than I thought.

 

Sanders "is what he is" and nobody else on the roster really looks like a keeper. Finally, this just in, Brian Butch does not belong in the NBA. Hate to say it, but it's true.