Milwaukee Bucks 2013–2014

[brwrsfan]

Yes, the Bucks are way more than 1 player away...but only the top 4 guys supposedly have superstar potential - and that's something the Bucks clearly need. Sure, they could flop. And sure, guys after that could very well be stars and all stars and all that. But if you're the Bucks...you have new owners, you need a new arena. You need a star (or at least a perceived star) that the fans can get behind. To me, that's Wiggins or Parker. I prefer Wiggins.

 

I've heard Philly really loves Wiggins. If Embiid does go one, do we make a trade with them? They have the third and tenth picks? Who knows. But I completely agree, you don't trade out of the top 4 this year unless it's an offer that you literally can't turn down.

 

If anything, I say try to move a couple of our second rounders and a player (maybe Ersan?) to move back into the first round if possible.

[patrickgpe]

There's been talk the Jazz (5th, 23rd, 35th) might look to package their picks to move up. Would the 2nd pick be enough to acquire all 3 of their picks?

 

This is a four player draft. You don't move out of the top 4 unless you are getting an offer you absolutely can't refuse. The 5th pick, a late 1st and an early 2nd isn't that type of offer.

agreed plus have 3 2nd round picks of their own, they couldn't use all of these realistically.

[FVBrewerFan]

This stuff about a four player superstar draft is an invention by ESPN and all the other media and internet mock drafts that all feed off each other. Nobody knows if Exum is at an elite level. Many doubt if Parker is. Trust me, there are other players in this drafy who will be playing in an All Star game, and at least 1 of the top 4 won't. This draft is simply not as top heavy as is being presented. It just looks that way because the mock drafts have had these guys at the top for months. They may well deserve to be there, but it doesn't mean other guys are a full step down from that- or even a step down at all.

[HiAndTight]

This stuff about a four player superstar draft is an invention by ESPN and all the other media and internet mock drafts that all feed off each other. Nobody knows if Exum is at an elite level. Many doubt if Parker is. Trust me, there are other players in this drafy who will be playing in an All Star game, and at least 1 of the top 4 won't. This draft is simply not as top heavy as is being presented. It just looks that way because the mock drafts have had these guys at the top for months. They may well deserve to be there, but it doesn't mean other guys are a full step down from that- or even a step down at all.

 

 

Yeah, guys like Randle, Gordon and others may have all star potential, but the consensus among scouts and execs are that there are 4 potential, POTENTIAL franchise changing players in this draft. This isn't some conspiracy by ESPN. Whatever you think of ESPN, why on Earth would they want to do that?

 

I don't believe you move out of a position to draft Embid, Exum or Wiggins. I'm not as big of a fan of Parker. I think Embid is the guy who could have the biggest impact, but big guys do scare me...even if it's not fair and even if his health is not in question right now(which I don't think it is as his back injury has healed).

 

The only trade I'd make is with Orlando. If they want to give up both of their lottery picks for ours, fine. We take Exum and then have options with the Magic's 2nd pick.

 

Exum might not be a "proven," player in the sense that we haven't seen him play, but his athleticism and size is extrodinary. He's faster than guys like Chris Paul, Curry and Lillard, and at 6'6 he gives you a long, athletic PG to paid with Giannis.

 

The only thing that scares me about him is his desire to play for the Lakers. Based on just a gut feeling, I sense that Wiggins would be more likely to stick around and sign on to play in Milwaukee than Exum.

[RockCoCougars]

The Bucks successfully tanked, landed the 2 pick in a draft with a handful of potential superstars, and now people want to trade down? Heresy if you ask me.

[nate82]

The Bucks successfully tanked, landed the 2 pick in a draft with a handful of potential superstars, and now people want to trade down? Heresy if you ask me.

 

If it means getting a pick this year and next year then it would be fine. But I don't really see any player who is going to be a franchise player in this draft. There are some players who could be good but I don't see someone that is going to be a franchise altering player well at least not in a positive way there are a few that could be a franchise killer at least.

[fondybrewfan]

The general consensus at least at this point is that next year's draft class is not going to be as strong. A lot to be determined though because literally 7 of the 8 top guys are High School seniors right now. If anyone cares Dekker and Kaminsky are rated in the 20's for next year.

 

Trading down this year wouldn't be a terrible idea so long as you aren't trading down lower than 10th and you better pick up an unprotected 2015 first rounder. I would rather just stay put though. Even with Wiggins or Parker this year the Bucks will probably still have a Top 10 pick next year. They aren't one player way but another high pick next year and perhaps they can get lucky with one of the 3 2nd rounders this year.

[FVBrewerFan]

Just an example, but what if Bucks get Kevin Love and Wolves 13 for the Bucks #2 pick? Maybe make them take Mayo off our hands in the deal too. Lots of rumors Love won't be in MN much longer. Something similar to that would be worth considering, in my opinion. Or, if MN suddenly needs a replacement, trade Sanders for their 13th pick. Can always sweeten the deal a little.

 

Bucks have a lot of chips to play, they need to look at all options. I'm a realist though as far as the #2 pick goes, I don't think there's any way they give it up.

[brwrsfan]

The Bucks will be in the top 10 again next year for sure. Take the pick at 2 (it's likely to be significantly better than anyone in next year's draft). Hopefully move back up into the first round and take another guy in the 20 range. Then hopefully pick in the top 5 next year and now you're potentially onto something.

[trwi7]

Just an example, but what if Bucks get Kevin Love and Wolves 13 for the Bucks #2 pick? Maybe make them take Mayo off our hands in the deal too. Lots of rumors Love won't be in MN much longer. Something similar to that would be worth considering, in my opinion.

 

Awful. There's a reason there are rumors Love won't be in Minnesota much longer. It's because he can opt out of the final year of his contract and look to sign somewhere in California or New York.

 

So it's Love for 1 year and dropping 11 spots in the draft. Horrible value.

[FVBrewerFan]

Just an example, but what if Bucks get Kevin Love and Wolves 13 for the Bucks #2 pick? Maybe make them take Mayo off our hands in the deal too. Lots of rumors Love won't be in MN much longer. Something similar to that would be worth considering, in my opinion.

 

Awful. There's a reason there are rumors Love won't be in Minnesota much longer. It's because he can opt out of the final year of his contract and look to sign somewhere in California or New York.

 

So it's Love for 1 year and dropping 11 spots in the draft. Horrible value.

 

You're right, of course. Obviously any trade like that would have to include a new long term contract with Love...

[fondybrewfan]

So I guess Hammond is going to be around to make the pick? Boo to that.

 

I am already expecting him to draft Embiid and have him get hurt while the 3-5 picks turn into all starts. As much optimism that I generally have about the Crew I am the exact opposite about the Bucks. How is Hammond going to screw this up?

[paul253]

Couple of rumors I have heard so far:

 

- Embiid is #1 on Cleveland's board so if they make the pick its likely they'll take him.

 

- Sacramento is looking to trade their #8 pick for a veteran.

 

I'm wondering if we have any veterans that would interest Sacramento. Sanders maybe? Ilyasova? Maybe throw in the #31 or 36 pick.

[olliegjw]

Would love it if the Bucks got Embiid or Wiggins, then traded back into the top 10 to get Gordon. They would have a very long, young nucleus with a ton of defensive talent.

[HiAndTight]

The Bucks successfully tanked, landed the 2 pick in a draft with a handful of potential superstars, and now people want to trade down? Heresy if you ask me.

 

 

Yeah, and there are 4 players who are supposed to be "elite," in this draft. A trade with Orlando would still put us in position to draft one of those 4, plus another lottery pick.

 

As I said, that's the only way I'd trade down(or with Philly obviously).

[FVBrewerFan]

Couple of rumors I have heard so far:

 

- Sacramento is looking to trade their #8 pick for a veteran.

 

I'm wondering if we have any veterans that would interest Sacramento. Sanders maybe? Ilyasova? Maybe throw in the #31 or 36 pick.

 

 

They can have any/all of Sanders, Sova, Mayo, Delfino, Pachulia. That is $35MM of the $47MM cap!!! Hard to believe isn't it? Then again, yea, not that hard to believe. Would love to have the #8 pick, and get rid of as much of this dead salary as possible at the same time. I don't mind Pachulia or Delfino as much, they can add value and don't cost as much. But still, would be willing to trade any combination of the above for the #8 pick in this draft. Then they will have a ton of money to get a really good vet- after Hammonds is gone of course.

[GAME05]

if Hammond is actually sticking around for a while, he'll definitely be in win-now mode to keep his job with the new bosses. win-now means Jabari Parker.

[nate82]

if Hammond is actually sticking around for a while, he'll definitely be in win-now mode to keep his job with the new bosses. win-now means Jabari Parker.

 

I believe the Bucks are going to trade out of the #2 pick.

[GAME05]

i guess what i don't get is that for years now everyone has been saying how you can't build a team with middling draft picks--you've either got to grab stars in free agency (which Milwaukee basically can't do) or tank to get a top draft pick or two. and now that we've got the #2, some people want to trade down to get a few extra middling draft picks. i don't mean that to be rude at all, i'm just surprised to see more "trade down" opinions than Parker/Wiggins/Embiid arguments.

 

if Milwaukee had an established star i'd be all for the extra picks and building around that player. but Giannis isn't anywhere close to that yet. Milwaukee is already full of decent players. i don't see that adding 2-3 more "good" players are going to give us a deep playoff run. 1-4 is no guarantee of an All-Star, but sure a better chance of it than 5-10. not to mention when you're trying to convince the voting public to support a new arena, Embiid is sure a better argument for it than Aaron Gordon.

[HiAndTight]

if Hammond is actually sticking around for a while, he'll definitely be in win-now mode to keep his job with the new bosses. win-now means Jabari Parker.

 

I believe the Bucks are going to trade out of the #2 pick.

 

 

Well, Hammond has answered the question directly.

 

I actually wanted to say to quote the article I read, but this is the one I could find quickly;

 

General manager John Hammond says he cannot see the Milwaukee Bucks trading away the Number-two draft pick to get an established player. There's at least some talk that Cleveland -- which won its second straight NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday night -- will trade away its Number-One pick to get an established free agent like Minnesota's Kevin Love, or perhaps to bring LeBron James back to his home-state Cavs. Hammond does not see the Bucks doing that. He says new owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry buy into the concept of building a fresh team through the draft.

 

 

His comments were a lot stronger in another article in which he stated that he feels relieved to have a new ownership group that understand that the Bucks are in multi-year rebuilding process and not looking for a quick fix.

 

As I said earlier in this thread, how do we even know what John Hammond is really like as a GM? He'd been given a mandate to win when it was almost impossible. He's done well in the draft given the picks he's had with Giannis(who would be the #1 or #2 pick if the draft was redrafted right now), Sanders, Henson, Wolters and Brandon Jennings.

 

He seems like he's had the right thought process the whole time, but has been hamstrung by an owner who wants to win, and who I believe wanted to win to help keep the team in Milwaukee by putting a winner out there and getting public support for a new stadium.

 

 

 

if Hammond is actually sticking around for a while, he'll definitely be in win-now mode to keep his job with the new bosses. win-now means Jabari Parker.

 

I'm not saying he won't go with Parker. He may have a different view than me on Parker as most do....but he's made it clear he's not in a "win-now type of mode."

[HiAndTight]

i guess what i don't get is that for years now everyone has been saying how you can't build a team with middling draft picks--you've either got to grab stars in free agency (which Milwaukee basically can't do) or tank to get a top draft pick or two. and now that we've got the #2, some people want to trade down to get a few extra middling draft picks. i don't mean that to be rude at all, i'm just surprised to see more "trade down" opinions than Parker/Wiggins/Embiid arguments.

if Milwaukee had an established star i'd be all for the extra picks and building around that player. but Giannis isn't anywhere close to that yet. Milwaukee is already full of decent players. i don't see that adding 2-3 more "good" players are going to give us a deep playoff run. 1-4 is no guarantee of an All-Star, but sure a better chance of it than 5-10. not to mention when you're trying to convince the voting public to support a new arena, Embiid is sure a better argument for it than Aaron Gordon.

 

I agree, and I wouldn't be in favor of trading down if I didn't believe the scouting reports on Exum at #4. It sounds like he'd be the pick there. The difference in value from 1-4 is rather insignificant to me. All 4 could be superstars and there are reasons to love each of them.

 

At #5, Randle, Gordon, Smart...they all seem like very nice players, and good top 2-5 picks in a normal draft. So I see what you're saying.

 

But would you pass up a trade with Orlando for the 4th pick and another lottery pick? Embiid is a insane talent, a Hakeem like talent, but Exum could be a Kobe like talent(as long as we're talking about upsides here) and there are instant impact players deeper in the lottery. Hell, deeper in the 1st round.

 

We need superstars first and foremost and with Giannis and Exum/Embiid or even Wiggins, we could still find ourselves in a position to grab another top pick in next years draft as they're so raw. We literally do have a chance to build just like the Sonics/Thunder did just a few years ago. But in this draft, moving down 1-2 spots still gives you just as good of a chance at a superstar and another shot at an AS caliber player. It's a luxury this years draft offers others don't.

[RockCoCougars]

But would you pass up a trade with Orlando for the 4th pick and another lottery pick? Embiid is a insane talent, a Hakeem like talent, but Exum could be a Kobe like talent(as long as we're talking about upsides here) and there are instant impact players deeper in the lottery. Hell, deeper in the 1st round.

 

I would absolutely pass. The whole point of this tanking exercise was to secure multiple high picks across a few years. Two lower lottery picks would likely help the team get back to mediocre range more quickly, but the odds of getting a franchise player fall way off after the first 2 or 3 picks. Get the building block this year, stink again next year and get another high pick.

 

Not only that, but I wouldn't trust Hammond to get two lower picks right. It will be hard for him to mess up the number two pick.

[LouisEly]

What HiandTight is saying is that he believes the player that will be drafted at #4 this year is just as good/has just as much talent as the player that will be drafted at #2, thus the reason for trading down to #4. He is also saying that if he felt that the player that will be drafted at #4 wasn't as good as the player that will be drafted at #2 he would not want to trade down.

 

You're right, usually the chances of hitting at #2 are better than #4, but it wasn't the case in 2003, 2005, and 2008 (and sort-of 2009, but #2 was definitely better in 2004, 2006, and 2007).

[paul253]

Two lower lottery picks would likely help the team get back to mediocre range more quickly, but the odds of getting a franchise player fall way off after the first 2 or 3 picks.

This is a stronger than normal draft though. Guys who go in the 4-7 range this year are guys who would have gone in the 1-4 range last year. If you put any of Embiid, Parker, Wiggins, Exum, Smart, or Randle in last year's draft all of them would have gone in the top 2. In order words, I'd rather have had the #6 pick this year than the #2 pick last year. I think you would be able to get a solid player at #8 this year. Definitely at #4. It's not like people are suggesting we move down to #17.

[bani1717]

Two lower lottery picks would likely help the team get back to mediocre range more quickly, but the odds of getting a franchise player fall way off after the first 2 or 3 picks.

This is a stronger than normal draft though. Guys who go in the 4-7 range this year are guys who would have gone in the 1-4 range last year. If you put any of Embiid, Parker, Wiggins, Exum, Smart, or Randle in last year's draft all of them would have gone in the top 2. In order words, I'd rather have had the #6 pick this year than the #2 pick last year. I think you would be able to get a solid player at #8 this year. Definitely at #4. It's not like people are suggesting we move down to #17.

 

So at #2 you have a chance to get a player that can really be something special since this year's draft is so strong, and you want to move down to get something that would've been closer to a #2 pick in last year's more "normal" draft? I don't really see why you'd give up a #2 pick in a really strong draft for what equates to a #2 pick in last year's draft + a lower first-round pick. To turn the franchise around we desperately need someone who has consistent all-star if not superstar potential. I think it would be foolish to move down at all but especially so if moving down more than 1-2 spots.