Milwaukee Bucks 2014 - 2015 (part 2)

[superfly]

So if the Bucks sign Middleton for $9M, that gives them roughly $16M under the cap. Right now a $16M salary would be the 16th highest in the NBA.

 

But don't the Bucks have big jumps in salary in two years with Giannis and Parker? So maybe what we'd be talking about is a good role player FA? Ugh, that's Lopez, isn't it. Or do you think the Bucks would dangle their later draft pick this year to trade for a higher-priced center from a team looking to shed some salary? Like a guy with a two-year contract or something?

 

Lance Stephenson via trade, Lou Williams, Wes Matthews, Omer Asik, Rodney Stuckey, Kosta Koufos are a few guys we could use at the right price in free agency.

[tmwiese55]

I'd expect them to spend it on a big. I expect Lopez from the nets but I don't want it. I'd rather get a Mozgov type or just use the space to sign Middleton and then keep building through the draft.

 

Wouldn't surprise me on Mathews coming home. Sharpshooting is needed but he's kind of the same position as Middleton. I know people who know him and they say he wants to play for mke at some point if it works out. He still spends a lot of time in Madison.

[superfly]

I'd expect them to spend it on a big. I expect Lopez from the nets but I don't want it. I'd rather get a Mozgov type or just use the space to sign Middleton and then keep building through the draft.

 

Wouldn't surprise me on Mathews coming home. Sharpshooting is needed but he's kind of the same position as Middleton. I know people who know him and they say he wants to play for mke at some point if it works out. He still spends a lot of time in Madison.

 

Hopefully I am not wrong in this assessment but I don't think Brook Lopez fits our scheme defensively. I don't want him around here either...Asik or Koufos would be better options.

[patrickgpe]

i think it makes more sense to draft a big, try to sign a shooter in free agency and save the cap space to lock up Giannis, Parker, MCW once they come up for restricted free agency.

 

Thinking about it, i like the idea of drafting Montrezi Harrell at 17. He seems like he could fill in the role Larry Sanders should have been able to. In the 2nd i would take Joseph Young if available. that would be a great draft.

 

The bucks did show that they are way ahead of schedule, but to be locked into a bad contract with Lopez, Chandler, etc for the next 4-5 years really doesn't seem worth it, unless you feel the bucks are ready to compete with the Cavs for the east, and i am not sure they are there yet.

[FVBrewerFan]

So if the Bucks sign Middleton for $9M, that gives them roughly $16M under the cap. Right now a $16M salary would be the 16th highest in the NBA.

 

But don't the Bucks have big jumps in salary in two years with Giannis and Parker? So maybe what we'd be talking about is a good role player FA? Ugh, that's Lopez, isn't it. Or do you think the Bucks would dangle their later draft pick this year to trade for a higher-priced center from a team looking to shed some salary? Like a guy with a two-year contract or something?

 

Edit: I said later draft pick this year thinking that this was the year we had the Clippers pick, but I guess that's not until 2017.

 

First, from everything I've read they expect Middleton to get an offer for $12- $15MM. Nobody knows for sure, of course, this is just speculation.

 

Keep in mind the NBA cap is going WAY up in the 16-17, 17-18 season. $67MM for next season, projected to be $108MM by the 17-18 season. So that changes everything.

 

With that said, you're right they will need to sign Giannis and Parker to max contracts IF they end up being the stars we hope they become. And then this is the part that isn't talked about enough. They will still need a PG and a C. Even with the huge cap expansion, that's a lot of money they'll need.

 

So, while I like Middleton a lot, if it does get up in that $12-$15MM range I would let him walk. We have seen this movie before, and bad things happen when you're stuck with big cap numbers on role players.

[patrickgpe]

 

So, while I like Middleton a lot, if it does get up in that $12-$15MM range I would let him walk. We have seen this movie before, and bad things happen when you're stuck with big cap numbers on role players.

 

i agree, this screams Tim Thomas, Bobby Simmons to me. i would like Middleton back, but I agree that at this salary it could get ugly quick.

[GAME05]

Marc Stein is forwarding a report that the Bucks are going to try for Tyson Chandler or Brook Lopez.

[brwrsfan]

Tyson Chandler yes please. Brook Lopez please no.

[patrickgpe]

Tyson Chandler yes please. Brook Lopez please no.

i don't think it makes sense to give a 32 year old a 4 year max deal at this point.

[FVBrewerFan]

Now that they shed Sova's contract, I would love to see them make a legit run at Jordan. Will the Clips really give him a max deal when they still have Paul and Griffin that require max deals? And I know the Mavs are the other team being thrown around, but they're still convinced they can contend- sort of stuck being a good team.

[GAME05]

With the salary cap going up so much in two years, will some middle-good players be more willing to accept shorter contracts thinking they can get a much bigger contract at that time?

[FVBrewerFan]

Yes, that is one of the things being talked about a lot. And not just middle-good players, great players too. Reason being, max contracts will go up as the salary cap goes up. I don't know enough about it, but I suppose teams could get creative with their contracts and sign a "great" player in 2015 at max, with a clause the contract will increase to the new max in 2017.

[brwrsfan]

Tyson Chandler yes please. Brook Lopez please no.

i don't think it makes sense to give a 32 year old a 4 year max deal at this point.

 

I don't think it would take anywhere near a max contract for him - his last contract wasn't and he's 4 years older now. I'm not saying he's going to be a stud, but I'd much rather him than Lopez. Lopez plays very little defense whereas Chandler is a pretty nice post presence. He doesn't bring a ton on offense, but we should have plenty of other guys hopefully taking shot with Giannas, Parker and Middleton (presumably) all coming back. Plus whatever we do at the SG position.

[FVBrewerFan]

Tyson Chandler is a guy who would help if you're a contender. The Bucks are still building towards that. Anyone the Bucks sign should be part of the plan for 2017-2020 or so. That's why Jordan would be perfect. A pipe-dream maybe, but perfect.

 

And I will stand-up once again for Brook Lopez's defense. How do we know he won't be a better defensive player in Milwaukee? Mayo was about the worst defensive player you could imagine, and Kidd got him to play D this past year. Parker was a below avg defender in college, so we probably shouldn't have drafted him? No, I'm a believer that once the bar is set within a team, most players are going to step-up. Am I convinced Lopez will? No. That's why I lean towards not signing him, but it's not impossible for him to be a solid defender.

[brwrsfan]

Hard to say with Lopez but he hasn't shown that defense in his career at all. I think he's a lot more likely though as he's younger and has the relationship with Kidd already.

[DuWayne Steurer]

 

So, while I like Middleton a lot, if it does get up in that $12-$15MM range I would let him walk. We have seen this movie before, and bad things happen when you're stuck with big cap numbers on role players.

 

i agree, this screams Tim Thomas, Bobby Simmons to me. i would like Middleton back, but I agree that at this salary it could get ugly quick.

 

 

haha, Tim Thomas is exactly who I was thinking of. I like Middleton, I just don't think he's a 15 million dollar a year man (Yet), and he may never be that guy in Milwaukee.

[superfly]

Brook Lopez would be coming here because he's a "Kidd guy," like Jorge Gutierrez was. Between his unending injuries & lack of defense it seems like a death knell to me...we don't need a Chip Kelly coach here, we need a center like Deandre Jordan. He won't be leaving LA though.

[patrickgpe]

 

So, while I like Middleton a lot, if it does get up in that $12-$15MM range I would let him walk. We have seen this movie before, and bad things happen when you're stuck with big cap numbers on role players.

 

i agree, this screams Tim Thomas, Bobby Simmons to me. i would like Middleton back, but I agree that at this salary it could get ugly quick.

 

 

haha, Tim Thomas is exactly who I was thinking of. I like Middleton, I just don't think he's a 15 million dollar a year man (Yet), and he may never be that guy in Milwaukee.

i don't like the idea of giving a role player starter money. lets face it, if parker doesn't go down, he doesn't the opportunity he got and isn't in line for a 15 million dollar deal. it upsets the balance in the lockerroom as well as strains the cap. i like middleton as a player, but i like him at 10 million not 15

[Outlander]

This is perfect timing for the Bucks to resign Middleton. Even at 15 million it is fine and far from an overpay because the cap will be increasing quite a bit the next few years and they would not be able to get a player like Middleton at that price in a year or two. Just another sign that things are turning around for the Bucks franchise. Add in that Giannis, Parker and MCW are not making much it is a no brainer to match any offer for Middleton.

[FVBrewerFan]

15MM will still be a large contract, even when the cap goes up to the projected 108MM. Remember, that means the max contract amount goes up substantially as well. At some point Giannis and Parker will need max contracts, plus they still need a PG and Center- neither will be cheap. Look at tit this way. They need to pay their "Big 3" whoever they end up being max or near max contracts. I don't like paying a role player like Middleton $15MM. Don't even love him at $10MM, but that would be easier to convince me. I just like having the flexibility to go out and get a big time player when they're ready to do that.

[tmwiese55]

Keep in mind deals are only 4 years now. Barring injury it's tough to get locked in a brutal one. Need something like josh smith to happen. I mean, you're signing him for age 23-27, that's ideal. Yea maybe he'll never be more than a role player but you'll be getting something good out of him no matter what. There won't be van horn and arenas deals being floating around the league anymore

[FVBrewerFan]

I agree, it wouldn't be disastrous. Not one of those deals where I'm dead-set against it. I would love to see them go all out for Jordan, but there's so much behind the scenes stuff that the Bucks may already know through his agent or whatever that it's just not going to happen.

 

I see Middleton more like the Sova contract. He didn't live up to it, but it's not like he was useless. I guess I'm just tentative because they're finally in a position where they have so much flexibility (especially when they shed Mayo's contract after this year.) They suddenly have so much money to play with, I fear they'll be too anxious to spend it. The tear down is complete, now they're rebuilding and every move is important.

[BrewBalls]

Based on advanced metrics, Middleton is a top five SG in the league. Yes definitely is worth $15M per, especially when you take into account the cap increases projected over the next few years. We could even sign a center to a max deal along with resigning Khris as long as we sign the center first. Then Khris' Bird rights would kick in.

 

As for centers, I would like M. Gasol or Jordan but think they will both likely sign elsewhere. So I would lay my sights on Monroe, R. Lopez and Chandler. Monroe will likely get a max contract starting around $16M per while the other two could be had for closer to $12 per. Although, I wouldn't go more than 3 years for Chandler (preferably 2 with a team option).

[rickh150]

Could we deal the rights of Middleton and our number 1 for something of value???? I'm just not comfortable giving Middleton big money with our top 3 getting less, locking up some maneuverability in 3 to 5 years when we'll need it. Plus, the Bucks lack that difference making big man whom we will be unable to get through the draft or free agency in the coming 5 years, being yearly playoff contenders.

[patrickgpe]

Could we deal the rights of Middleton and our number 1 for something of value???? I'm just not comfortable giving Middleton big money with our top 3 getting less, locking up some maneuverability in 3 to 5 years when we'll need it. Plus, the Bucks lack that difference making big man whom we will be unable to get through the draft or free agency in the coming 5 years, being yearly playoff contenders.

 

the bucks have enough cash to sign Middleton and one of the big FA centers. I am not sure if you can trade the rights to Middleton, with him being a restricted free agent.