Milwaukee Bucks 2015 - 2016

[FVBrewerFan]

Why would we look to sign Whiteside when we just extended a similar player in Henson?

 

I don't know, why do teams want more than one shooter? Having more of something positive is not a bad way to go.

 

What have the Bucks been able to hang their hat on the last couple years? Length. Defense. Shot blocking. Whiteside would bring that to the table. Everyone is trying to be like the Warriors now. Play small, shoot a ton of 3s, etc. The Bucks aren't going to win games or playoff series that way. But they CAN win playoff series by being an outstanding defensive team. They've gotten away from that.

 

By the way, I brought up Whiteside as someone I would like to have, I don't in any way expect that to happen.

[BrewBalls]

Why would we look to sign Whiteside when we just extended a similar player in Henson?

 

I don't know, why do teams want more than one shooter? Having more of something positive is not a bad way to go.

 

What have the Bucks been able to hang their hat on the last couple years? Length. Defense. Shot blocking. Whiteside would bring that to the table. Everyone is trying to be like the Warriors now. Play small, shoot a ton of 3s, etc. The Bucks aren't going to win games or playoff series that way. But they CAN win playoff series by being an outstanding defensive team. They've gotten away from that.

 

By the way, I brought up Whiteside as someone I would like to have, I don't in any way expect that to happen.

If they sign Whiteside, how would you split up the minutes between Monroe, Henson and him? Because someone will definitely be riding the pine quite a bit with all three on the roster.

[FVBrewerFan]

If they sign Whiteside, how would you split up the minutes between Monroe, Henson and him? Because someone will definitely be riding the pine quite a bit with all three on the roster.

 

Again, I don't think there's any chance at all this happens. But all three would get plenty of minutes. It would mean they would play big more often, with 2 of those 3 on the court together. That would mean Jabari would play some 3 at times, which he can do depending on who the opposing team has on the floor.

 

Plus, they could always trade Monroe at some point for a PG, which would solve that need too. I do like Monroe, but wouldn't it be great to have a complete PG, Giannis, Middleton, Parker, then two rim protectors/ rebounders in Henson/ Whiteside?

[tmwiese55]

Whiteside is the exact type I would've preferred as opposed to Monroe's type. At this point though you already have Monroe, too late. Can't have 50 mil per year locked into one position in an era when you can only play one big. And when you already have Giannis/Jabari using up the 4 position for a lot of minutes.

 

Another target of similar game/potential would be the backup C in Houston. Cappella I think is his name. Would be much much cheaper. I thought he was a good target before we got Monroe, but again it's moot now that they re-signed Henson.

[danzig6767]

Gasol is from Memphis. He was never going anywhere no matter what, regardless of what Conley wants to do.

 

I don't think the Bucks don't need to pay a PG. They probably can't afford to. They need a cheap defense oriented guard who can initiate the offense. Maybe MCW gets there, right now he is light years better than anything else they have on the defensive end, and 90% of what they have on the offensive end.

 

I don't understand why people don't like Middleton. He was really, really, really good last year after they traded Knight. He might be shouldering too much of the burden early on, but his shot will come around (and he's not taking bad shots, unlike Vasquez)... hopefully his usage goes down with Jabari coming back and as Monroe works his way into the offense more (he's also a huge part of why Monroe signed here).

With Giannis starting to expand his skills into a more consistent scorer at the young age of 20 and hopefully Parker fills his potential as a scorer by say next year, the main thing i see the team will be needing out of a PG is a guy who can defend, be a solid distributor, and be a quality three point jump shooter, a skill which MCW likely will never possess.

 

In today's NBA, quality offensive teams almost always have multiple good jump shooters not just for the points those shots provide, but also to provide badly needed spacing so that defenses can't just pack the paint and cut off driving opportunities for guys like Giannis and Parker who they themselves aren't consistent jump shooters.

 

With Giannis, Parker, and MCW on the court at the same time, that's three guys which defenses can just sag off of on the perimeter and basically say, go ahead and take that jumper if you want because we like our chances much more that the shot will be missed vs playing tight defense and potentially getting beat off the dribble.

 

As for Middleton, i agree with you completely. He's the only reliable shooter in the starting lineup, provides some badly needed spacing, and he's a good defender who can play both SG and SF.

 

That said, IMO it's next year where some important decisions need to be made. With good health, we'll have a full season to gauge where Giannis and Parker are at in their development. A full season of MCW. Bench guys Mayo, Vasquez, Bayless, Copeland, and Plumlee come off the books. Should make for an interesting offseason.

[FVBrewerFan]

Yea, in today's NBA you need a guy who can anything with ball in hand at the end of games. It doesn't necessarily need to be a PG, but it usually is. Someone who can shoot the 3, drive and breakdown the defense, drive the lane and draw a foul. Middleton has proven the ability to make big shots at the end of games, but he's not a "here's the ball, operate for 4 minutes" type of player. Parker will never be that guy either. Giannis is the only one who can get to that point if his shooting continues to improve, gets more respect from refs to get fouls called, etc.

 

Beyond that, to get to the next level they need to rebound better. Much better.

[CheezWizHed]

Ennis has been interesting the last couple games in the line-up. Right now, he isn't hogging shots when on the court with the starters, but he seems to be in good position all the time. Stealing the ball, triggering the offense and scoring it occasionally. Could develop into a good player.

[Jenkins5]

I keep Bayless next off season. He offers too much off the bench for this team. MCW was rated one of the top defensive PG's in the NBA last season if I remember right. He is long, a good rebounder, gets into passing lanes and also is a very good passer. So i disagree with a lot of you opinions about MCW. I have two issues with him.... He over dribbles causing turnovers and he shots too much. He needs to do more of what Ennis has done which is simply move the ball. He comes up the court looking to get the offense going. MCW comes down more with the mindset that he is going to make or create a play by himself which leads to over dribbling turnovers or forced bad shots. That can be taught....hopefully.

[BrewBalls]

Ennis has been interesting the last couple games in the line-up. Right now, he isn't hogging shots when on the court with the starters, but he seems to be in good position all the time. Stealing the ball, triggering the offense and scoring it occasionally. Could develop into a good player.

I always considered Ennis the wild card of the Knight trade similar to Middleton in the Jennings trade. He has the potential to be a solid contributor and is still only 20 yrs old. He seemed like a bust simply because he was so young and never really given an opportunity to develop in phoenix with three solid options ahead of him. He could turn out to be the steal of this trade if he can continue to play within his abilities like he has the last few games. I am starting to wonder if it would be more beneficial to pair Vasquez and MCW together on the second unit along with Bayless, Copeland and Henson until Mayo returns. Not sure if I am ready to actually pull the trigger on this move but it is starting to look like a realistic option.

[FVBrewerFan]

MCW is a good passer? Why are his assists per minute so low? I don't think he's very good at all at creating good shots for others. He can swing it around the horn, he can penetrate and kick it out....nothing special. He rarely drives and shuffles it to someone open on the box for an easy lay-up. He rarely sees a cutter at the right time and gets the ball to him. Yes, he's a good rebounder for a PG. And he is a good defender. Everything else he does is below average for a starting PG in the NBA.

 

I agree with you on Bayless. In fact, he better continue to get a ton of minutes when MCW and Juice come back. I just fear Vasquez will continue to get way more minutes than he should. I would go with a 4 guard rotation of MCW, Middleton, Bayless, and Juice. That would mean Bayless playing more PG than I would like, but better him than Vasquez.

 

Also, curious why Henson isn't getting way more minutes. I'm really hoping it's just easing him in after his injury. I really like him on the floor together with Giannis.

[superfly]

R-E-L-A-X ? Sweet win last night, always nice to beat Lebron. Jabari with a few nasty dunks too, i'd say the ACL is a non issue.

[I Heart Brewers]

Nope, but that foot sprain sure is. Ugh.

 

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/350761931.html

[BrewBalls]

Man, Parker just cannot catch a break. Hopefully he can be back to full strength by the time they return from their three game road trip. I am also looking forward to seeing Mayo back on the court.

[davego]

Not that we are counting, but I think the Bucks are 11 under .500 since the Knight trade.

[BrewBalls]

Not that we are counting, but I think the Bucks are 11 under .500 since the Knight trade.

So would you rather have Knight or Middleton for the next 4 seasons? Because Kidd has already stated they were not going to sign both this past off season. Knight's game does not mesh well with Giannis and Parker's. Midds fits Kidd's system better and looks more complimentary to our two young guns.

[FVBrewerFan]

Knight or Middleton? Knight all day long. (Forgive the pun.) Knight doesn't mesh with Giannis and Parker? They meshed just fine when they were racking up wins last year. I didn't like the trade then, hate it now. Kidd likes it, fine. But it's way too early to tell if he knows what he's doing. Look at all the great NBA players who were horrible at building a team or coaching. I do have faith in Kidd, but it's not like he has much of a track record yet. If Pop said it, I would buy it.

[BrewBalls]

They meshed fine because Knight was our only scoring threat and could simply player hero ball when the shot clock was running down. Going forward Kidd wants to offense run through Giannis, Parker and to a lesser extent Monroe which does not bode well for a shot first PG like Knight. I'm a big fan of Knight's but fell his skills just do not mesh as well with our budding stars as with Middleton's moving forward.

[FVBrewerFan]

They meshed fine because Knight was our only scoring threat and could simply player hero ball when the shot clock was running down.

 

Which is exactly what this team needs. Every team needs a guy like that for that matter. Remember, Jabari was scoring at a pretty good clip before he was injured. Giannis was starting to score more as well before the Knight trade.

 

You need to have the person who has the ball in hand most of the time be able to score. For most teams that's the PG. Closest thing the Bucks have to that is Giannis, but not sure if he'll ever be "that guy" every night or even most nights.

 

I think Knight would have been fine as the #3 or 4 scorer on this team, with the ability to be the man when he needed to be.

[davego]

I liked Knight in Milwaukee quite a bit because he could do things like make a 3 and score at the end of the clock. If Kidd thought we had to move him, fine. But I'm questioning the return (MCW) and do some extend, the system. I know one part of coaching is to match the pieces that you have, rather than toss out on piece that you might struggle to find a fit (a fit that was leading the Bucks in points an assists, BTW).

[BrewBalls]

From what I understand it came down to keeping Middleton or Knight and Kidd and the LED decided Middleton was the better fit for this team going forward. Getting MCW in return simply provided them with a young, cheap PG who has the potential to improve. You cannot have max contracts at every position and this deal allows the Bucks the cap space necessary to sign both Giannis and Jabari to max deals when the time comes. As for having the ball when the shot clock is running down, both Jabari and Giannis WILL be who we go to if they develop into the players we all are hoping they can become. Being a all-star (Jabari) or superstar (Giannis' ceiling) means you can put a team on your back when needed. Neither of these players are even close to doing so yet, but both have the potential to do so in time. I would prefer to allow them to fail trying now than giving these opportunities to our #3 or 4 option and winning a few extra games when it really does not move the needle one way on another. Besides, losing a few extra games now just increases their draft spot so they can continue to stockpile young talent for the future.

[FVBrewerFan]

We're a long way from putting Jabari in the same sentence as "max contract"and "All Star." Brandon Knight on the other hand just missed being an All Star last year. Jabai and Giannis will never be the guy you rely on consistently at the end of the shot clock, end of games, etc. The only guys who can do that are the ones who can shoot the 3 ball, or drive and score.

 

Jabari will never be that "give me the ball and I can do anything with it" type of player. Giannis, maybe, but I still don't see that either. Knight can. Flat out, it was a mistake to keep Middleton over Knight. I thought so then, and we're seeing it now. The other thing Knight brought was running the break. They were great at it when he was here.

 

That team had an identity. They were long, played great defense, defended the 3, and were a running team. Now, the parts don't fit and they have no identity. They don't rebound, don't defend the 3, turn it over too much, and can't avoid 15 point quarters that kill them in many games. Now, all you can really say is "they're young." That's their only identity.

[BrewBalls]

We're a long way from putting Jabari in the same sentence as "max contract"and "All Star." Brandon Knight on the other hand just missed being an All Star last year. Jabai and Giannis will never be the guy you rely on consistently at the end of the shot clock, end of games, etc. The only guys who can do that are the ones who can shoot the 3 ball, or drive and score.

 

Jabari will never be that "give me the ball and I can do anything with it" type of player. Giannis, maybe, but I still don't see that either. Knight can. Flat out, it was a mistake to keep Middleton over Knight. I thought so then, and we're seeing it now. The other thing Knight brought was running the break. They were great at it when he was here.

 

That team had an identity. They were long, played great defense, defended the 3, and were a running team. Now, the parts don't fit and they have no identity. They don't rebound, don't defend the 3, turn it over too much, and can't avoid 15 point quarters that kill them in many games. Now, all you can really say is "they're young." That's their only identity.

So you are saying you would have preferred they keep Knight and continue putting the ball in his hands going forward instead of Giannis or Jabari's? You do realize neither Giannis and Jabari can legally buy alcohol for another year and have much more room to improve moving forward. I'm not saying Knight is not the more productive player currently, just that Giannis and Jabari project to be better players in the long term and in order to get them to this point would require them to possess the ball more often than not. We also need to remember this team is looking to build a championship contender not one who will compete for the 5-8 seeds. In order to do so, they need stars and Knight while a very good player, does not have the elite star potential of Giannis or Parker.

[CheezWizHed]

Jabari will never be that "give me the ball and I can do anything with it" type of player. Giannis, maybe, but I still don't see that either.

 

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that in saying this you really mean: "They don't shoot 3's very well". Because both guys have been impressive on the drive and finish. Giannis is almost impossible to stop on the drive. The jumpers are there, but if they don't stop the drive, why bother shooting a jumper? Giannis' three point shot is improving. Jabari is really still a rookie and taking very few long shots (by design I would assume).

[davego]

So if the option was Knight V MCW and Middleton; I would have kept Knight.

[BrewBalls]

So if the option was Knight V MCW and Middleton; I would have kept Knight.

And this is where we will simply agree to disagree. Looks like we will see where all three players are at in a few years and determine who was right then.