Milwaukee Bucks 2018 - 2019

[FVBrewerFan]

We are on the 4 team list of teams that Anthony Davis would sign an extension with..... what a time to be alive!

 

Yea, but have you seen what the Lakers are rumored to be offering? Basically their whole roster not name LeBron and 2 1st round picks. Bucks don't have the ammo to compete with that. Can't compete with what the Knicks can offer either.

 

That's ok though. I would love to have him, but if the Bucks can get everyone back next year and tweak the bench a little I'm fine.

[coolhandluke121]

We are on the 4 team list of teams that Anthony Davis would sign an extension with..... what a time to be alive!

 

Yea, but have you seen what the Lakers are rumored to be offering? Basically their whole roster not name LeBron and 2 1st round picks. Bucks don't have the ammo to compete with that. Can't compete with what the Knicks can offer either.

 

That's ok though. I would love to have him, but if the Bucks can get everyone back next year and tweak the bench a little I'm fine.

 

The rest of the Lakers' roster is totally meh. If you watched them and didn't know how high Ingram and Ball were drafted, no way you'd think they have much trade value. Trading all their young guys does probably add up to a better deal than the Bucks could offer, but it's no slam dunk. Brogdon for example probably has more trade value than anyone the Lakers are offering.

 

The problem is that the Bucks have the best record in the NBA and are loathe to trade away too many contributors, which is a good problem to have but also one the Lakers don't have. I do expect them to gut their team and wait for the off season to build a superteam around Lebron and Davis, but the Pelicans could easily turn up their nose at what they offer and might be wise to do so.

[nate82]

 

The rest of the Lakers' roster is totally meh. If you watched them and didn't know how high Ingram and Ball were drafted, no way you'd think they have much trade value. Trading all their young guys does probably add up to a better deal than the Bucks could offer, but it's no slam dunk. Brogdon for example probably has more trade value than anyone the Lakers are offering.

 

The problem is that the Bucks have the best record in the NBA and are loathe to trade away too many contributors, which is a good problem to have but also one the Lakers don't have. I do expect them to gut their team and wait for the off season to build a superteam around Lebron and Davis, but the Pelicans could easily turn up their nose at what they offer and might be wise to do so.

 

I wouldn't even consider trading Davis until the offseason where it makes more sense as the Celtics are willing to give up basically all of the picks they have been stockpiling for Davis. The picks the Celtics have are worth far more than what the Lakers can offer and basically anything any other team can offer.

 

In the off season it is going to be funny watching the Knicks trying to get every single superstar they can get and come away with nothing. That team is just horribly ran yes it is NY but wow that team is just a dumpster fire.

[pacopete4]

Davis should force his way to the freak. Those two might win the whole thing.

[coolhandluke121]

I went to tonight's game. 20 minute walk from my apartment. It was pretty cool, but kind of boring. I would compare it to watching one group of guys methodically build a fence to keep another group of guys off their lawn. There was this sense of inevitability that made it something short of entertaining. I really can't wait for the playoffs.

 

DJ Wilson is going to be a huge impact guy in this league. It reminds me of LRMAM in his early years. The probability of the other team scoring goes down so much when he's on the court that it's every bit as valuable as being a really good scorer. Oh, and he's a long 6'9" and hits threes. I can't wait until DJ's RPM is actually based on enough diverse lineup data to mean something, because I think it's going to be beastly. That could take another full season or more of regular playing time though.

 

Brogdon is not one of the 4 best players on the team. I am absolutely convinced of that. Very slow for a sg, and can't generate anything without most of the defense paying more attention to someone else. I think they should sell high on him if there's some team out there that thinks he could actually be this type of scorer as a go-to guy. I wonder what the Pelicans think of him...

[superfly]

Bucks need to let this AD saga pass. For once in our lifetimes we have a well oiled machine for a team...dont go all LeBron on it and blow it up. It's ok to look for moves but this isn't a good one. IMO

[FVBrewerFan]

Davis should force his way to the freak. Those two might win the whole thing.

 

Bucks have the best record in the NBA. Why cant they win the whole thing as is? If you add AD you subtract a lot of pieces. I know its hard to accept, but theyre the team to beat in the East. Maybe/ maybe not ready to beat the Warriors yet, but it wouldnt be a huge upset. Then in the next couple years who knows what the Warriors will be. Bucks are there right now. They just toy with teams almost every night.

[coolhandluke121]

Bucks need to let this AD saga pass. For once in our lifetimes we have a well oiled machine for a team...dont go all LeBron on it and blow it up. It's ok to look for moves but this isn't a good one. IMO

 

I hear you. I would not decimate the team for him and I don't understand the logic of thinking all you need is two superstars. The Bucks have arguably a better version of balanced teams like the 2004 Pistons, 2011 Mavs, or 2014 Spurs, and some people want to give it up for a worse version of the teams they spanked in the finals (2004 Lakers with Shaq and Kobe, 2011 Heatles, 2014 Heatles).

 

Just do due diligence though. If the Pelicans think Brogdon is a star on his own merits, they might value him over a trio of flawed, over-hyped Lakers youngsters. I'm not a big Brogdon fan, but even I think he's better than those 3. If the Bucks could steal AD with a package built around Brogdon and just one other starter, they should go for it.

[Mr Southpaw]

Anyone notice CWood last night at the end of the game? He looked good in limited minutes and had a very nice and 1. He can be a force if they let him play. He plays a lot like The Freak without the superstar talent.

 

Speaking of The Freak, he is starting to look like Magic Johnson. Getting everybody involved. If Brogdon shot a little better, he would have had a triple double with ease.

[tmwiese55]

I went to tonight's game. 20 minute walk from my apartment. It was pretty cool, but kind of boring. I would compare it to watching one group of guys methodically build a fence to keep another group of guys off their lawn. There was this sense of inevitability that made it something short of entertaining. I really can't wait for the playoffs.

 

DJ Wilson is going to be a huge impact guy in this league. It reminds me of LRMAM in his early years. The probability of the other team scoring goes down so much when he's on the court that it's every bit as valuable as being a really good scorer. Oh, and he's a long 6'9" and hits threes. I can't wait until DJ's RPM is actually based on enough diverse lineup data to mean something, because I think it's going to be beastly. That could take another full season or more of regular playing time though.

 

Brogdon is not one of the 4 best players on the team. I am absolutely convinced of that. Very slow for a sg, and can't generate anything without most of the defense paying more attention to someone else. I think they should sell high on him if there's some team out there that thinks he could actually be this type of scorer as a go-to guy. I wonder what the Pelicans think of him...

 

Yea I've been saying that for a few weeks. Almost every game is a blowout. While of course that's a good thing, it's really not even needed to watch most of these games. Easy money anytime they're less than a 10 pt fave vs a non elite team though.

 

While I get what you mean how Brogdon will always need to be complimentary guy I also can't get behind selling him while we're a Finals favorite. Of course yea if it's for an upgrade like an AD or Beal then sure. But I can't see another team valuing him that highly knowing they're going to have to be paying 12-15 mil starting next year. While we're at this level now we might as well just give him the 12-15 mil ourselves and keep winning, it won't be easy to get a replacement for league min or in the draft. Plus one has to assume he's an absolute glue guy in the locker room

[pacopete4]

Davis should force his way to the freak. Those two might win the whole thing.

 

Bucks have the best record in the NBA. Why cant they win the whole thing as is? If you add AD you subtract a lot of pieces. I know its hard to accept, but theyre the team to beat in the East. Maybe/ maybe not ready to beat the Warriors yet, but it wouldnt be a huge upset. Then in the next couple years who knows what the Warriors will be. Bucks are there right now. They just toy with teams almost every night.

 

I'm guessing you watch more of these games than I do so I will take your word for some of this. I just think if you have two of the top 5 players in the game on your team, you have a shot to win it all. As good as the Bucks are playing right now, I still wonder if it is more of a hunger thing during an 82 game schedule rather than them just being the best team out there. Time will tell on it. It will be interesting to see them on their path.

[tmwiese55]

Davis should force his way to the freak. Those two might win the whole thing.

 

Bucks have the best record in the NBA. Why cant they win the whole thing as is? If you add AD you subtract a lot of pieces. I know its hard to accept, but theyre the team to beat in the East. Maybe/ maybe not ready to beat the Warriors yet, but it wouldnt be a huge upset. Then in the next couple years who knows what the Warriors will be. Bucks are there right now. They just toy with teams almost every night.

 

I'm guessing you watch more of these games than I do so I will take your word for some of this. I just think if you have two of the top 5 players in the game on your team, you have a shot to win it all. As good as the Bucks are playing right now, I still wonder if it is more of a hunger thing during an 82 game schedule rather than them just being the best team out there. Time will tell on it. It will be interesting to see them on their path.

 

I'd say that if they traded basically all their guards and huge chunk of their team to get AD it would significantly hurt their chances this year. You'd have two great bigs but your G rotation would probably include Snell and Pat playing 30 mins a game or more. You're just not going to get far in today's NBA with that level of G/wing play. Moreover, AD and Giannis's games really wouldn't fit that well together as they should both be primarily in the lane. Still they're so good they'll be a force. That said, once you have those two it would really shake up future offseasons and you have years and years to fix the G/wing situation to make a title contender/winner. I guess I'd just say you'd probably gut your team too much right now and it would hurt this years chances, but long term yea having 2 top 5 guys you're set up better.

[RollieTime]

I think it is HUGE that a superstar included Milwaukee as a preferred landing spot where he would sign an extension. The Bucks should and will be involved in trade discussions, but I agree that it would be tough for them to match up well in a trade.

 

I know a lot of people don’t want to trade away impact guys on the roster right now, but remember that most of the guys mentioned are only under contract for this season. Acquiring Davis and signing him to an extension will lock him up for 4 or 5 years. We need to look beyond one season and build a roster that will compete for championships year in and year out.

 

The Bucks should be interested in moving Middleton now since he wants a max contract. No way should he get that from Milwaukee. He would be an attractive piece for the Pelicans in a sign and trade to lock him up long term. They could build their roster around Middleton. Thon also is looking to get playing time somewhere else. And the Pelicans can offer him a starting spot right away and let him grow as a player. Maker still has a very high ceiling and needs his minutes to continue developing. I could see the Pelicans valuing Maker above anyone else the Lakers offered. The Pelicans would also be acquiring an all-star to replace Davis.

 

I know there would need to be more involved, but it keeps most of the core together for a playoff run this year. We can look at retaining Brogdon, Bledsoe, and Lopez in the offseason. Getting Davis and locking him up long-term would be huge for Milwaukee. If you can get a top 5 player in the league when he actually WANTS to play there, you need to get it done (obviously within reason). More players will want to come to Milwaukee if Davis paired up with Giannis.

[FVBrewerFan]

Pels want multiple 1st round picks, which is fair to ask in this case. Bucks simply can't offer that.

 

Generic Bucks comment, Coach Bud has the team firing up a historic number of 3s, yet Middleton is shooting less of them than he has in his career. Not saying that's a bad thing, just interesting.

 

Also, I don't find these blow-outs boring in the least. I know what you guys mean by that, but when the Bucks are really clicking on both sides of the court it's NBA basketball at it's very best. And that is REALLY fun to watch.

[tmwiese55]

I think the list AD put out yesterday was PR fluff. An attempt to push the Lakers to increase their offer which happened, PR against the tampering accusations, and for them to throw MKE a bone by including a small market in that tampering discussion. Plus, AD's agent is Bledsoe's agent. You could gut your team for him and be left with Giannis and nothing 15 months from now. And then Giannis is gone under 2 years later.

 

Also, no way Thon has anywhere near the value of those Lakers players. not even close. So, Middleton is a guy we shouldn't pay because he isn't any good yet Pels should build around him? Seems contradictory.

 

Khris is averaging more 3s per game this year than he has in his career and is shooting 2% better than he was last year from 3 while at that higher volume.

[RollieTime]

I think the list AD put out yesterday was PR fluff. An attempt to push the Lakers to increase their offer which happened, PR against the tampering accusations, and for them to throw MKE a bone by including a small market in that tampering discussion. Plus, AD's agent is Bledsoe's agent. You could gut your team for him and be left with Giannis and nothing 15 months from now. And then Giannis is gone under 2 years later.

 

Also, no way Thon has anywhere near the value of those Lakers players. not even close. So, Middleton is a guy we shouldn't pay because he isn't any good yet Pels should build around him? Seems contradictory.

 

I never said Middleton isn’t good. He’s a good player, but not worth something like 5/$200 million. That type of money shouldn’t be offered to a guy that was never an all-star until this season. I would argue that Brogdon, Lopez, and Bledsoe fit Bud’s system better than Middleton anyway. Davis on the other hand is a top 5 player in the world. He is one of the few that offering a large contract would make sense. The Pelicans would be acquiring an all-star and would have the money to give Middleton the money he wants. Bad teams and sometimes small market teams tend to throw money at “good” players to get them to their city. Middleton fits into that category in my opinion. On a championship team, he is not a number 1 guy, like Giannis and Davis are, but the Pelicans could pay him like one to sign him long term. Davis is in the elite category with the best in the league. He is a guy that is worth a max contract.

[tmwiese55]

Sorry I don't mean to nitpick. But if he's not worth 30 mil per year for a team at title contention like we are then why would he be worth that for the Pels? Just to lock themselves into mediocrity and clog up their cap so they can't get any higher level FAs or use their space to take on bad contracts and add picks (like BKN did to rebuild)? I agree I don't want to pay the max to KM, but something in the 20-25 mil ballpark is fine. But in general it makes way more sense for a team to overpay when at title contention than when they're rebuilding. You're better off paying Mid an extra few mil per year than to not have him. Besides the point though, the main thing is with his impending FA and same overpay fears that we have on him that NO wouldn't value him much and we'd have to add in a lot more.

 

Your point about throwing money at good players holds true for MKE as well, first we're small market so have the same points but it's compounded by that we're at title contention window and are capped out (assuming Bledsoe, Brog, Lopez contracts) even if you let him go so you can't replace him other than with Exception deals. So again, you're better of gritting your teeth and giving him the extra few mil per year to keep the team going. See what trades come up down the line once you have player/contract locked in

[RollieTime]

Sorry I don't mean to nitpick. But if he's not worth 30 mil per year for a team at title contention like we are then why would he be worth that for the Pels? Just to lock themselves into mediocrity and clog up their cap so they can't get any higher level FAs or use their space to take on bad contracts and add picks (like BKN did to rebuild)? I agree I don't want to pay the max to KM, but something in the 20-25 mil ballpark is fine. But in general it makes way more sense for a team to overpay when at title contention than when they're rebuilding. You're better off paying Mid an extra few mil per year than to not have him. Besides the point though, the main thing is with his impending FA and same overpay fears that we have on him that NO wouldn't value him much and we'd have to add in a lot more.

 

Your point about throwing money at good players holds true for MKE as well, first we're small market so have the same points but it's compounded by that we're at title contention window and are capped out (assuming Bledsoe, Brog, Lopez contracts) even if you let him go so you can't replace him other than with Exception deals. So again, you're better of gritting your teeth and giving him the extra few mil per year to keep the team going. See what trades come up down the line once you have player/contract locked in

 

Definitely fair points. They may choose to have a ton of cap space and take on bad contracts, but would they be fine with losing a ton of games for multiple years? We should find out the next couple days what route they plan on going. It’ll be interesting to see what they do.

 

I could see them being open to signing Middleton because he is a good player that can help them contend once they add a couple other pieces around him. He could be a solid number 2 option on a good team or a great 3rd option on a contending team. Middleton could probably be a guy that averages around 25 points per game on a bad team if he’s “the guy”. He just isn’t that type of player in our system or with Giannis running the show.

 

Middleton (to me) seems like a guy that needs the ball in his hands a lot. He makes some kick out threes, but a lot of his production is through him creating his own shots. Giannis needs the ball in his hands a lot, where Davis doesn’t need the ball a lot to be productive. I think those two would click right away with how they play.

 

On another note, it would be nice to have another guy that rebounds well to help Giannis out down low. Davis attacks the boards on both ends of the floor and will get some easy baskets off of offensive boards. Plus, who wouldn’t want to watch Giannis and Davis on pick and rolls?

[tmwiese55]

I think the Giannis/Davis PnR would fail pretty hard much like the LBJ/Love one did, and Love could shoot way better than either of these. Their guys will just switch and/or sag off them and go under the screen so much and dare them to shoot. Their games really don't fit together that well since they're so similar. Two top 5 guys on one team though they'd still do well.

 

If Mid is a great 3rd option on a contending team I don't see why the contending team he's on just wouldn't keep him. Sure if you're getting AD back I get it but again NO just won't value him because he can walk in 3 months.

[SeaBass]

Nice article about the Bucks and their roster.

 

In a star-crazed league, the Bucks demonstrate the value of role players

https://www.thescore.com/nba/news/1708263/in-a-star-crazed-league-the-bucks-demonstrate-the-value-of-role-players

 

AD is an amazing player, I'm just not sure he's the superstar that best fits being teamed with Giannis, at least as the roster is constructed right now. It would be interesting to find out, but next season at the soonest; I don't want to mess with what's working this season. I have a hunch AD isn't going to be traded before the deadline anyway.

[Mr Southpaw]

E Moore from the Pels, a 41% 3 point shooter,

for

T Maker and J Smith

 

There is the wing player that everyone thinks the Bucks want to acquire.

 

Any takers?

[coolhandluke121]

 

While I get what you mean how Brogdon will always need to be complimentary guy I also can't get behind selling him while we're a Finals favorite. Of course yea if it's for an upgrade like an AD or Beal then sure. But I can't see another team valuing him that highly knowing they're going to have to be paying 12-15 mil starting next year. While we're at this level now we might as well just give him the 12-15 mil ourselves and keep winning, it won't be easy to get a replacement for league min or in the draft. Plus one has to assume he's an absolute glue guy in the locker room

 

I wouldn't sell him for a downgrade or a draft pick. I'm the same person who said I would pick up Hill's option and pay all that luxury tax to keep the team together, so that's obviously not what I meant. But I would definitely trade him for someone of comparable "win now" value if I could. I think there's a chance some team views him as more of a go-to scorer than he really is, kind of like Jabari's 2nd year, and the Bucks should jump at the chance to get a good offer. Brogdon has that Bill Walton non-union foot injury and I think that's a ticking time bomb. Watching him live in person against the Nets and seeing how slow, unathletic, bulky, and old he's already starting to look changed me from normal skepticism to full-on, emergency "trade him for fair value before it's too late" urgency mode.

 

I also think he's got a bit of an Allen Crabbe/Tyler Johnson "darling" reputation that he won't live up to. All those guys had pretty good numbers in a very favorable situation, and look at the RFA offers they got. Brogdon could get even more. Personally I think if he gets that, then he owes 75% of it to Bledsoe, Middleton, Bud, and especially Giannis. It's kind of a like a 4th wide receiver on a lethal offense putting up numbers comparable to a normal #2 guy because defenses don't pay much attention to him and the offense is designed to spread the ball around. When he plays as the #2 or #3 guy, he just dribbles too much trying to get around his guy and the offense stagnates.

 

Lastly, if he does get some kind of ridiculous 4-year offer sheet, you're in a bind. I want them to pay the luxury tax next year, but not for 4 straight years. That greatly affects their ability to use salary exception slots. I really don't think they'd miss him that much. His RPM provides statistical evidence that the team doesn't struggle when he goes to the bench. I view trading him (and, say, Ersan and Smith) for a comparable player as an opportunity to lock in someone at a price much cheaper than what Brogdon will probably get in free agency.

 

*It's also worth noting that his low cap hold is worth much more to rebuilding teams than it is to the Bucks, so it's not necessarily true that he's worth less because of his impending free agency. The Bucks will probably keep cap holds on Bledsoe and Middleton, and they may even keep Hill. Therefore Brogdon's low cap hold doesn't give them any cap space anyway. But a team with fewer other guys to retain can make a huge splash in free agency before going way over the cap to match an offer for Brogdon.

[coolhandluke121]

E Moore from the Pels, a 41% 3 point shooter,

for

T Maker and J Smith

 

There is the wing player that everyone thinks the Bucks want to acquire.

 

Any takers?

 

Wanted him badly when he was a free agent. The Bucks were too busy prioritizing Henson, Plumlee, Mirza, and Dellavedova.

 

Moore got less than half of what they got and is arguably worth more than all of them combined. And someone in here said it's a false narrative that the Bucks made all kinds of terrible decisions for years.

[Mr Southpaw]

E Moore from the Pels, a 41% 3 point shooter,

for

T Maker and J Smith

 

There is the wing player that everyone thinks the Bucks want to acquire.

 

Any takers?

 

Wanted him badly when he was a free agent. The Bucks were too busy prioritizing Henson, Plumlee, Mirza, and Dellavedova.

 

Moore got less than half of what they got and is arguably worth more than all of them combined. And someone in here said it's a false narrative that the Bucks made all kinds of terrible decisions for years.

 

Is Maker enough for the Pels to pull the trigger? He is recovering from a calf injury so he just might be primed for a trade and the Bucks can work him into the rotation slowly. He is signed at $8 million for next year, so he is another option if they don't sign Malcolm or Kris.

[coolhandluke121]

 

Is Maker enough for the Pels to pull the trigger? He is recovering from a calf injury so he just might be primed for a trade and the Bucks can work him into the rotation slowly. He is signed at $8 million for next year, so he is another option if they don't sign Malcolm or Kris.

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I tend to doubt it. I think they can get an expiring contract and a late pick for Moore, and a pick is flexible. You can pick your own guy, instead of trading for somebody else's mistake.