Bucks off-season thread (non-draft)

[OnTheBlack]

Besides Boston, I don’t see much resistance in the east for them. From what I read kwahi had the clippers and raptors trying to get George, which is why he signed and waited so long before doing so. Clipppers gave up a ton, but if that’s what you have to do, you do it.

 

I think you are seriously underestimating the 76ers. Embiid, Simmons, Horford, Richardson and Harris is a very good starting 5. They just need depth. I could be missing some guys they have

 

 

Agreed, Sixers are the biggest threat on paper. Boston I don't know what to make of them. I didn't the last two years either. They're worse on paper at PG, but again, Kemba is a way better team player. They also lost Horford though. So they lost an elite PG in Kyrie that I think people are now underrating because of a tough series vs the Bucks. And then they lost the "most important" player on their team in Horford and now Marcus Morris, another underrated player.

 

The Sixers are set up to really stop Giannis. They'll need other players to hit shots in order to get past them. That shouldn't be too hard. But the rebounding edge that the Bucks normally have should be gone.

 

This is all assuming a healthy Embid and I wouldn't be so quick to assume such a thing.

[OnTheBlack]

Not really supporting this but there are some rumors the Bucks are interested in Westbrook.

 

Possible deal would be Bledsoe, Irsan/Leuer, and draft picks to the Thunder for Westbrook.

 

I think this would be a horrible deal as Bledsoe is similar to Westbrook in terms of how they score. Westbrook is a better scorer but Bledsoe is by far a superior defender.

 

I can see why this would be appealing to the Bucks front office but Beal would be a better match.

 

Sadly, it is all about this.... does Gianni's like Westbrook? If it helps keep 34 around long term, probably do it... even though I don't like Westbrook much.

 

 

I'm all for doing what it takes to keep Giannis happy, but I don't think playing with Westbrook would make him happy. Now if Westbrook decided to...give a little in order to play with someone like Giannis, it could work. But Westbrook would have to be a very different player than he's been. Particularly since KD left.

 

He is a really good ball handler and a really good scorer, but he also relies on athleticism to be effective. If you call what he does effective. At least moreso than most players. Durant for example will be able to be a very good scorer even if he loses some athletic ability. Westbrook won't.

 

You only go so far to cater to Giannis and I really doubt that Giannis would require the Bucks to get Westbrook in order to stick around. And by the end of Westbrooks contract, I think he'd be an even bigger burden than he already appears to be. I'd rather take John Wall's deal than Westbrook right now(I'm actually not sure if I'm serious or not here).

 

The only upside in this deal is that Westbrook would be better than Bled in the playoffs as it'd be hard to be worse and Westbrook isn't exactly going to cost much in terms of assets.

[OnTheBlack]

 

Ok, assuming it's 12 million. We can trade for a guy making ~15 million. We can't do anything else? Include cash or any other players? So basically the only thing we can do is taking a guy another team wants to dump essentially?

 

I believe the $12m already account for the plus or minus 25% of half of Brogdon's salary, so it's a hard cap on the TPE. In other words, I believe ~$9.5m is half of Brogdon's salary and $12m is ~125% of that.

 

In general you can't just trade cash in the NBA, except when buying picks. There may be a few other rare exceptions I'm forgetting, but it's not like baseball.

 

You definitely can't include any other players. But I'm almost certain you can acquire more than one player from another team. For example, you can take a player making $7m and a player making $4m from a team. You have to resolve it all at once though.

 

Yes, it's essentially a dump. And that Pacers pick is not likely to be good, so the return on the Brogdon deal isn't great. And they have to keep a cap hold on Brogdon to keep the TPE, so it's not as much flexibility as you might think. They barely fit their other offers under the cap, and reportedly there's a chance they might not get the TPE at all. I think we're waiting to see if Hill waived his $1m buyout as part of his new contract, and that determines whether they have enough cap space to keep Brogdon's cap hold and get the TPE.

 

Bottom line, as much as I'm not a big Brogdon fan, I think they cheaped out overall. I think they could have kept Brogdon's qualifying offer and matched an offer after the fact. I think it's pretty suspicious that they're still very likely to be under the tax threshold for the next 2 years. I don't believe it was necessary at all.

 

It's neither here nor there anymore, but I also would have rather had Brogdon and Mirotic than Khris. I would take Khris over Brogdon obviously, but not over Brogdon and Mirotic. But they did reasonably well this off season. I'm really relieved they got Hill for the equivalent of the MLE.

 

 

Well, we'll have a better idea in the next year or two if the Bucks made a strictly financial decision or if they simply didn't think Brogdon was a good bet. I think it was a pretty bad decision myself. I wouldn't give up Middleton for Brogdon and I'm not factoring in Mirotic because he's the one guy we actually have a comparable replacement for.

 

I'm also not sure how good Mirotic actually is. He has made 4 trips to the playoffs, he's shot really poorly in 3 of the 4. Last year(as in 2017-2018) he was great. This year, bad. DJ Wilson is a comparable shooter, younger, and he's certainly more of a fit defending the stretch 4's and even 5's.

 

 

I do think the Bucks did a good job in getting anything in return for Brogdon since they weren't going to match and those 1st and 2 2n'd could help out later in a trade.

 

Horst has been able to find complimentary pieces though and he recovered nicely replacing Brogdon with Matthews, 3 picks and a TPE that could at least help them pick up another player who they could then include at some point for a better player.

 

 

If this team adds one veteran ball handler, and it doesn't have to be a great one, even getting Darren Collison to change his mind would make me happy right now, then I'm pretty happy with where they're at. The way Giannis just keeps improving, I don't think he's close to a finished product yet.

[HiAndTight]

Ok, how about a couple more realistic options at PG.

 

1-Shawn Livingston

He wants to keep playing, the Warriors just waived him and he wants to join a contender.

He's certainly not the player he was at the start of the Warriors run, but he's played in Milwaukee before and he's a veteran who's got more finals experience than just about anyone.

 

Probably is I'm not sure he's really a PG anymore. Or at least not that dynamic ball handler you want.

 

2-Goran Dragić

The Suns nearly dealt him to the Mavs to in a 3 way deal to facilitate the Butler sign and trade and are still looking to move him. Not 100 pct sure why, but I know I'd rather have him.

 

I don't know how you'd get this done. Probably around the trade deadline. Apparently, you can't combine your TPE with anyone or anything else(per CHL). So I don't know how this works out exactly, how you give the Heat what they'd want. I guess it'd involve getting something of consequence for the TPE and then turning around and dealing that+ some of our own assets to the Heat.

 

Though again, to me, it makes little sense to trade a really solid PG who's got a reasonable contract and is in the final year of his deal. Unless you're trying to clear cap room...in which case, you'd still keep him since the cap room isn't doing you any good this year and it'd conceivably be for next off-season when he'd be coming off the books.

 

 

#1 would be a minimum signing we could do now(though I suspect multiple teams who figure to contend would be interested, I do think Milwaukee would be the best fit as he could play 60 games this year, keep his minutes down and hopefully help out in the playoffs.

 

#2-Another seemingly unrealistic trade, but I don't really understand how the Heat ends up with Jimmy Butler or how a lot of these trades happen. I mean, I understand it, but they often seem very unrealistic.

[tmwiese55]

Livingston, yea not a PG at all. More or less a backup wing and IDK about the general fit here as he doesn't shoot 3s. For a league min deal of course I'd take as he's probably better than anything else you can get. He's seemingly still a competent rotation level player and tons of experience.

 

Dragic, I've always loved him as a player and have had my eyes on him for years. He was hurt all last year and wasn't good when he played, but I'd bet he has that crafty old man game in him and will be able to play for a bit yet. That said, he's always been poor on D and I'd guess he's really bad now at his age. Lost in all the ripping of Bledsoe that he was 1st team all D and he was fully deserving of it. Him and Beverly are probably the two best PG defenders in the league. Call me crazy, but I think that was very important in having the #1 D in the NBA. The most obvious way to get Dragic would be Bled straight up. It would make sense for MIA but I'm not sure about MKE as you'd then need a replacement next year but have no cap space to do it. So you'd kinda be locked into resigning Dragic and he's old. I don't see another trade unless you get some 3 team thing going, it probably could've worked with Ersan/Leuer's contracts but why would MIA do that since they're generally trying to win.

 

Generally I think people are overreacting to Bledsoe crapping the bed in the playoffs. Yes, it was terrible and disheartening. But overall you have a top 15ish PG who's top 5 for sure on D locked in at a fair contract for a few years. He's going to continue to help you all year for sure. Like everyone else, I'm going to hate having that lingering in the back of my head as the playoffs start. At this point though, I think all they can do be positive with him and we know the guy is a bulldog of a competitor (heck, that's probably why he's flopped in the playoffs as he gets in his head kind of 'over trying') so hopefully he's working his tail off on shooting all offseason and improves a tick there and then hopefully now having two years of playoffs in him he'll calm down next year. Plus I think the O could diversify and play to his strengths a bit more. All the while, of course have your eyes open on a trade if it comes up, best hypothetical I see is Beal coming available during the season and then playing Hill at PG.

 

I'm struggling to think of other options at PG, I think they did the best they could in their situation by getting Hill back as Bledsoe insurance.

[tmwiese55]

Looks like Bucks will not be getting that trade exception. Seems all they had to do was come up with 700K in space (probably easily could've been done with Hill's contract) and they could've gotten it. So, it could've been done very easily and they didn't do it. Which would seem is because they wouldn't have any plans to use it and pay the tax. IMO that's a bad sign and shows the likely real motivation behind not keeping Brogdon. That said, it's not terrible for them to see the value in staying under now as they know they'll be paying soon. BUt, I still think it was bad not to have this exception in their pocket just in case an injury happens and you decide you need to use it to fill the gap

[HiAndTight]

Livingston, yea not a PG at all. More or less a backup wing and IDK about the general fit here as he doesn't shoot 3s. For a league min deal of course I'd take as he's probably better than anything else you can get. He's seemingly still a competent rotation level player and tons of experience.

 

Dragic, I've always loved him as a player and have had my eyes on him for years. He was hurt all last year and wasn't good when he played, but I'd bet he has that crafty old man game in him and will be able to play for a bit yet. That said, he's always been poor on D and I'd guess he's really bad now at his age. Lost in all the ripping of Bledsoe that he was 1st team all D and he was fully deserving of it. Him and Beverly are probably the two best PG defenders in the league. Call me crazy, but I think that was very important in having the #1 D in the NBA. The most obvious way to get Dragic would be Bled straight up. It would make sense for MIA but I'm not sure about MKE as you'd then need a replacement next year but have no cap space to do it. So you'd kinda be locked into resigning Dragic and he's old. I don't see another trade unless you get some 3 team thing going, it probably could've worked with Ersan/Leuer's contracts but why would MIA do that since they're generally trying to win.

 

Generally I think people are overreacting to Bledsoe crapping the bed in the playoffs. Yes, it was terrible and disheartening. But overall you have a top 15ish PG who's top 5 for sure on D locked in at a fair contract for a few years. He's going to continue to help you all year for sure. Like everyone else, I'm going to hate having that lingering in the back of my head as the playoffs start. At this point though, I think all they can do be positive with him and we know the guy is a bulldog of a competitor (heck, that's probably why he's flopped in the playoffs as he gets in his head kind of 'over trying') so hopefully he's working his tail off on shooting all offseason and improves a tick there and then hopefully now having two years of playoffs in him he'll calm down next year. Plus I think the O could diversify and play to his strengths a bit more. All the while, of course have your eyes open on a trade if it comes up, best hypothetical I see is Beal coming available during the season and then playing Hill at PG.

 

I'm struggling to think of other options at PG, I think they did the best they could in their situation by getting Hill back as Bledsoe insurance.

 

 

Well, first of all, I agree we're fine in the regular season with Bledsoe. Better than fine actually. He's a stud. He's aggressive, he's so physical. He's built like an ideal safety with a thick build to take contact and those long arms. But he chokes in the playoffs. He already has talked about how he gets nervous in big games and it's back to back playoffs he's choked now. So I'd definitely be alright with an inferior PG during the regular season if it meant getting a seasoned player who has experiance in the playoffs.

 

As for Livingston, he can play the point. He really didn't in Golden State because they didn't need him to, but that's what he was. It's what he came up as. He's definitely the type of guy who'd be extremelely limited, but he came into this league as a bit of a phenom until that gruesome injury derailed his career. But he isn't an explosive point who can break down the defense. Then again, in this scenario we'd be signing him for the minimium. So he's provide depth and he's certainly got the experiance.

 

Dragic, I wouldn't trade Bledsoe for him, it'd be more of a situation where I'd like to see the Bucks use their TPE to pick up a player/players and then maybe as part of a three-team deal trade for him. He's one of three prominent PG's who's the subject of trade talks at the moment with Westbrook and Paul. I'd actually take a chance on a guy like Westbrook....if we didn't have Giannis. I think it's possible he could change his game a bit if he was playing with Giannis, and it'd certainly be an exciting team to watch, but I just don't trust the guy. I don't trust him in the post-season. He can be the best PG in this league, but he's not a great shooter and despite the reputation he has as being an intense, Jordan-esque type player concerned only with winning, he strikes me as a guy who it's more important the team wins because of him and that he gets his numbers and none of that fits in Milwaukee.

 

Chris Paul is old and he's gonna get injured, but when he's healthy, he's still great. The all time great. He wouldn't have to expand as much energy playing for the Bucks and we could keep his minutes way down, sit him on the 2nd half of back to backs, but I just don't see how the salary works out....unless it's a 3 team trade.

 

No, the only way it's likely we end up with Paul is at the end of his career most likely on a BAE or MLE. Somehow he's still just 33 years old. Massive contract, but man, he would be the perfect fit for us without having to give away the farm.

 

The Bucks SHOULD have gone out and tried to sign someone like Troy Daniels, a PG from the Suns. A great 3 point shooter who can handle the ball, has good size for the position. I would have said Ricky Rubio, but again, with this ridiculous FA market, he ended up getting 3/51 which is about 40 more than he really should have.

 

 

The best remaining FA PG's, most of whom would be vet minimum types are;

 

Jerryd Bayless-I guess you could hope he stays healthy. He was AWFUL last year.

Darren Collison-He's "walking away" due to his religious beliefs, but I've also seen where he may come back later in the year and join a team "if the fit is right." With Giannis' and his personality, I doubt the fit would be much better anywhere else.

He's got the handles to deal with the pressure, he hit 47 pct of his 3's last year('17-'18). This would probably be the best possible signing the Bucks could make. Keep them under the luxury tax, keep their few assets and give them exactly what they need.

 

Raymond Felton-Not a fan, not a fit IMO.

 

Devin Harris-A Fan, not really a fit. He's was more of a drive and dish type guy in his prime and he's way past that.

 

Raul Neto-Played ~10 minutes in about half of the games for the Jazz last year. NO idea what he is. He could be worse than Frazier who we let walk to Detroit, but it looks like he's a solid shooter.

 

Shelvin Mack-He's been around for a while, I remember watching him play in college, but I really don't know anything about him either. What I do remember, he's a Felton type and not really a fit with the Bucks. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

 

There are a bunch more guys who have yet to sign. If we're going to sign one more guy to a vet minimum, I guess other than Livingston it'd be Trey Burke who's not real exciting.

 

Bradley Beal is definitely a best case scenario type trade. And Washington is the same team that traded Otto Porter Jr for Parker and Bobby Portis. That makes me wish we'd have re-signed Parker because then we could just have let Middleton walk, re-signed Brogdon and we'd have saved quite a bit of money.

[HiAndTight]

Looks like Bucks will not be getting that trade exception. Seems all they had to do was come up with 700K in space (probably easily could've been done with Hill's contract) and they could've gotten it. So, it could've been done very easily and they didn't do it. Which would seem is because they wouldn't have any plans to use it and pay the tax. IMO that's a bad sign and shows the likely real motivation behind not keeping Brogdon. That said, it's not terrible for them to see the value in staying under now as they know they'll be paying soon. BUt, I still think it was bad not to have this exception in their pocket just in case an injury happens and you decide you need to use it to fill the gap

 

 

No, it's totally inexcusable. I can understand maybe they're looking at a 6-7 year period here where they're going to be competitive and they don't want to pay the tax every year, but there's absolutely no reason to NOT clear that room so you have the TPE in your back pocket just to give Horst something else to work with. It's asinine.

 

I don't know if it's why they didn't sign Brogdon, but that TPE could have helped out in getting someone like Bradley Beal to Milwaukee indirectly.

 

Now he's not quite the caliber of star Luke was talking about coming available, but he's absolutely the type of player that could put the Bucks over the top. And like last year being a year where everything was wide open(though we didn't know that going in) this year is DEFINITELY a year we know things are wide open. The Clippers are gonna have a helluva team, but not an unbeatable one. The Nets are at least a year away with KD down. The Lakers pissed away the chance to add several really nice players waiting on Kawhi to decide if he's coming back and all of these teams are going to be adding talent in the next couple years.

 

 

Beal could have given you a guy who at the least was as good as Middleton(who I do think is very underrated on here, but not a true #2 on a championship team).

 

Jesus Christ....c'mon. Even if you don't use it, just get it so that you have that option. This is so incredibly stupid. That Brogdon trade COULD have looked a lot better. A 1st, 2 2nd's and then a veteran that a non-contending team was trying to move.

 

I'm gonna wait until I hear for sure, but if you're right, this is just asinine.

[tmwiese55]

I agree Collison would be best fit if he makes himself available. Just good to have that depth. Obviously if he'd done FA normal he'd have gotten a good contract. but if he makes himself available mid season he might be willing to take the min to jump on a contender and then get a good contract in the offseason. My guess is he takes the year off though and then who knows.

 

Of the others you listed (thanks), considering we only have league min to work with I'd probably go with Harris of those choices. He's pure end of bench and just for insurance type of guy at this point. But he's a bit taller so can guard wider variety of guys, has always at least been an OK 3 pt shooter. I'd guess they're holding this last spot for Korver as of now and waiting to see what happens there.

 

Beal, I think is a good enough #2 star we need. HE's always stepped up when allowed with Wall's injuries to prove he's legit and can do more. He did it last year too. I agree KM is a bit too ripped on, but Beal is clearly better IMO and if somehow you had both you'd be really dangerous as it moves KM down to #3 where he belongs. Hill, Beal, KM, Giannis, Lopez starting lineup is darn good. Wes, Ers, Lopez, Brown Pat, DDV is a rock solid bench.

 

Yes, I think this was absolutely a mistake not to have this in their pocket if needed. I get the logic of staying under the cap for this year as it could saves 10s of mil in repeater tax down the line. I don't agree with it, but I do get it. But no reason to not have this in your pocket just in case something comes up.

 

side note being in WI. Dekker is a FA and is getting no talk as of now that I've seen. Wonder if he ends up in europe already. Best case is probably a min deal for him at this point

[patrickgpe]

they have 2 spots left. i won't be surprised if its frazer and colson. I said Carter is my top choice remaining (actually Korver, but I can't see him signing a minimum deal here). None of the names above do much for me. They have some guys playing this summer who are intriguing (mainly Hommes and Landale).

 

I just don't see them going outside the organization to fill these spots.

[RollieTime]

Watching the Bucks’ Summer League team tonight for the first time, Matt Farrell seems like an interesting guy to watch. He is only 6’1, but I could see him at least making the team as a third string point guard. He sees the floor well, great passer, and hits his open shots. He isn’t fast, but has a quick first step similar to Brogdon. Farrell looks like a leader whenever he’s on the court. How has he looked in the other games so far? I wouldn’t expect him to be a big scorer, but if he could play 10 minutes per game if needed, hit an open shot or two, and set some guys up with open shots, I wouldn’t mind him being one of the last guys on the bench.

[nate82]

Westbrook to the Rockets.

 

 

 

Paul going to the Thunder. Probably won't be on the Thunder for long I assume.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

That trade is going to be a disaster. Both teams will be worse. Not that the Thunder care.

[nate82]

That trade is going to be a disaster. Both teams will be worse. Not that the Thunder care.

 

The Rockets theoretically should be better but it all depends on how well Harden plays with Westbrook. Harden and CP3 didn't get along at all on the court. I don't think Harden and Westbrook are a good pairing but who knows maybe they prove everyone wrong.

 

The Thunder go from a 7 or 8 seed with Westbrook and getting swept in the playoffs to becoming a lottery team. It was time to rebuild for them. The Thunder did get some solid young players in the George trade along with the picks. I don't expect them to be bad for very long depending on who they get in the draft.

 

Paul will definitely be traded maybe that Pacers pick plus Ersan for Paul? Not that I want the Bucks to trade for Paul but I could see that happening.

[tmwiese55]

Paul's contract is brutal. Bucks really have no way to match up to it now. Probably could've found a way before stretching Leuer but not anymore. Would've had to wait until Sept/Oct to execute something like Bled, Leuer, Ers for CP3. And, I'd want them to kick us one or two 1sts back for taking that contract.

 

Paul's been in a clear decline and is 34 with 3 years left. If he's healthy for the playoffs sure you'd rather have him than Bled right now, but that contract is likely to be a complete albatross. Throw in his attitude problems where it's pretty much known he's a jerk to play with and I don't think it's worth the risk. Like I said, I'd need to be paid to take him on, not the other way around.

[OnTheBlack]

Westbrook’s contract is also not friendly. Believe it’s like 36 mil this year, 41 mil, 43 mil, & 46 mil... those aren’t exact but ballparks. That is a lot to absorb... even with trading Bledsoe. That’s problem one. Problem 2, we don’t have much for draft capital. We got some back for Brogdon but still not much to work with. Lastly, Westbrook wants the ball at a very high usage rate. Giannis works at a high usage rate. Both are at best when ball is in their hands. KD could play off it better since guy can shot with the best of them but Giannis has to attack to get his points. Westbrook Shot 6 3s a game while hitting only 29% of them. Like Giannis he needs to attack to score.

 

Really Russ isn’t too different from the way Bledsoe scores except Bledsoe doesn’t require the usage Westbrook wants. Bledsoe knows his role on team which means get ball to Giannis & play off him. Not sold on Westbrook & Giannis thriving together. It could work out or it could fail miserably.

 

No doubt though that Bucks instantly end all doubts or debates who is the most elite team in East. If Giannis & Westbrook can coexist with Middleton & Lopez to stretch floor.... feel bad for rest of East.

 

My thoughts exactly except I don't think Westbrook will command all that much more than what is rumored to be a package for Westbrook. If the Thunder want to wait until the trade deadline maybe the Knicks will step in and give them the picks that they would want. The only other team that seems intriguing for the Thunder would be Minnesota who could offer Wiggins and a couple of draft picks for Westbrook.

 

I do agree Bledsoe is a better option with Giannis and Middleton. I would really prefer Beal but I am not sure how the Bucks could get him without trading Bledsoe to another team. Ideally a Hill, Beal, Middleton, Giannis and Lopez would be pretty freaking awesome. Depth wise the Bucks would be hurting but I am not sure there is a team in the East that could stop that starting 5. The Nets come close but Middleton and Lopez become the deciding factor in a 7-game series.

 

 

I'm shocked that the Thunder got as much as they did to swap Westbrook for Paul.

 

Now they're basically working with Paul to try and work out some trade to get him to a team he wants to play for.

 

I wasn't too worried, but I never wanted to see the Bucks get Westbrook. It'd give them a much better team on paper, but obviously a terrible fit.

 

Now if they're just looking to move Chris Paul and try to save some money along the way, I'd definitely be all for adding Chris Paul. I don't see any realistic trade that could happen, I don't see who we could trade that would match salaries. I mean, Bledsoe+Ersan is still about 12 million short.

 

Chris Paul can still play though and he'd make the Bucks a much better team. He can still play, he can still shoot, he can defend(not like Bledsoe, but he's got really good hands and anticipation and can create turnovers). He's definitely slowed down, but I'd still place him among the top 5-6 PG's in the NBA.

 

Middleton+Bledsoe+Indy's draft picks+draft swap rights for the next two picks we do have for Paul and Shai Gilgeous Alexander and then throw in Patrick Patterson?

 

 

Again, this got .000001 pct chance of happening. We're not dealing two guys we just signed and I don't see why OKC would trade a guy who's compared to Bledsoe but "a much better shooter and 6'6." So they play the same style and are similar, Bledsoe is more explosive, Alexander is the better shooter and an very long PG.

 

Man, with no TPE and really no flexibility, all we can do is dream. And I am dreaming of a Chris Paul/Gilgeous Alexander/Matthews/Giannis/Lopez with Hill/Pat C-Brown-DDV/Peterson/Wilson/Lopez as the bench with Thanasis, Maye, maybe Fletcher Magee or whoever.

 

You get the superstar in Paul now, the young future star in Alexander and you plug and mix and match the 3-4 spots. Wilson gets more PT and maybe you pick someone up later in the year.

 

 

Now that's what I'd do....If I was playing NBA 2K or whatever.

[OnTheBlack]

they have 2 spots left. i won't be surprised if its frazer and colson. I said Carter is my top choice remaining (actually Korver, but I can't see him signing a minimum deal here). None of the names above do much for me. They have some guys playing this summer who are intriguing (mainly Hommes and Landale).

 

I just don't see them going outside the organization to fill these spots.

 

 

Fraizer is gone and I'm not sure what Colson's deal is. But Frazier signed with Detroit.

 

Korver has listed the Bucks as one of the team he wants to play for.

 

I'd be good with Carter, I'd be good with just bringing Pau back on a minimum deal.

[OnTheBlack]

That trade is going to be a disaster. Both teams will be worse. Not that the Thunder care.

 

The Rockets theoretically should be better but it all depends on how well Harden plays with Westbrook. Harden and CP3 didn't get along at all on the court. I don't think Harden and Westbrook are a good pairing but who knows maybe they prove everyone wrong.

 

The Thunder go from a 7 or 8 seed with Westbrook and getting swept in the playoffs to becoming a lottery team. It was time to rebuild for them. The Thunder did get some solid young players in the George trade along with the picks. I don't expect them to be bad for very long depending on who they get in the draft.

 

Paul will definitely be traded maybe that Pacers pick plus Ersan for Paul? Not that I want the Bucks to trade for Paul but I could see that happening.

 

I don't get why people wouldn't want Paul. He makes them a much-much more dangerous team in the playoffs than what they have right now.

 

It's just that Ersan doesn't come even close to matching Paul's salary. OKC is working with him to try and work out a deal that makes sense, but OKC is gonna want something back for him. A couple more 1sts.

 

Right now they just pulled off one of the haul's of the century. I didn't think a team would get more for a superstar than what the Pelicans did, but the Thunder MAY have, but only because that trade was effectively for Paul AND Kawhi.

 

They gave up some good young talent though.

[tmwiese55]

It's the contract. He's 34, been declining for a couple years already and is frequently hurt and you owe him about 3/120 mil going into age 37. That's why. Playing one game today, sure you'd want him but it's not that simple.

 

Also, OKC will be lucky to get anything back for him of value. I actually think they'll have to use a 1st or maybe two in order to dump move his salary to someone. Look at how much Houston just had to pay to move while taking back an almost as equally bad/difficult contract.

 

Really the only trade that could've happened is Leuer, Ers, Bled but we already cut Leuer so barring a 3-4 team trade it seems almost impossible for MKE.

[OnTheBlack]

That trade is going to be a disaster. Both teams will be worse. Not that the Thunder care.

 

 

I guess it could work out for the Rockets. I doubt it, but they were already in the midst of a disaster with Paul and Harden at odds.

 

This is great for the Thunder. They just keep stockpiling picks and young talent. And they'll probably have a few lottery picks over the next two years.

 

IF the Bucks have to move on from Giannis, the Bucks would be lucky to be able to get this type of return.

 

But I think this is great for OKC. They traded two PG's who had awful contract and got compensated with a lot of picks.

 

They've not added;

 

First-round picks in 2024 and 2026, pick swaps in 2021 and 2025 from the Rockets. Those 2024-2026 picks could end up being really nice picks for the Thunder by then. Even if they're not, that's still a lot of draft capital.

 

For George they ended up getting: FOUR unprotected first-round picks, one protected first-round pick and two pick swaps in addition to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari.

 

 

So they get 5 picks from the Clippers and the ability to swap picks.

Another 2, plus 2 more chances to swap 1st rounders.

They get a key building block, the type of PG you can a franchise around.

And added a 6'10 PF who wasn't far away from a 50/40/90 season and is one of the best stretch 4's in the NBA AND they still have Chris Paul, one of the all time greatest PG's and one who's still an elite PG.

 

I've never seen or heard of a team acquire more assets to build a contender in such a short period of time. They just got completely lucky that they found two franchises that were desperate. The Clippers to trade for George so they could convince Kawhi to sign on and Houston HAD to trade one of Paul or Harden and they're not trading the guy who's been in the top 2 in MVP voting the last 5 years and is 3 years younger than Paul.

 

And again, I think they could get a ton if they so choose for Alexander, Gallinari and Paul. Those are 3 really good players.

 

And they get out from under the luxury tax. This is how you build a young superstar team as a small market. This is how you can rebuild a team like the KD/Westbrook/Harden/Serge type team as a small market team.

[long ball]

CP3 is an interesting trade target. This couldn't happen for a while yet due to trade restrictions, but once those restrictions are lifted a trade along these lines might make sense:

 

Bucks get Paul

Thunder get Bledsoe, Ersan, Robin Lopez, and someone like DJ Wilson.

 

This probably makes the Bucks worse in the regular season, but probably makes them better in the playoffs the next year or two. I'm not as doom and gloom about Bledsoe in the playoffs as some fans, but he had a pretty poor track record so far. Paul can still shoot and can play better off ball than Bledsoe can. Robin Lopez isn't going to play in the playoffs. DJ Wilson probably isn't either.

 

There are legitimate chemistry concerns with Paul at this point based off of all the reports coming out. Ultimately winning cures most things though.

 

I don't think this is a slam dunk decision for the Bucks if Paul is still available once the Bucks can trade Bledsoe and Lopez, but it's definitely an interesting discussion.

[JackNicholson1974]

I usually discount trade proposals that involve guys teams just signed as Free Agents a few weeks ago

[reillymcshane]

I don't think the Bucks will do anything crazy like trade for Paul. The East is wide open for them. I see Boston, Indiana and Philly as being the best clubs - after us. But I don't think any are better. Oladipo is coming off a major injury. Boston has lots of good young talent and added Walker - but they lost a ton of stuff too. Philly has some really good players - but they lack depth and will need to gel.

 

The Bucks won using a well rounded team and depth. They had guys who worked the system. They'll continue that path going forward.

 

Giannis, Middleton, Bledsoe, Lopez Bros., Matthews, Hill, Wilson, Illysova, Connaughton - that's solid 10 guys. Add in Brown and DiVincenzo - and its a deep team. I imagine we will add another veteran as well (a shooter like Korver may work well).

 

I'd like to see some of the younger guys step up and get better.

 

This will be a club that won't get overworked in the regular season, which is important as we have seen that Giannis and others do need occasional rests. With a lot of veterans, guys shouldn't get worn down.

 

I also think this year's playoff run will help the team. The experience will - hopefully - make them a better team.

 

You can debate whether letting Brogdon go was a smart move - but it has happened - so there's no use dwelling on it too much.

 

In the end, the core of the team is going to be together for at least a few years - and we should be good during that time. With Durant out for this season, that makes this year even more of an opportunity.

[patrickgpe]

agreed, they will add two 2-way contracts and go to camp with this squad. I think massively changing the club in July (which is what a CP3 trade would do) is not smart, which doesn't even taken into account that I do not like CP3 at this stage of his career or do not like how he fits in with this squad.

 

Bonzi Colson had a nice summer and wouldn't be surprised if he is brought to camp and then there is one to go.

[tmwiese55]

Also, there shouldn't be another regular season great record in the East that forces them to push to 60 wins for home court. So more room for load management on Giannis and whoever else needs it.