Bucks 2021-2022 season thread

[reillymcshane]

With the draft just a few days away, I thought it was appropriate to start next season's thread.

 

Feel free to discuss stuff surrounding the World Freakin' Champion Milwaukee Bucks.

[sveumrules]

Think it'll be a pretty quiet offseason, mostly just roll it back.

 

By my count there are 11 roster spots taken at the moment...Giannis, Khris, Jrue, Brook, DDV, Pat C, Nwora, Merrill, Diakite, Elijah & our draft pick.

 

Would love Bobby back, but think the money difference will ultimately be too much for him to turn down. Feel like Nwora could step into that bench scorer role for the regular season, but not sure how his more laid back demeanor might translate to the post season vs Bobby's crazy eyed intensity.

 

I'd guess Thanasis & Tucker get brought back for two of the open spots, with vet minimum backups at PG & PF/C filling in the last two.

[FVBrewerFan]

They were up against the cap last season and somehow got Portis, Forbes, and Augustine to round out the roster. I'm sure the situation is a little different this time around, but there always seems to be a way to add a couple vets for bench depth.

 

I hope they give the young guys some run in the reg season. If only one of them can be a legit option in the playoffs it's worth it. They may not have Portis and Tucker but replace them with DDV, let's say Diakate, and then another late season pickup.

 

I'm not worried about losing Bobby's energy, it's his bench scoring that needs to be replaced. If Nwora can come in and drain a few 3s, that's plenty of energy for me.

[reillymcshane]

Bucks have limited means to acquire players. Here's a rundown.

 

- Existing guaranteed deals:

Giannis, Middleton, Lopez, Holiday, DiVincenzo, Connaughton, Nwora. Sam Merrill's contract is only partially guaranteed ($500,000), but becomes guaranteed if he's on the roster on Aug. 8.

 

- Draft:

The Bucks have the 31st pick overall (1st pick in 2nd round).

 

- Non-guaranteed deals:

Mamadi Diakite and Elijah Bryant both have non-guaranteed deals. We can cut them anytime before the season begins and owe them nothing.

 

- Trades:

Since the Bucks are over the cap, any trades they make must trade back a - roughly - equal salary (I think it has to be within 80%). A trade exception can be used as well (see details below). Unless we are wiling to deal one of our bigger players - such as Lopez or Middleton - a major trade is unlikely.

 

- Trade Exceptions:

We have two trade exceptions worth $1.7M and another worth $4.9M. A trade exception can be broken up. So the $4.9M exception could be used trade for one player making $2.5M and another making $2.4M. Trade exceptions can't be combined or bundled together with another player's salary. And trade exceptions are only good for trades. We can't use them for free agent signings.

 

All said, these could potentially be used to acquire a lower tier player making no more than $4.9M.

 

- Free Agents:

As we are over the cap, we are limited in free agency. We have the following options:

 

Taxpayer Midlevel Exception:

This allows the Bucks to sign a FA for up to $5.9M.

 

Veteran minimum contracts:

The Bucks can sign any player to the veteran minimum.

 

- Re-signing own free agents:

It is believed that Bryn Forbes and Bobby Portis will opt out of their contracts and become free agents. General talk is that both will get quite a bit more than they were paid last year. For each of these guys, we have Non Bird Rights on them - meaning we can't go over the $5.9M Midlevel Exception for either of their salary. This limits us - especially - for Portis.

 

Jeff Teague is also an unrestricted FA.

 

Regarding PJ Tucker, we have full Bird rights on him - meaning we can sign him without concern for the salary cap. I have read various valuations on him, and they are pretty wide - but mostly in the $6-10M range. Tucker's value will be limited by his age, plus his limitations on offense. But several teams are reportedly interested him. But if that turns into an offer is another story.

 

Thanasis Antetokounmpo is also a restricted free agent, but many expect him to be back on a minimum deal. While he doesn't play a lot, he brings a ton of energy to the team, and I'm sure the Bucks would like to keep Giannis happy.

[nodakfan17]

The Lakers may be hard to beat if the Bucks return to the Finals.

 

They get Russell Westbrook for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and the no. 22 pick in this year’s draft.

 

How is it that they can package their scraps for a guy like Westbrook?

[BrewersSuperCollector]

The Lakers may be hard to beat if the Bucks return to the Finals.

 

They get Russell Westbrook for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and the no. 22 pick in this year’s draft.

 

How is it that they can package their scraps for a guy like Westbrook?

 

Westbrook is 33, and Kuzma is a pretty good player. Lets see who is somewhat healthy come playoff time next year.

[RollieTime]

The Lakers may be hard to beat if the Bucks return to the Finals.

 

They get Russell Westbrook for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and the no. 22 pick in this year’s draft.

 

How is it that they can package their scraps for a guy like Westbrook?

 

Westbrook is 33, and Kuzma is a pretty good player. Lets see who is somewhat healthy come playoff time next year.

 

I think the Wizards got the better end of the deal. Kuzma has been yanked around by the Lakers since he’s been there and he’s a great young player. He will take a big step forward this year being able to showcase himself. Harrell is a high energy 6th man that plays his role well and stays within himself. Good rebounder, but he doesn’t stretch the floor. Caldwell-Pope is an all around solid player. Plus they got a first round pick.

 

I do think Westbrook is a bad fit for the Lakers. He is not a particularly good shooter. He’s the cream of the crop at making it to the basket and driving and dishing. But he needs the ball in his hands to be effective and make an impact on the game. This is most likely a move to take the pressure off Lebron of spending so much time taking hard contact during the regular season driving to the basket. Father Time is catching up to Lebron. I wonder if he will start to transition into taking a few more 3’s than he used to and not spent so much time getting hammered underneath unless it’s playoff time. Is Lebron a good enough shooter to begin a transition into that role?

 

I by no means am saying Lebron will completely change his ways, because that won’t happen. But driving to the basket 25 times per game and getting hacked and pulled down a bunch might start to take a toll on the body at his age than it would a few years ago.

[sveumrules]

How is it that they can package their scraps for a guy like Westbrook?

 

Because Westbrook has a 44 million salary for this year, plus a 47 million player option for next season & doesn't really have as much impact on winning games as his gaudy box score stats might suggest.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I'm not really blown away by the Lakers getting Westbrook, but it will allow them to win a lot of games when LeBron gets hurt or needs load management. They won't fall off the Earth and essentially out of the playoffs when LeBron is hurt. When, not if. AD and LeBron alone are enough to win a title. Not a guaranteed title, but they're good. They now have no shooters, so that's a problem. They'll need to sort out how those 3 play together, but the big takeaway for me was that is a part-time insurance policy to rest an aging LeBron during the season.

[homer]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2946614-sources-free-agency-spotlight-on-cp3-the-lowry-domino-emerging-pg-carousel

 

The reigning champion Bucks are believed to have interest in re-signing versatile defender P.J. Tucker on a deal framework of two years, $20 million, sources said. There's also a belief that Bobby Portis and Milwaukee hope to strike a deal

[nodakfan17]

What are the implications of re-signing Tucker to that type of contract? My understanding is that the Bucks can pay him whatever he commands because they traded for him. It doesn’t impact their salary cap, but it impacts the owners’ P&L. Whereas with Portis, the Bucks are severely limited by what they can offer him because he was originally signed as a FA and the team is up against the salary cap. Did I get that right or is that a gross oversimplification?

[brooks_quichenick]

 

Bobby declines his player option and is now a free agent.

[sveumrules]

What are the implications of re-signing Tucker to that type of contract? My understanding is that the Bucks can pay him whatever he commands because they traded for him. It doesn’t impact their salary cap, but it impacts the owners’ P&L. Whereas with Portis, the Bucks are severely limited by what they can offer him because he was originally signed as a FA and the team is up against the salary cap. Did I get that right or is that a gross oversimplification?

 

That's my understanding as well. We have Bird rights on PJ, so can go over the cap to resign him, but the billionaires will have to pay some amount of luxury tax.

 

Portis is limited to the Mid Level Exception, which I think is like 5-6 million this year. If he signed the MLE for one season, I believe the Bucks would then have his Bird rights for the following season & could offer him a longer/larger contract then.

[DuWayne Steurer]

 

2 years 9 million? That's a great deal. What a huge deal for the Bucks.

[sveumrules]

 

2 years 9 million? That's a great deal. What a huge deal for the Bucks.

 

Assumed that was for PJ, when I saw it was for Portis my eyes got bigger than Bobby's.

[DuWayne Steurer]

From what I'm reading, the Bucks can still sign PJ for up to 15.1 million (not that they should) and still have the 5.9 million mid level exemption. They're actually sitting in pretty good position right now, all things considered.

[sveumrules]

Also looks like they re-signed Bobby using the Non-Bird Exception, so they still have the full Mid Level Exception to go after somebody(s) else.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Also looks like they re-signed Bobby using the Non-Bird Exception, so they still have the full Mid Level Exception to go after somebody(s) else.

 

 

Jinx, you owe me a soda.

[Austin Tatious]

Who are you guys thinking for that MLE? Victor Oladipo? Malik Monk? Lou Williams?

[nodakfan17]

I honestly thought Bobby would get 3 years / $30 million from someone else and I wouldn’t have blamed him for taking it.

 

PJ Tucker and let’s go!

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Giannis's genuine love of MKE is apparently contagious.

[tigerbrew]

Hope Bobby is getting millions from those Bucks T-shirts and merchandising.

 

Very glad that Bobby is back, he is irreplaceable to me. They don't call him Bobby Buckets for nothing.

 

Hope the Bucks give Bobby a big contract next offseason to make up for this.

[tigerbrew]

If Tucker re-signs too, the championship rotation will be back for a repeat.

[rickh150]

How is it that they can package their scraps for a guy like Westbrook?

 

Because Westbrook has a 44 million salary for this year, plus a 47 million player option for next season & doesn't really have as much impact on winning games as his gaudy box score stats might suggest.

 

Averaging a triple double is very impressive. He is still a special talent…. maybe top 20 in the league yet. He’s now one of the best third scoring options in the league, for sure.

 

If Westbrook stayed put, maybe they make the playoffs at a #6, 7, or 8 seed… early playoff exit and not a high pick. Many teams don’t want to get caught in limbo like the Bucks did for many years, barely making/missing the playoffs. I can see why the Wizards did what they did, but I’m surprised that they couldn’t get a little more… many a couple more #1 picks.

[SeaBass]

Westbrook averages a triple double but he shoots 43.9% overall and shoots like Giannis from 3 point range and from the free throw line with 5 turnovers per game. Not great efficiency.