NBA AWARDS........

Whoah! MVP, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year. Very nice. Go win it boys!

You've come a long way young man !! 

So proud !!!  

Packdog posted:

You've come a long way young man !! 

So proud !!!  

Yikes.......how long ago was that first photo taken???  

6 years ago! Amazing what Gianni has done.

I just watched the “behind the scenes” video of Giannis at the awards show. Not a single moment of him chumming around with other NBA stars, yukking it up with the NBAAU. It was him, his brothers, his mother, and his girl. He made sure that moment for him was shared only with those he cared for the most. 

And can you ask for better from the guy whose team is Milwaukee? Milwaukee isn’t the “place to be”. It isn’t the hot spot. But it is his home. 

And now Nike launches the Freak Zoom One.. $120. Affordable. I’ll be wearing them... 

This guy plays for the Bucks... and he has his own shoe. The first foreign born player to have a Nike signature shoe... 

Even though I am not a Kobe fan the one thing I admire about him (and guys like Garnett and Duncan) is that they weren’t chummy with other players either.  I absolutely hate the banana boat crew and what they stand for.  

Giannis isn’t interested in Hollywood or becoming pals with other players.  I also don’t think he’s in this to chase the fame and fortune.  For him it’s more old school values like loyalty and respect and teamwork - something that seems to be lost in the modern day NBA.  

He’s basically the anti Durant and anti LeBron and anti Kyrie.  Or Kahwi or AD for that matter.  

This is why I hope the Bucks can break through and defeat that narrative that it’s all about building superteams and adding top players as hired guns.  

Variety of colors too. This is one of the more subdued ones. 

Giannis is remarkable. I'll guarantee he pulls off the kind of job Kawhi did in Toronto, here in Milwaukee, to get his first Championship this season.

There is no chatter about the Bucks, except for all the players we are supposedly going to lose. I don't think we will lose any of them save for Mirotic. They will keep the Giannis, Middleton, Bledsoe, Brogdon & Lopez group together, and more than likely, George Hill too. That, is some feat to pull off, and Bucks ownership will extend into the tax as far as they need to in order to pull it off. Doesn't matter what Brogs is offered. Horst has to be thrilled to have that kind of support, and that is what I think we will see happen.

Giannis and the Bucks deserve the next Championship. The players know it and will bring it home. The MVP will get his ring.

Wish I was as confident as you about Brogdon staying.

I wasn't, then realized their ownership is all in. They didn't come this far for nothing. Losing Brogdon is not an option. They know that, and they can afford to pay him anything he's offered. Paying heavily into the tax is just a shift in mindset by the owners. I firmly believe they understand that. Simply paying a higher premium for their talent, which truly is Championship level. They'll get it done.

Figure, if they let Brogs walk because of some arbitrary number, they won't really have more cap space to add another player. They will just lose him. Accepting that your team is now a tax team allows them to essentially "add" a top tier talent paying as high as necessary, and for just this one player, Brogdon. Midds is already pretty much locked in too.

Lopez is going to be the key, and, I believe he wants to come back. That's why we traded our 1st round pick. Midds and Lopez probably sign July 7th or so. Brogs might take a little longer as he'll need to wait for his number, and then the Bucks will match. If they don't they will just be sitting there with their dicks in their hands.

The Bucks ownership group will bring the band back together. Add to that, Giannis said he wants everybody back. They will bring everybody back. That's how important Giannis has become, both to the league, and to the Bucks.

Something else to consider is it’s possible Philly and Boston look a lot different including having less talent to compete.  If Kahwi doesn’t return to Toronto they are not a threat.  Indiana could be but Oladipo will not be present for a good part of the season recovering from the injury. 

Then there’s the West.  Houston is a dumpster fire,  Golden State is banged up, and the Lakers will be top heavy giving them zero margin for error.   

If ever there were a clear path to a title (and redemption for falling short) that’s this season. 

I dig that.

It’s important to remember that Giannis has a lot of room to be better. His window isn’t 5 years- it’s 8-10. He’s 24, not 28. His prime doesn’t start for another 2-3 years. 

So while Giannis will make some guys a lot of money, the Bucks better remember that  they don’t need Middleton. Or Brogdon. Or even Lopez. These guys have comparable replacements all over the NBA- not a single one of them possesses a skill they cannot replace. The Bucks should be thinking this way, and avoid letting some agent ramp the value by playing the “you can’t find anyone better right now” game. , Zydrunas Ilgaskus, washes up guys like Shaq, Ben Wallace, Antwan Jamison... look at the state that Cleveland was in after Lebron left. Then look at Cleveland this year- JR Smith, Tristan Thompson- Imam Shumpert and Channing Frye at $19M in pre-2016 cap surge money. 

The Bucks need to model their spending on the Spurs. Parker and Ginobli were fringe All Star guys. They were never top 10 paid guys. That’s what Brogdon and Middleton should be offered. 

Trophies posted:

Giannis is remarkable. I'll guarantee he pulls off the kind of job Kawhi did in Toronto, here in Milwaukee, to get his first Championship this season.

There is no chatter about the Bucks, except for all the players we are supposedly going to lose. I don't think we will lose any of them save for Mirotic. They will keep the Giannis, Middleton, Bledsoe, Brogdon & Lopez group together, and more than likely, George Hill too. That, is some feat to pull off, and Bucks ownership will extend into the tax as far as they need to in order to pull it off. Doesn't matter what Brogs is offered. Horst has to be thrilled to have that kind of support, and that is what I think we will see happen.

Giannis and the Bucks deserve the next Championship. The players know it and will bring it home. The MVP will get his ring.

Deserve?   

I agree with you, but, thinking this market will be what it is, and Giannis wants everybody back. I think they will do just that. Ownership group has to know they will be in the tax for the next decade. Will be interesting to see what they sign these players to monetarily. Hoping they offer some discounts, at least Middleton.

Without the Bird rules, we would be hard pressed to surround Giannis with like talent this season. An added bonus is that we can maintain some continuity, and these players can grow together even more. The Bucks' options aren't wide open. Either maintain continuity or blow it up and start over, which is not appealing with Giannis due to sign a supermax contract a little more than one year from now. If Giannis wants everybody back, you bring everybody back. Loyalty works both ways.

I can understand what Bucks management is facing a little better after thinking on it more. They are looking to be all-in this season.

Pikes Peak posted:

Trophies posted:

Giannis is remarkable. I'll guarantee he pulls off the kind of job Kawhi did in Toronto, here in Milwaukee, to get his first Championship this season.

There is no chatter about the Bucks, except for all the players we are supposedly going to lose. I don't think we will lose any of them save for Mirotic. They will keep the Giannis, Middleton, Bledsoe, Brogdon & Lopez group together, and more than likely, George Hill too. That, is some feat to pull off, and Bucks ownership will extend into the tax as far as they need to in order to pull it off. Doesn't matter what Brogs is offered. Horst has to be thrilled to have that kind of support, and that is what I think we will see happen.

Giannis and the Bucks deserve the next Championship. The players know it and will bring it home. The MVP will get his ring.

Deserve?   

Yeah, after the refs stole game 3 from them? Bucks would have been up 3-0... It was highway robbery.

NBA free agent Nikola Mirotic has decided to sign with Euroleague club Barcelona, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Mirotic was in the market for $45-50M total in contract in the NBA.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2019

Euro life more fun, less pressure. 

Utah had major interest in signing Nikola Mirotic to a three-year deal in the $45 million range, league sources say, but Mirotic was apparently determined to make a total change and return to @EuroLeague life

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 29, 2019

holy sciiiiite. Apparently Barcelona life more to Niko's liking. 

Barcelona or Beertown....hmmmmm

Brogdon at 25 million would be more overpaid than Middleton at 35 million, but they both can be replaced with guys that are 80% as good for half the money. The issue is whether the Bucks will risk doing that. 

Brogdon is great glue guy, and, yes, he's obviously a great shooter. But, there was a reason he fell to the middle of the second round to start with and that's he's not a great athlete by NBA standards. He shoots wide open 3s very well and he can isolate and drive on guys who close out too strong to stop the 3. But that probably describes 40 other guys in the NBA. He does not create his own shot well. 

Middleton is a lot better at creating his own shot in isolation and he's good in that mid-range that often becomes more important in the playoffs. He's also limited athletically (by NBA standards). However, he's much more durable than Brogdon as the only time Middleton has missed happened when he slipped and tore his hamstring on that shitty practice floor at the Bucks old facility. Brogdon has missed large parts of the last two seasons. He's also only about 15 months younger than Middleton. 

I'd be leaning towards letting Brogdon sign some ridiculous offer sheet from the Bulls or Suns (4 years and over 80 million) and then letting him walk. Brogdon as your best or second best player as a Sun or Bull means you are probably looking at the lottery. I'd be more likely to match if he signed with an Eastern Conference contender even at that salary, because he's a great guy as a fourth or fifth option and he'd look good on the Sixers or Celtics if they don't sign Butler/Harris or Kemba Walker, respectively. 

I would rather pay Brogdon 20MM per year than Middleton at 35MM per season.  I mean, Middleton is a solid player but does he do anything great?  

You see what happens with this team when Brogdon isn’t playing.  Bledsoe isn’t as effective and they lack a “glue” player that really does it all.  Let’s also not forget he can and does hit the big shots and shoots very well from the charity stripe.  His defense is probably underrated as well.  

This nonsense about him not being a great athlete is well, nonsense.  He doesn’t get beat off the dribble, doesn’t really turn the ball over and he beats plenty of guys off the dribble with the patented reverse layups.  Or reverse dunk over guys like LeBron.  

Middleton is a different discussion.  Average handle, turns the ball over, etc. 

Tschmack posted:

I would rather pay Brogdon 20MM per year than Middleton at 35MM per season.  I mean, Middleton is a solid player but does he do anything great?  

You see what happens with this team when Brogdon isn’t playing.  Bledsoe isn’t as effective and they lack a “glue” player that really does it all.  Let’s also not forget he can and does hit the big shots and shoots very well from the charity stripe.  His defense is probably underrated as well.  

This nonsense about him not being a great athlete is well, nonsense.  He doesn’t get beat off the dribble, doesn’t really turn the ball over and he beats plenty of guys off the dribble with the patented reverse layups.  Or reverse dunk over guys like LeBron.  

Middleton is a different discussion.  Average handle, turns the ball over, etc. 

 

I think Brogdon is likely to get up into the 25 million dollar a year range when it's all said and done. Someone with money to burn will likely go that high. 

Pikes Peak posted:

Barcelona or Beertown....hmmmmm

Per the post....Barcelona or Mormon life 

It’s good to be Mirotic holy crap 

3yrs 45-50MM 

Trophies posted:

Pikes Peak posted:

Trophies posted:

Giannis is remarkable. I'll guarantee he pulls off the kind of job Kawhi did in Toronto, here in Milwaukee, to get his first Championship this season.

There is no chatter about the Bucks, except for all the players we are supposedly going to lose. I don't think we will lose any of them save for Mirotic. They will keep the Giannis, Middleton, Bledsoe, Brogdon & Lopez group together, and more than likely, George Hill too. That, is some feat to pull off, and Bucks ownership will extend into the tax as far as they need to in order to pull it off. Doesn't matter what Brogs is offered. Horst has to be thrilled to have that kind of support, and that is what I think we will see happen.

Giannis and the Bucks deserve the next Championship. The players know it and will bring it home. The MVP will get his ring.

Deserve?   

Yeah, after the refs stole game 3 from them? Bucks would have been up 3-0... It was highway robbery.

You mean the refs forced Middleton, Mirotic, Giannis, and Bledsoe to go 3-24 from the 3 point line in a game that went to OT? Those same guys were a total of 14-59 from the floor. Or somehow distract the Bucks at the line to force Giannis to go 2-7? 

The Bucks blew the series in Game 3 by shooting terribly. Specifically, those 4 guys were terrible. If those guys even shoot above 25%, the Bucks are up 3 games to 0 and Kawhi's agent starts negotiating with the Clippers/Lakers. 

MichiganPacker2 posted:

Trophies posted:

Pikes Peak posted:

Trophies posted:

Giannis is remarkable. I'll guarantee he pulls off the kind of job Kawhi did in Toronto, here in Milwaukee, to get his first Championship this season.

There is no chatter about the Bucks, except for all the players we are supposedly going to lose. I don't think we will lose any of them save for Mirotic. They will keep the Giannis, Middleton, Bledsoe, Brogdon & Lopez group together, and more than likely, George Hill too. That, is some feat to pull off, and Bucks ownership will extend into the tax as far as they need to in order to pull it off. Doesn't matter what Brogs is offered. Horst has to be thrilled to have that kind of support, and that is what I think we will see happen.

Giannis and the Bucks deserve the next Championship. The players know it and will bring it home. The MVP will get his ring.

Deserve?   

Yeah, after the refs stole game 3 from them? Bucks would have been up 3-0... It was highway robbery.

You mean the refs forced Middleton, Mirotic, Giannis, and Bledsoe to go 3-24 from the 3 point line in a game that went to OT? Those same guys were a total of 14-59 from the floor. Or somehow distract the Bucks at the line to force Giannis to go 2-7? 

The Bucks blew the series in Game 3 by shooting terribly. Specifically, those 4 guys were terrible. If those guys even shoot above 25%, the Bucks are up 3 games to 0 and Kawhi's agent starts negotiating with the Clippers/Lakers. 

Thanks, now I don't have to bother with my own reply!

To blame the refs for Game 3 is - well - outside my thought process, anyway.

I know they shot terribly. When you keep shooting, keep getting fouled with no calls, it will affect anyone’s game. 

Watch it again. One of the most poorly officiated games I’ve ever seen. Whatever. 

Winable game and the Bucks choked.