Round 1: Bucks versus Celtics

I don’t expect Parker to get a monster deal and if he does they need to be prepared to let him walk.  He’s not a 15-20MM a year player.  I’d prefer he return because with the right coaching he can be a decent player. 

Middleton showed in the playoffs he can make a difference but he needs to recommit to defense and cut down on the turnovers.   Regardless,  he’ll be around I think. 

Obviously Giannis is Giannis so he’s not going anywhere.  Same with Brogdon despite horrific game 7 performance. Maker needs to start because that’s your future.  Zeller has a very cap friendly team option for next season and has proven at the least he’s a capable backup. 

They desperately need to shed or package Henson, Snell, or Delladova.   This is where they may want to include Bledsoe in a trade as his 15MM salary comes off the books.  I have seen enough of him to know he’s not the guy they need to run the point - that’s Brogdon.   He did not make them better and his expiring salary will make him appealing but they have to get rid of one of the other albatross deals preferably Henson or Snell.  

I think they can get by with Brogdon and Delly at the PG and Sterling Brown should be in the rotation at SG and Delly can fill in there too but it sure would be nice to deal for a starting 2 guard that can hit the outside shots.  Snell is not that guy.  

Sterling Brown is a 2G that can defend and hit the 3. The Bucks need to nurture his growth, because he has the entire package. Athletically he can handle it and grow into it and be a quality starter in this league. 

But I’m not sure what Brogdon is. He struggles with the smaller, quicker Gs. Perhaps if he had a more advanced post up game I’d feel better with a full investment in him- that could counter smaller lineups and make them pay like Middleton made the Celtics pay. I still think Bledsoe is good enough to be an elite PG. He needs coaching. He sure as hell wasnt getting it with Kidd/Prunty. 

Bledsoe is undisciplined and a head case.  Rozier figured that out.   Phoenix figured it out before that.

From a talent standpoint he might be top 10 at his position.  From a mental standpoint he’s D league. 

Move on 

I won't try to pretend I have a clue what needs to be done.  I think Parker's 2 knee injuries set the franchise back at least a little bit, but I agree that is no excuse for the substandard coaching and the mind bogglingly bad FA signings over the past few years.

They're probably going to lose Parker with no returns for it and that is unfortunate.  We'll just never know how good he could have been had he not had a bum knee that stunted his development.

I wish I believed that the Bucks organization was in good hands with the guys who evaluate talent and make decisions in building the team... but I don't really believe in them.  They just got damn lucky with Giannis and they just have really botched things up badly in their attempts to help him both coaching wise and supporting cast wise.

fightphoe93 posted:

I won't try to pretend I have a clue what needs to be done. 

No one knows... but the guys who get paid to know better get it right. The problem is that they have 2 years left on the Henson, Delly, and Snell deals. The Bucks has the 7th highest payroll in the NBA this year. 

But i don’t give a ****- Lasry et al need to go into the tax to justify many things, most importantly that they got public funding for the new arena. Bucks fans are pissed. They’re not going to tolerate losing. Not with Giannis on the team. And that means they cannot go salary purge, gutbthe roster, and start over again.

But maybe there’s a way. That 1st round pick is not to be for a player- that’s a sweetner for a salary cap clearing deal. Is Charlotte going anywhere? Bucks dump Bledsoe, Henson, and that first round pick for Howard and Walker. Both have expiring deals after next year, and the total is worth $36M. Try out both players, solve two issues simultaneously, and Charlotte gets one expiring and a pick to take on Henson. They may ask for Brogdon- I will think long and hard on that. 

But if Portland wants to get rid of CJ McCollum and his massive (3yrs, over $82M) for a big cap savings plus a first round pick, that’s possible too. Then instead of Bledsoe, they might take Snell. Or Delly. Maybe they have to add Meyers Leonard to even the money out. He would replace Zeller- can’t keep both.

And then of course there’s the Kawhi Leonard thing floating out there... if they’re listening, you go after him with every asset you have. Spend whatever you have to. If Middleton has to be part of the deal? Fine. 

Horst needs to be bold, creative, and $$$ better not be an issue. 

Music - if you knew you were getting Kawhi for a full year at maximum effort, I'd go for it. I'd be very worried that Kawhi will dog it next year to make sure he gets his max deal the following year. He dogged it this year for perhaps the best organization in the NBA. 

This is the guy that a year ago was considered the second best player in the NBA. You make that deal 100% of the time.