It's pretty much effing stooopid now. Nobody wanted to pay Boogie Cousins a MAX contract, so he just flipped off the rest of the NBA. They might sleepwalk to 75 wins
Adam Silver has agreed to a Mid Level Extension with the Golden State, league sources tell ME. 💣😂 pic.twitter.com/G9uAcVcg6w
— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) July 3, 2018
The whole Warriors dynasty has been driven by two idiotic decisions by the Thunder and the Timberwolves.
1. The Thunder's decision to trade James Harden. The Thunder offered 4 years and 55 million instead of 5 years and 80 million because they only viewed Harden as a 6th man. If Harden reups with the Thunder, Durant almost certainly stays. From 2007-2009 the Thunder had 4 first round picks. They chose Durant, Harden, Westbrook, and Ibaka. Has anyone ever drafted that well over 3 years. Three HOFers and Ibaka was all-NBA defensive first team three times. They had just made the finals with those 4 players who were all 22 or 23 years old. They should have won the titles the Warriors have won 3 of the last 4 years.
2. The Timberwolves drafting guards Johnny Flynn and Ricky Rubio before the Warriors drafted Curry in 2009. Curry went 7th in that draft. You completely understand Blake Griffin (1), James Harden (3), and even Tyreke Evans (4) at the time going before Curry, but not Thabeet (2) Flynn (5) or Rubio (6). I mean, the Wolves decided to go PG and somehow drafted 2 PGs immediately ahead of Curry even though Curry was one of the best shooters in college basketball history (and this was pre-ankle problems so that didn't factor into the draft decision).
I think the other thing that is often overlooked is that both Curry (until last year) and Thompson played for salaries well under their market rates - Curry because of his ankle problems early in his career. Maybe neither became locker room problems because both of their fathers were multi-millionaires from the NBA and money was not as much of an issue for guys that grow up in single parent homes in poverty? Mychal Thompson was the number one overall pick in 1978 and played for 13 years. Dell Curry played for 16 years in the NBA.
Might finally see some movement on Parker soon...
Brook Lopez to the Bucks - 1 year, 3.4 million.
Almost no risk. Good signing.
http://www.espn.com/nba/player.../id/3448/brook-lopez
Music City posted:Might finally see some movement on Parker soon...
I don't know who is going to offer Parker anything. The Bulls don't want to tie up any more money after having to match the offer sheet for DeVine, and they were the most logical fit.
The Sixers and Kings were linked earlier (by Woelfel which might just have been Parker's agents trying to stir up interest).
Like the Lopez signing. He provides inside offense and can step out and hit the three. Not exactly a rim protector tho.
I wonder if at 30 years old Budenhiolzer can get him to up his defense and rebounding.
He won’t fix their rebounding issues, but he can step out and hit the 3 and he also gives them some size and bulk they lack with Henson and Maker. Very low risk signing and a good move.
Sounds like he's really worked to improve his 3pt shot. Decent signing.
Parker not working out really is the differnce between Milwaukee being a contender or not. They did what the needed to do, tank hard and get lucky (Giannis), but still came up short. ****ty coaching hire in Kidd didn't help.
Really sad, but I gotta admit was the logic is good. He doesn’t fit that well with Giannis, and his development is so stunted by injury and Kidd that it was unsalvageable. He’ll go off to the Bulls. He’s a good kid- he deserved better. The Bucks are cursed it seems... #2 pick, cannot miss prospect... gone in 4 years for nothing.
Here's their last 7 1st round draft picks. Even though Parker was a miss, unless you were going to take a flier on Embiid's health - only drafting Aaron Gordon or maybe Capela that year would have made a difference between where they are and being a true EC Finals contender. No real difference maker was on the board in most of the other recent drafts after they drafted. The last exception was 2011 when a salary dump trade in which they picked Fredette for someone else could have netted Klay, Leonard, or one of the two Morris twins. No GM thought Draymond would be this good.
2018. DiVencenzo (17)
2017. Wilson (17)
2016. Maker (10). Likely no difference makes after him (Brogdon is probably the top player after #10).
2015. Vaughn (17). Almost nothing notable after him.
2014. Parker (2). Only Embiid has made an All-Star team from this class. Wiggins, Aaron Gordon, and Capela probably have a chance.
2013. Giannis (15)
2012. Henson (14). Only All-Star level player (or even good rotation player) drafted afterwards was Draymond Green in the 2nd round.
2011. Fredette (10) traded immediately in a trade to essentially dump Salmons and Maggette contracts. Picked after him: Klay Thompson (11), Markief (13) and Marcus (14) Morris, Kawhi Leonard (15), Jimmy Butler (30)
Over half of all-star selections over the decades have been top 5 picks and almost 3/4 are top 10 picks.
https://247sports.com/nba/mave...t-position-102419898
The Bucks have picked in the top 5 eight times. They've only had one complete whiff (Bentson in 1977, but drafted Marques Johnson two picks after him that year anyway). I don't count Bogut or Jabari as misses, they were done in by injuries.
They've drafted 2 HOFers (or likely HOFers):
1. Kareem (#1 in 1969)
2. Ray Allen (#5 in 1996). Bucks technically drafted Marbury at #4 and then immediately traded for Allen and a future 1st rounder the evening of the draft. I'm giving them credit for drafting Allen.
They drafted 2 borderline HOFers/perennial all-stars.
3. Marques Johnson (#3 in 1977)
4. Sidney Moncrief (#5 in 1979)
Then, they drafted one other guy who made an All-Star team.
5. Glenn Robinson (#1 in 1994). Two time all-star. The problem was his defense only looks good in comparison to Jabari Parker.
The other three guys were Andrew Bogut (#1 in 2006), Kent Bentson (#1 in 1977), and Parker (#2 in 2014). 2 of those 3 were done in by injuries. Bogut was never the same offensively after he broke his arm in 2010 (a year in which he was NBA Third-team). We never really got to see what Parker could have been with the two ACL tears, and at least Bentson got them Lanier in a trade.
What didn’t help were the 2 ACL tears. He stays healthy there’s no way they let him walk regardless of Kidd and chemistry. 20PPG scorers with his ability don’t grow on trees, but given risk no way could you bring him back at that dollar amount. Chicago taking a flyer and they need to and can assume the short term risk.
It’s just ****ty luck just like Bogut getting hurt all the time. Both were very good players but just could not kick the injuries.
And next year they need to keep Brogdon and Middleton as part of their core. They need to make some moves.
Over $30M/yr for Snell, Henson, and Dellavadova. That cost them Jabari Parker...
Tschmack posted:What didn’t help were the 2 ACL tears. He stays healthy there’s no way they let him walk regardless of Kidd and chemistry. 20PPG scorers with his ability don’t grow on trees, but given risk no way could you bring him back at that dollar amount. Chicago taking a flyer and they need to and can assume the short term risk.
It’s just ****ty luck just like Bogut getting hurt all the time. Both were very good players but just could not kick the injuries.
Parker was basically a 2014 version of the Big Dog before he got hurt.
Jabari may average 25 a game for the Bulls. If for no other reason because the Bulls are going to lose a lot of games 125-115. This is typical Bulls fan response on Twitter.
I guess what I don’t understand is if the Bucks had no intention of bringing him back why not try to deal him before the deadline or now as a sign and trade? Perhaps they tried and were no takers but to let a former #2 pick walk for nothing seems a bit odd.
Although, they may have a similar situation developing with Middleton. Sounds to me he’s pulling a Jimmy Butler and not interested in an extension so maybe the Bucks need to think about dealing him while he still has value? You package him and Bledsoe and you may be able to get back quite a bit in return.
If the Bucks were smart they lock up Brogdon ASAP.
Parker had no value on the trade market. The Bucks had no leverage. Who was going to trade for him, and what could you get?
In the end the Bucks did him a solid by letting him sign somewhere. He’s a defensive liability, and I’m guessing Budenholzer knows what all coaches know- eventually he’ll kill you. He’s not a smart player. Bulls weren’t going to go long term on him. No one was...
Pop gets the last laugh- Kawhi Leonard to Toronto. Toronto dumps Derozen. They might be making one last crack at a LeBron-less East, maybe they have the horses to finally get to the Finals. But Kawhi is not happy to be a Raptor... will he even stay?
Spurs get an All Star to compliment Aldridge, a young group of wings and a pretty interesting PG. They might make some noise in the West.
"I just stick to my strengths. Look at the league...they don't pay people to play defense. To say that's a weakness...you can say that's everybody's weakness." -Jabari Parker
Yeah, that’s pretty dumb...
Music City posted:Pop gets the last laugh- Kawhi Leonard to Toronto. Toronto dumps Derozen. They might be making one last crack at a LeBron-less East, maybe they have the horses to finally get to the Finals. But Kawhi is not happy to be a Raptor... will he even stay?
Spurs get an All Star to compliment Aldridge, a young group of wings and a pretty interesting PG. They might make some noise in the West.
Derozan is a good player, but if he's healthy, Kawhi is a top 5 NBA player right now and likely a future HOFer. He's probably the 3rd best player in the NBA.
Derozan is a Marques Johnson type, a perennial all-star who isn't a superstar. He's a 29% 3 point shooter. Kawhi is a 39% 3 point shooter and might be the best defensive player in the NBA.
I guarantee Pop is not happy about this, but it was probably the best they could do. The Spurs made the playoffs last year without Kawhi, but they'll max out at about a 6 seed if they are lucky.
Music City posted:
"I just stick to my strengths. Look at the league...they don't pay people to play defense. To say that's a weakness...you can say that's everybody's weakness." -Jabari Parker
Yeah, that’s pretty dumb...
As I've said before, he'll probably average 25 a game and give up 30 a game and he'll be happy.
We’ll see what Leonard is... it’s not a guarantee that he’s still the guy from the 2014 Finals.
The Spurs got Derozen, a first rounder, and Poertl. The Raptors got a rental and Green. The Spurs fleeced them. After 2018-19, the Raptors blow it all up.
I like this trade for the Spurs. They get an All Star back in return (signed for 3 years) and a 1st round pick.
You really have to wonder what Toronto is doing. They overreacted by firing their HC and now they look like it’s all in for this season with the hope that Kahwi is the same player with the same motivation from before. In all likelihood he’s gone after this year. Hope it works out for them but the East will still be pretty good even without LeBron.
Bucks will play in the “Fiserv Forum”...
Ok.
Got a personal tour of the new Arena a few days ago. Very nice.
Best nicknames so far :
Fortress on Fourth
Four One Forum
Over and under, how many years go by till they say they can't compete without a new arena....
Bucks get a Christmas Day game in MSG. Interesting and exciting...
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/...y-slate-report-says/
#Winning with Giannis!
What's the over/under on how many times the announcers speculate on whether Giannis will move to New York when his contract is up in 3 years? I'm guessing about 5.
First time in 40 years they’re playing on Christmas Day... that’s amazing.
Bucks making a few changes organizationally heading into camp. Telly Hughes is let go as the sideline reporter replaced by Katie George.
They signed Christian Wood, the all-summer league F who showed the kind of game the Bucks drafted DJ Wilson for. Shabazz Muhammed also has a training camp deal- either could stick.
Fiserv Forum open house is coming (won’t have a chance to see it, but the vids are amazing). Giannis won’t be playing for Greece, so hopefully the wear and tear gets reduced some.
The summer Khris Middleton hype is interesting... I’m not sold on him being any kind of ball handler and his role as a playmaker needs to be in context, but if he’s taking the next leap heading into his prime they’re going to have to pay him a max deal next summer. Not sure how I feel about that right now...
Are we seriously like 5 weeks away from the NBA starting back up again?
God damn it! Somebody slow this clock thing down please!?!
Mid October it all starts back up again. Really psyched to see what the Bucks will do this year. New coach, new stadium, and pretty high expectations.
I will actually go to a few games this year. Want to see the new building and see this team in person. Haven’t been to a game since ‘09...
EDIT: how could I forget- I went to the game 3 years ago that broke the Warriors streak! Nosebleed at the very back row...
Went to several games last year and maybe more this year
Sounds like the Thibs honeymoon is officially over in Minnesota. Butler now demanding a trade, Wiggins and Butler fighting, Butler and Towns fighting, and the Wolves lamenting the extension given to Wiggins and vocal about not extending Towns.
If team chemistry could receive a letter grade, the Wolves get a big fat F. Joke of a franchise. Taylor ran off Garnett, and now it appears they are on the verge of a full on mutiny and implosion.
It’s tough to read if Wiggins and Towns are the issue, or is Butler? Strong case for both. I’ve always liked Butler- he’s a really good player and is as tough as nails. But I’m hearing Middleton + Maker + Pick, and that’s insanity. Why would the Bucks even think that? If they’re afraid of paying Middleton, and they should at least be concerned, then I can see a deal. But for what reason would they add Maker and a pick? That’s probably internet trash.
Brogdon and a pick? That’s more interesting... though I like Malcolm a lot.
