Whither go we from here?

I didn’t realize Pat C was 32.  While that may not seem old from a regular person standpoint, as an NBA player he’s clearly lost a step athletically and injuries start to get a lot more common after 30.  Especially lower body injuries.  

As for the starting lineup,  I’m not sure Wright or Prince or AJ Green is really suited to be the main guy at 2 guard, but I figure all three of them to get a fair amount of minutes especially if Pat C is dealt and they want to manage Middleton’s minutes during the regular season.  

If I had to guess, AJ Green is your starter at SG and Wright would be the primary backup to Dame at PG or maybe less so to AJ Green at SG.  Prince and Jax Jr figure to be more 2 guard or 3 guard and if Middleton is on a minutes restriction both guys could get a fair amount of playing time.  

Where things could get interesting is if they traded Lopez and moved Giannis to the 5 you could see a guy like Prince play in the PF position although he certainly would be a little undersized there.

I do think they took Tyler Smith in the draft specifically to help the frontcourt depth knowing that Lopez likely won’t be around after this year - assuming he’s not dealt before end of year.  That being said, he needs to get a lot stronger IMO to even get backup type minutes at the PF or C positions.  

https://www.nba.com/news/bucks...trent-jr-free-agency

This changes things

It absolutely changes things.

Malik Beasley was a very good shooter and scorer but he was an absolute liability on the defensive end.   While no one will confuse Trent Jr for Jrue Holiday in his prime, he is a capable defender and earlier in his career he was an above average to decent defender.  More recently in Toronto, he was asked to carry the load more offensively but on paper he is a 3 and D guy.  

His game offensively actually reminds me a bit of Jrue Holiday. Not an exceptional athlete, but very strong and physical and he’s a better shooter than Holiday.  He’s not always great at ball distribution or rebounding but has quick hands and gets a fair amount of steals.  

I assume he will be the starting 2 guard and now all of a sudden with his addition I see the Bucks on par with New York and maybe Philadelphia as being a threat to Boston.  

@Tschmack posted:

It absolutely changes things.

Malik Beasley was a very good shooter and scorer but he was an absolute liability on the defensive end.   While no one will confuse Trent Jr for Jrue Holiday in his prime, he is a capable defender and earlier in his career he was an above average to decent defender.  More recently in Toronto, he was asked to carry the load more offensively but on paper he is a 3 and D guy.  

His game offensively actually reminds me a bit of Jrue Holiday. Not an exceptional athlete, but very strong and physical and he’s a better shooter than Holiday.  He’s not always great at ball distribution or rebounding but has quick hands and gets a fair amount of steals.  

I assume he will be the starting 2 guard and now all of a sudden with his addition I see the Bucks on par with New York and maybe Philadelphia as being a threat to Boston.  

He gets a lot of steals and has quick hands. He's most like a better version of Jevon Carter- a much better offensive player and about 5 inches taller.

The fact he played with Dame for several years in Portland also helps with integrating him into the offense.

He's a guy that would have been worth close to a MLE had the Bucks had one to use. It will be interesting to see if the Bucks can move Connaughton for some luxury tax relief and/or 2nd round picks. He's not going to get much time with Trent Jr., Prince, and Wright who are all better versions of Connaughton at this point in his career. 9 million a year is a lot of money to pay a guy to sit on the bench and the second apron penalties probably means it costs them 30 million plus to have him around.

Good get, like it a lot.

From what I’ve been reading Dame was actively recruiting Trent Jr.  The fact that he accepted a minimum prove it deal to play in Milwaukee is nearly impossible to believe.  What that tells me is he thinks the Bucks are a good landing spot and more importantly can be super competitive this year.  

As good as Beasley was GTJ is an upgrade both offensively and defensively at the starting 2 guard.  Prince is certainly an upgrade over a washed up Jae Crowder at the forward position and Delon Wright is a younger and better shooting version of Pat Bev.  Not to mention they still have AJ Green and A Jax and don’t have to rush the two rookies along.  

Pat C seems like the odd man out at this point.

Pat Bev headed to Israeli league after signing with a team in Tel Aviv. Pat Bev living and playing in one of the most dangerous and sensitive parts of the world. What could go wrong?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/spor...t-refuse/ar-BB1q6uAY

@Tschmack posted:

From what I’ve been reading Dame was actively recruiting Trent Jr.  The fact that he accepted a minimum prove it deal to play in Milwaukee is nearly impossible to believe.  What that tells me is he thinks the Bucks are a good landing spot and more importantly can be super competitive this year.  

As good as Beasley was GTJ is an upgrade both offensively and defensively at the starting 2 guard.  Prince is certainly an upgrade over a washed up Jae Crowder at the forward position and Delon Wright is a younger and better shooting version of Pat Bev.  Not to mention they still have AJ Green and A Jax and don’t have to rush the two rookies along.  

Pat C seems like the odd man out at this point.

Giannis

Middleton

Dame

?

?

Who gets the minutes with those 3 in crunch time of a close playoff game when Lopez and Portis get played off the floor? They have all year to figure it out and a bunch of guys that at least have a chance to succeed in doing so (GTJ, Prince, Wright, Jackson Jr., Green, and Livingston). From what we've seen of Beauchamp in the summer league, I don't think he's going to be in the mix at all. A 3rd year pro should stand out in the summer league. Livingston has as a 2nd year guy, Beauchamp has not.

The big change Horst has made is to surround the big 3 (plus Lopez and Portis) with younger, athletic guys instead of older, experienced veterans. While I wouldn't call Green athletic, he is only 25 years old. Trent Jr. is also only 25. Livingston and Ajax are 22 and 23. The two 2024 draft picks are still teenagers. Even though Wright (32) and Prince (30) are older, it's still a departure from previous years where the Bucks relied on guys like Tucker, Matthews, Marvin Williams, Ibaka, and Crowder for those roles. Those guys were all in their mid-30s and only Tucker worked out.

Just heard a blurb on the radio that Middleton has had arthroscopic surgery on both ankles. Anybody know anything about this?

Just heard it a few minutes ago myself.  Here's the link to CBS Sports.  Sounds like he'll be ready for opening day.

Middleton Surgeries