2023-24 Bucks Season Thread

[Matt Breen]

Jrue to Boston makes the Celtics better. But I expected them to do something.

I'm still stunned that Miami didn't make a move for Dame. I think they believed no one would up their ante - which was a couple of firsts, Herro and some spare parts. Sources said the team was 'willing' to offer three first-round picks, Nikola Jović, pick swaps and multiple second-round picks. But being 'willing' doesn't mean they made the offer - and it may just be talk to try and make them not look bad.

I think Portland's haul justifies their waiting and moving on from Miami.

They got Ayton, Robert Williams, Brogdon, Toumani Camara, three first-round picks 2024 (Golden State, Top-4 protected), 2029 (Bucks and Celtics unprotected) and 2028 and 2030 Milwaukee pick swaps.

In the end, I think Miami thought they could get Dame on the cheap. Credit Portland's GM for not caving. I think Lillard's agent calling around to teams and telling them not to trade for Dame was a dumb move. It made Portland not want to play ball with Miami. 

[HarryDoyle]

Cam Payne agrees to a one year deal with the Bucks.

[nate82]

Brogdon will be traded by Portland at some point.  Portland already have a bunch of guards on their roster.

Not sure on value for Brogdon but probably a first that is top 15 protected or a 2nd round pick.  His value is somewhere between that.

[sveumrules]

So rotation prolly looks something like this heading into training camp then…

Dame | Payne
Patty | Beasley | Green
Khris | Marjon | AJJ
Giannis | Jae | Thanasis
Brook | Bobby | Robin

Biggest question is probably who starts at the two. Patty seems more like a fifth starter do all the little things glue guy who is already familiar with our stars vs Beasley as more of a 6th/7th man gunner off the bench.

Should also be interesting to see how Marjon and AJJ do as the only real youngsters on the team and if Griffin can mold them into playable wings.

[BrewerFan]

7 hours ago, HarryDoyle said:

Jrue traded to Boston in no surprise to anyone.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38538353/sources-celtics-add-jrue-holiday-trade-blazers

It's a shock to me. I was talking to Celtics fans about this and I even asked hypothetically, "how are you gonna make the salaries match, trade Brogdon and Robert Williams," as I thought that was just not a good move for Boston. Grant Williams gone, Rob Williams gone, Horford a year older, Porzingas is a fun player, but Giannis is going to put him into the 3rd row a few times. 

 

I didn't think they'd want to give up a guy like Robert Williams. It's like they REALLY worried about Dame and forgot...he's still the #2 on this team. Who's gonna defend Giannis? Jrue has locked Dame up, but that was a while back now. 

 

[BrewersSuperCollector]

I haven't seen Dame play much, and when I did I didn't pay close attention. How good of a ball handler is he when he's closely guarded. I wasn't very confident when Jrue when bringing up the ball on a tight defender.  

[BrewerFan]

4 hours ago, nate82 said:

Brogdon will be traded by Portland at some point.  Portland already have a bunch of guards on their roster.

Not sure on value for Brogdon but probably a first that is top 15 protected or a 2nd round pick.  His value is somewhere between that.

I mean...obviously we now trade for Brogdon. Portis+Connaughton...right? 

Or maybe we're just set?

 I think we're set. And I really like the look of this team. Cam Payne was a VERY underrated signing. We'll be in trouble if he's running the point vs the Celtics or Nuggets, but 20-25 games so we give Dame time off? Very good backup. 

[nate82]

4 minutes ago, BrewerFan said:

I mean...obviously we now trade for Brogdon. Portis+Connaughton...right? 

No thanks he was rather cancerous with the Celtics in the playoffs.  The Celtics were also shopping him since they were eliminated.  Buyer be ware with Brogdon.

[BrewerFan]

4 minutes ago, BrewersSuperCollector said:

I haven't seen Dame play much, and when I did I didn't pay close attention. How good of a ball handler is he when he's closely guarded. I wasn't very confident when Jrue when bringing up the ball on a tight defender.  

He's elite. He's much better than Jrue as a ball handler. He's also much more explosive than I think people realize. He was never Ja Morant explosive, but he's got some hops and went up over guys. Not so much recently.

Anyway, as a ball handler, just repeating rankings I've seen from more knowledgable fans or the Bill Simmons' of the world on Twitter or wherever, he's considered an elite ball handler. Just behind Steph and maybe Harden and ahead of everyone else(again, not named Kyrie). 

I'm sure there are guards who don't play because they're ineffective who are better, but he's got a tighter handle than Jrue for sure. He can get to the rim easier...doubt he can finish as strong at the rim, but give and take(much more take for the Bucks as an all around offensive player). 

[BrewerFan]

3 minutes ago, nate82 said:

No thanks he was rather cancerous with the Celtics in the playoffs.  The Celtics were also shopping him since they were eliminated.  Buyer be ware with Brogdon.

I guess that should have been in blue. I would love to have Brogdon....but obviously not at the cost of Portis and Connaughton. 

I'm also not actually worried about his personality. I know there was some discontentment there, I think White was part of that as well(he was unhappy). I don't know what about, but Brogdon at 22M is not worth chopping away at our depth even more.

If there was ONE thing I wish we would have done just to tweak the roster, it'd be add Carter. 

 

I DO wonder if the Bucks MAYBE sneak under that 2nd apron during the season so they can still go after buyout players. I don't know how it'd work exactly, but they saved money in the Dame trade(this year) and they were under the 2nd apron, but over because Jrue, Allen and Middleton had unlikely to be earned bonuses, but apparently the Bucks can possibly still stay under it until the buyout market...in theory. So say some Twitter experts or as we can now call them..."X-perts." That was corny as hell. I own that. 

[Matt Breen]

8 hours ago, HarryDoyle said:

Cam Payne agrees to a one year deal with the Bucks.

Really nice signing.

[Matt Breen]

2 hours ago, sveumrules said:

So rotation prolly looks something like this heading into training camp then…

Dame | Payne
Patty | Beasley | Green
Khris | Marjon | AJJ
Giannis | Jae | Thanasis
Brook | Bobby | Robin

Biggest question is probably who starts at the two. Patty seems more like a fifth starter do all the little things glue guy who is already familiar with our stars vs Beasley as more of a 6th/7th man gunner off the bench.

Should also be interesting to see how Marjon and AJJ do as the only real youngsters on the team and if Griffin can mold them into playable wings.

I'm guessing Pat C. gets the starting nod, but the team won't hesitate to give Marjon some reps if he ups his game. His defense would be welcome. Jackson would be fascinating because of his defensive ability as well, but his offense needs so much work. Pat C works best at this time. His defense is solid, not great - but passable. But he'll kill teams that just leave him open.

[nate82]

Giannis will not be signing a contract extension this year and don’t expect a discount.  The Bucks will have to offer him a second super max deal next summer in order to sign him.  So cap wise the Bucks are not going to improve between now and next summer.

How well the Bucks play will determine if Giannis stays or goes.  If the team is not competitive he won’t resign with the Bucks.

[homer]

I honestly don't know if Giannis' game is going to age well. He is probably past his peak. Still an amazing player but worth a second super max? Not sure.

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, homer said:

I honestly don't know if Giannis' game is going to age well. He is probably past his peak. Still an amazing player but worth a second super max? Not sure.

I honestly can't tell if this is meant to be in blue or not. He's 28 years old...he's at worst the 2nd best player in the NBA.

I believe he's younger than both Embiid and Jokic(I know he's younger than Embiid).

I don't think a single NBA team would give it a 2nd thought giving him a Super Max deal....

And as far as his game, his mid range has improved enormously to where it's been one of the better ones in the league. Will he still be the same player at 35? No, I'd imagine not, but...again, he's still just 28 years old. That's the prime athletic years for an athlete. 

 

What's more, it would be absolutely insane for them to have done everything they did, blow up their future and then not just automatically hand Giannis the max deal they can. That offer is on the table at any time he wants to sign it at this point and for the foreseeable future. 

[patrickgpe]

3 hours ago, homer said:

I honestly don't know if Giannis' game is going to age well. He is probably past his peak. Still an amazing player but worth a second super max? Not sure.

If he wants to sign you have to do it. It’s like when they gave Middleton and Lopez new contracts last offseason, probably not the best business decision but still it makes sense to do it. It would be cool to keep Giannis for his entire career. Even though that’s not likely even if he gets a second super max 

[homer]

9 minutes ago, patrickgpe said:

If he wants to sign you have to do it. It’s like when they gave Middleton and Lopez new contracts last offseason, probably not the best business decision but still it makes sense to do it. It would be cool to keep Giannis for his entire career. Even though that’s not likely even if he gets a second super max 

Yeah I mean you'd have to have some serious stones to not sign him. No one is gonna lambast you even if he starts to severely slow down or he starts having knee issues. But if you trade him you probably won't live to see the rebuild finish.

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, patrickgpe said:

If he wants to sign you have to do it. It’s like when they gave Middleton and Lopez new contracts last offseason, probably not the best business decision but still it makes sense to do it. It would be cool to keep Giannis for his entire career. Even though that’s not likely even if he gets a second super max 

Maybe I'm the one who's off here and was unfair to @homer. I just don't see it being like Middleton or Lopez and paying them because if you lose them, you don't have anywhere else to spent that money and it's all part of keeping that core player here. You don't sign either of those players under most circumstances. You don't trade for Dame's contract. You do all of that because of Giannis. So saying it's like their deals, I guess at this point, after the Dame trade and the '28/'30 swaps and '29 first all unprotected, you've made that decision, but I'm struggling to see the argument that giving Giannis the max is like sucking it up and paying Lopez 4-5M more a year than you wanted to(or Middleton) because you were so concerned you could potentially lose a player. Giannis IS that player. 

I feel like he could slow down and still decline a pretty decent amount and be well worth that super max.

[homer]

People are gushing about Andre Jackson so far. I don't see how he makes a lineup that includes Giannis because he can't shoot but he might get minutes this year.

[wallus]

7 minutes ago, homer said:

People are gushing about Andre Jackson so far. I don't see how he makes a lineup that includes Giannis because he can't shoot but he might get minutes this year.

If he could shoot even a little bit, he would have been a top 5 pick. He does tons of little things like Draymond Green (not calling him Draymond Green). He shouldn't play a ton of minutes with Giannis but he looks to be at minimum a regular season rotation player which is just fine for a 2nd round pick.

[young guns]

I don't follow preseason basketball like at all, but the Dame trade has me excited.  When would we expect starters to get some play if at all?

[valpocrewsader]

Malika Andrews

@malika_andrews

We get our first look at the Bucks’ new superstar duo this weekend. Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin says on NBA Today that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dame Lillard will make their preseason debut on Sunday against the Lakers.

 

ETA: Sunday's game is on ESPN.

[Joseph Zarr]

I would like to again remind us: We have Giannis and Damian Lillard. 🤣

(No Blue Font)

I went back and watched his interview with JJ Redick from last year. If you haven't seen this, check it out. He's so so heady in his offensive approach. Has a memory akin to A-Rod. He's just a caliber of guard we haven't seen on the Bucks. I can not wait for this season.

On his 71 point game vs Houston last season: "...when I really sat back and thought about it after the game, I should have had 90." Not a lot of NBA players (ever) could say that one.🤣

[nate82]

If Middleton is fully healthy he will be the one to gain the most from having Dame on the team.  Teams are going to try to take away the long range from Dame and the short from Giannis which allows Middleton to operate where he is the best in the mid-range. 

This should be an exciting season.

[CheezWizHed]

On 10/11/2023 at 9:58 AM, homer said:

People are gushing about Andre Jackson so far. I don't see how he makes a lineup that includes Giannis because he can't shoot but he might get minutes this year.

I have a feeling (hope?) that our offense will be based more on motion and less on 3pt shooters standing outside while watching Giannis or Khris going 1 on 1 (or 1  on 4) inside and waiting on the ball.  I expect more pick and roll and movement to go on in the offense now. 

So while Jackson isn't the ideal SG for the team... having him in a rotation at SG might not be the worse thing in the world.  He would theoretically be strong on D and a great passer/slasher in a motion style offense.