BrewerFan

Uribe. A 17 year old who's already got a big fastball and it looks like he's got the stuff to be a TOR type pitcher moving forward, or an elite high leverage reliever. But I'm definitely looking for high ceiling arms back. With Uribe, you're talking about a 17 year old kid in rookie ball, so if he's a star, 3 years away in a best case scenario, likely 5 years away from being a potential MLB starter. I'm not sure TB is the best option. I like Texas. I'd be willing to give up Williams if you could get Porter and Lieter back. I'm completely of the opposite mindset that if you trade Burnes, you need to get hitters back. We've got hitters coming up. We've got 3 top ~70 position prospects in AA or above and I think Tyler Black should be close to the top 100. The Brewers have been competitive, even the last few years despite just terrible offensive production. I keep going back to what that OF could look like with Chourio/Frelick/Wiemer and then Mitchell, Yelly(part time DH maybe depending on platoon splits) and Rodriguez looks like the ideal 4th OFer(or 5th/6th depending on Mitchell). Black, Quero, Turang, 4 picks in the top...what, ~87 this year. Give me a couple of high end AA arms with that type of TOR type potential. I think saying, "I just want MLB ready bats back for Burnes," is reactionary and the result of understandable frustration, but we have so much talent coming up. I mean, I could be sold on a guy like Manzardo...though to be honest, I don't think he's going to be a HUGE difference from Black...who ends up at 3B in a perfect world, possibly 2B, but I think likely 1B. Get pitching and keep investing on the bats on the international FA market. That's the most sustainable way to win. 2025 you could have Misiorowski Porter Lieter Peralta Ashby Gasser Uribe CL....that seems more the Tampa Bay model than just loading up on bats and hoping you can find pitching and develop it elsewhere.

It is kinda funny in every sport now when a recruit flips, it's "must have paid him...offered him a bigger NIL deal." VERY few of these guys are getting NIL and even among those who do, it's the vast minority. UCLA is a fun school and if you're an athlete, I certainly get the appeal. Get out of your comfort zone. Plus, we've got transfers now, so a kid can make this decision knowing if it's not what he thinks or what he wants, he can leave in a year or two. I loved my time in school, but a little bit of me wishes I'd have considered most seriously going out of state.

It can also actually save you some money. The Bucks picked the Kalaitzakis on a partially GTD deal to limit their salary cap liability. They actully cost less than an UDFA or a vet minimum...but if has to be a 3 year partially GTD deal, so you have to take some money from the MLE or Bi-Annual as they did with Kalaitzakis. But he cost them roughly 900K. That's the cheapest you can sign a player to. So when you're getting hit with 4.25M for every million you're over, plus now you have that 2nd apron to deal with, you're hoping the players will become something, but it also makes more sense. I do think they targeted both of these players. It's easier to see how they work on a team like Boston or GSW or any team who's best player is also a shooter(Pho another example). But they have...some plan. I can't really see what it is at this point other than just running it back and hoping Middleton and Lopez sign for a little less, but, we'll see).

Jackson was mocked from last 1st down to 40. Even in last years way too early...he was mocked to the Bucks at ~37 IIRC. He's not a scorer. He sounds like if everything goes right just a glue guy who makes everyone better. But I don't think they're even really really hoping he becomes a 35% 3 point shooter or a reliable scorer. It sounds like pretty much nobody does. Horst talked about how they're changing the way they're going to play and they need players for that and he was a perfect fit. Sounds like they have much higher hopes for Livingston, but at least both are big, physical players who you could probably play as PFs if you went with a smaller lineup and they can switch on just about everything. I don't think it'd impact Lopez(these two picks certainly shouldn't) but Horst also talked about switching. If Houston gets ridiculous and is offering Lopez 20M a year for 3 or the Lakers do, maybe they're planning on playing a different style. Still thinking he's coming back, but hypothetically, you have Jrue, Beauchamp, Middleton, Jackson and Giannis, you can switch and Tatum/Brown aren't going to tear you up. Plus, we've been a good shooting 3 point team for a couple years, we get to the playoffs and it falls apart and we have Middleton who can shoot(and that's hit or miss) and then usually one other player. Hill, Brogdon, maybe Connaughton another series or Lopez part of another. So unless they pull off some trade for some dynamic 3 point shooter, they're probably thinking a great passing, lock down defender who's athletic and can play that dunkers spot right away, he has some value. It's not exciting, but they did with their title on the strength of their defense more than anything.

I've seen numerous executives throwing out 4/130 as a likely contract for Middleton. That...feels light, but assuming that's correct, you could start him out this year at ~29M or so. That'd be ideal. In that event, you could sign Lopez for the 3/54, bring Ingles back at 7.7(which I think is pretty important given his playmaking and shooting). Then fill out with basically minimum salary contracts and you're still under that 2nd apron by like 2M. You sign a player with the TPMLE and you lose the ability to make trades with multiple players or sign and trades or maybe as importantly, pick up players on the buyout market(not that this has yielded much fruit for the Bucks the last couple years, but there are generally a couple of valuable players each year who move teams). I like the picks from last night though. It suggests to me that the Bucks really valued a guy who was an outstanding passer, defender, high energy player...basically a guy who's about as close as a match for Draymond Green as a prospect as you can get. It would lead you to believe the offensive plan won't simply be drive and kick. Livingston on the other hand, I think he is like a young Euro stash type player. 5 star recruit, likely going back to Kentucky to be the center point of that team, but they got a promise from the Bucks. And what I REALLY love is that Rich Paul and he called other teams and said, "please do not select Livingston, we have a team we'd like to go to." Now if he was some stud, teams are going to laugh that off and make the move anyway, but it at least suggests he wanted to be here, we really wanted him here and he's actually got a very high upside. I guess this draft could help the Bucks even next year IF they play the Celtics and IF they run plays offensively and move the ball. You have more big, athletic bodies who can defend Tatum and Brown. Other than that...it's hard for a 2nd round pick to really move the needle much.

It's the MLB draft. About half the players never make it to the big leagues.(Edit-Just among 2nd round picks) About half of those who do end up with a negative WAR or a WAR around 1. In a given year there may be a...Joey Votto, JJ Hardy, Dan Haren, but they're few and far between. Using their history of 2nd round picks over the last 20 years just tells me they've probably done better than average. I'd also consider Tyler Black or the competitive balance picks after Rd1 as 2nd round picks. What team DOESN'T have misses like that? A normal 2nd round might have 2 players with 10+ career WAR, 2-3 more with ~5 or so, half the round never makes it and another and the rest are Blake Perkins type players. Just replacement level players. You're just throwing darts at a VERY small board. Even in the 1st round, you're projecting years out. The miss rate is enormous.

Yes...and attendance is up 24% this year. It's up around MLB 6%. I'd say more people have started to come back to Baltimore in particular. This is why I like actually reading the articles rather than paraphrasing. They said they'd like to emulate the Rays, Brewers, Guardians. I think most teams are trying to do that by developing players. It's why the Dodgers went and poached the Rays GM and went on the best run(record wise) in franchise History. As for the 120M dollar figure, Ownership also stated this past off-season they expected to ramp up spending in the coming years and will be in the "top half of the league." That would put them at 180M. I don't know if they get there(it wouldn't be out of the norm for them when competitive). But 120M is a...an oddly low number for a team that has consistently lowered salary when rebuilding and then ramped back up when competitive going back to the last 40+ years(and again...blown past it just a few years ago). https://calltothepen.com/2023/01/21/baltimore-orioles-looking-increase-payroll-coming-years/

I'm not sure what that means without more context, but they've been in the ~140-160 range recently(4-5 years ago). Heck, they had a higher payroll 25 years ago. I'm not saying they'll be the Mets, but with all the young talent they have, I'd be surprised if they're not around league average in the next couple years. That'd give them nearly 100M to add. If it's 130 or 160 exactly, they'll be able to spend a lot more money than they have been.

I don't remember it the same way, but those mocks are also totally meaningless. The way I remember it, the consensus was that he'd go after teammate and fellow IOL Wyatt Davis and Humphrey was as high as the 1st. Davis was picked right after Amari Rodgers and was even worse than Rodgers was. The lateral quickness is the most important thing for a center. If you can't get to your man, you let him cross your face, that blows up the whole play in the Packers scheme. So I think that's an argument for him playing Guard. I get wanting a big physical Travis Frederick type Center, but they have to be able to consistently make that 1st block. Getting to the LBers is important, but obviously making the play at the point is the priority. They know what they're doing just fine though. Even if Tom plays Guard this year, I'd be surprised if that's his future position. His career may very well lineup with Bahtiari's. If you move off him after this year, Tom I think has shown he can be a LT. Otherwise, Nijman is also a FA after this year. I think he'll end up outside at some point. Maybe that plays into this. They may not want to spend the time making him a full-time center if they plan on moving him next year. Not using a single pick on the OL this year is also probably an indication the Packers feel very good about their young OL(though Gutey did specifically say the OL they liked were gone by 13, so at least Johnson and Skoronski and perhaps Wright).

Beal was given a choice...due to the no-trade. Bucks made a sales pitch. Beal turned down Milwaukee, Miami and Sacramento(a little sleeper). In terms of just professional success, seems like the Bucks would have been the best fit. Lopez/Giannis/Middleton/Beauchamp/Beal? There's a LOT of open shots for him. Not that he'll struggle with KD and Book, but they don't create the same type of open catch and shoot 3s that Giannis does. Seems like that's just the Brooklyn Nets again without the depth they had...which compared to the Suns is a significant difference. Just to cement that point a bit;

Hall is exactly the type of guy I'd like to see the Brewers go after. They've had success with pitchers with elite stuff who struggle with walks(and the O's conversely have had virtually zero success with those types of arms). Not Hall alone of course, but I trust the Brewers ability to develop pitching. I also think Baltimore is going to be spending. They go through circles where their payroll is ridiculously small, then they ramp it back up into middle market type range. I also thought they'd spend this past year. One thing they haven't done in what feels like forever is develop their own pitching. They get prospects who are rated in the top 5-10-20, but they seldom seem to hit. From Arrietta and Gausman who thrived elsewhere to guys like Tillman and Matusz who were both top 5 overall prospects who never hit. Still, seems like it'd make more sense for them to flip a guy like Holliday for a pitcher like...Bobby Miller(just an example). A trade like the Twins-Marlins made.

Well, even if we take the standard after the fact athlete speak, if Rodgers didn't know, his closest confidant on the team, then it stands to reason the front office didn't know....which was the whole point. Of course the fact that he was still negotiating with the Packers would also suggest they didn't know he was done in GB. But I don't buy Adams had his mind made up before the tag anymore than I believe that Adams had been plotting his exit from Green Bay to play with Derek Carr(as David Carr said) or that he believed Derek Carr was a HOF QB. We all know Adams was upset he wasn't extended a year earlier. That's common. It's also common for players to openly complain and then re-sign...and you could come up with a massive list of players who'd fit into that. From Lamar to Deebo, it happens every year.

An ideal draft? 4-5 pitchers who throw in the upper 90s with high spin rates and very high ceilings. Better yet, College arms. A Corbin Burnes in the 4th, a Woodruff in the competitive balance draft, Nelson in the 2nd. That'd be ideal. How do you do both a "needs based draft," and then when it comes to mocking the 5 picks in the first 87 picks(or whatever it is) and not target any of these electric young arms? I'm also not real high on the one pitcher we take throwing in the 88-92 range as a College Jr. Not a lot of room for projection there.

Yeah, the Bucks could have beaten this...IMO. The problem was Beal had a personal connection to Pho(his agents son is the Suns President of...something). But that's CP3 and Shamet who are just there for salary purposes. Paul was going to get waived. 2nds can be bought pretty easily. Pick swaps are basically just lottery tickets in case a David Robinson type situation occurs. Or they're far enough out that KD will be gone. The problem for the Suns is they really have no way to add depth. For a team without a PF, that's going to be tough. They have 5 guys under contract and outside of trading Ayton(and they can't package players with him) they're going to have to sign basically all veteran minimum guys. It's good for the Suns owner, but man, this team could be in REAL trouble if they have any injuries. Ayton HAS to be moved now in a deal where they can get a defensive big and then a couple other depth pieces. The Knicks seem like a good option. Mitchell Robinson, Obi and even a guy like Hartenstein. They've really made that 2nd luxury tax threshold kinda punitive. I'm thinking the NBAPA is going to want to re-visit that as it's going to cost a lot of vets a lot of money. It also almost forces teams who are already over that limit to pay whatever FAs they have what they want(if they have their Bird rights). Really hope(and assume) Middleton and Lopez understand this and are willing to work with the team.

I don't believe that to be the case because Aaron Rodgers didn't believe that to be the case. The same day the Wilson traded was finalized was the day the Packers put the tag on Adams. As Rodgers said on the McAfee show, he felt there that Adams would be coming back up until they made their final offer to Adams...which again was larger than Adams, and then the deal got done very quickly. So I'm pretty sure you're wrong about that. I don't think they knew when the Russell Wilson trade was finalized on March 8th that Davante Adams was not going to be coming back. Here's Rodgers who said he was in regular contact with Adams leading up to the trade and who officially signed his contract on the 17th of March. Rodgers signed his deal on March 17th. Rumors about his extension came out about a week earlier. Again, per Rodgers, the deal came together quick. So if the Broncos finished the trade with Wilson on March 8th, that means they likely turned down the Rodgers trade a week before that, maybe less. Adams I'm curious why you believe that they already knew when they turned down the Broncos trade offer that Adams wasn't coming back? In fact, the details around the Rasul Douglas extension suggests more than anything that the Packers did not in fact know he was gone as they went from telling Douglas they wouldn't be able to extend him to pivoting and then extending him. March 14th-Not expected to retain him. March 19th-One day after Adams is traded, they sign him to a 3 year contract. This all tells me they definitely didn't know Adams was gone when they turned down the Jeudy+1sts package for Adams.

Bradley Beal...given permission to talk to the Bucks. I'm split. He's not been a good 3 point shooter the last ~5-6 years. He HAS also put up 30PPG twice in that span(on bad teams). Can he get back to 40% from 3 or is he more of the .347% since 2017? If he has Giannis and Middleton, is he the floor spacer who can create his own shot? The question is, what are we giving up for him? Jrue=Sure. With just 2 years left and then retirement(which he seems set on) it makes sense. You'd BETTER believe you have someone like Beauchamp who's ready to make that jump and get into the lineup. 2nd issue-It'd almost certainly push you over the 2nd line. That means you can't add players in a trade to match salaries, no MLE, no Bi-Annual, no buyouts. You greatly restrict what you can do. Jrue's one of the most respected players around the league, so maybe a 3 team trade could work. But then there's another big factor. The only players with value are Portis, Beauchamp, Connaughton and Allen. At a minimum, you're going to have to include one of those players and the '27 1st into the deal. Probably a moot point as the Suns are now also invested, but is this the team that can get us back over the top? PG-Beal(?) SG-Connaughton SF-Middleton(if he's the playoff version) PF-Giannis C-Lopez Bench Ingles, Mathews, Portis. Leonhard, Thanasis, AJ Reed(?)... I don't know how much the defense takes a hit and how much the offense opens up. I think the better way to go would be to give Middleton a longer deal with a lower starting salary(5/170) first year at ~30M Lopez at 3/54 See if you can trade Crowder for a late 1st or at least a couple 2nds. There are some team with cap room apparently interested. I don't really see the value being there to extend him via Bird rights unless the new staff has very different ideas for him, or you decide to take a guy like Portis who's been INCREDIBLY loyal and passed up tens of millions to be in Milwaukee and make Jae your 6th man, backup 4. But it could really give us some breathing room to stay below the draconian restrictions that start this year for teams over that 2nd apron. Dame-He's all over the place and I'm not even gonna entertain that one as...again, why would Portland trade him here and for what? The best suggestion I've seen LONG term is Jrue+Portis for Simmons+Grant+3rd overall pick Scoot Henderson...who said his dream was to play in Milwaukee with Khris and Giannis. You get younger, more versatile and you stay under the luxury tax enough to still go out and added players via sign and trad and ML, Bi-Annuel, all those avenues to fill out a roster. I don't see why Portland is trading a talent like Scoot who'd be the #1 pick in most drafts(if he even goes 3rd) but I guess they feel a lot of pressure to win right now and Holiday playing with Dame in the backcourt is the reason behind such a proposal. The only thing I feel confident about at this point is Middleton and Lopez coming back and signing deals that can help the Bucks add other players in longer term deals with less 1st year money and then...Horst will have to pull off miracles.

See! I'm....right? I guess....🤷‍♂️ It's debatable!

It doesn't appear thus far that's the direction they'll go, but remember when Linsley lost the job in back to back years, then started due to injuries to...Even Dietrich Smith IIRC. Turned out to be the best thing that happened to them. As for Myers, he can get to the end level...vs slower NT or if they're shaded on his right shoulder and they're running that outsize zone the other way. But he's rarely beating DL to their spot. If you're talking about when they come out with the DTs playing a 3i, sure, he can chip and get to the next level, but I'm talking about beating his name to the spot, sealing and then going. Remember, this is a guy who was projected by some as 4th-6th rounder at Center due to his limited athleticism. Put when he locks onto a guy, he's more than capable of just planting a guy. Now...a big physical Center works great in...Dallas or Philly, but in a scheme where you need really athletic Centers such as our ZBS, that pick never made sense to be. Myers over Creed is like a...Sternberger over McClaurin type pick...if they were both WRers and one was the consensus #1 play at his position, scored a 10.0 RAS. There were concerns about Humphrey's ability to make calls(I think that's why he was available when he was). Maybe we'll pivot a bit this year. Especially if a guy like Jones works his way in there. More iso type FB, double teams at the point and just more physical. That'd play to his strength. Or maybe as Stenovich recently said, Tom WILL compete at all 3 spots, C, RG and RT. Or maybe Myers with Jenkins on one side, maybe he'll just play better. Just looking at Tom long term though, if he's not a Center, then his future position has to be LT or RT. Otherwise it seems like a bit of a waste to stick such a great athlete at RG. I hope you're right though, he just needs to play more consistently. It's not like he hasn't made some highlight level blocks. It's just a matter of how consistent he is.

That's a GMs job within reason. Again, this looked much different a week later when they couldn't convince Adams to stay. -Defense finished outstanding. -Hired one of the top STC in the NFL -You were returning the #1 WRer and back to back MVP They have AMPLE reason to believe they would as good or better heading into last year. I think it's fair to wonder what could have been now that we don't have Rodgers and see what happened last year, but trading away Rodgers at that point, when he was still talking about playing a few more years and wanted to finish his career in GB, it's easy to see why they didn't do it as well. It's even easier(not) to go back a year when the offer was Jeudy,+ Surtain(their 1st that year)+ 2 more 1sts+3 2nds/3rd round picks. That's a superstar in Surtain, an elite #2, maybe a #1 in Jeudy with 4 years left and 5 more picks. But when you think you can win a Super Bowl...which they had every reason to believe at the time assuming Bakh would be back and that core... I don't think you can predict lingering injuries, new injuries(Gary, Stokes, Bakh's appendectomy)...Barry seemingly figuring it out and then reverting again, etc... What's more, how much of the fanbase do you alienate? You lost due to STs(and of course poor Rodgers play, but directly due to STs failures). You were better than the Rams that season, the SB champs. We'd be saying Gutekunst doesn't care about winning Super Bowls, he's more worried about his ego. I'd also submit, particularly 2 years ago when the best deal was floated, it would have been very detrimental to Love's development. He wasn't close to being ready to step in at that point. But it sure as hell stings when you think you could have Surtain, Jeudy, Charlie Cross, you still likely end up with Watson or you only have to give up a ~3rd at most to move up. And you're still left with a 1st+2 more day 2 picks. That sucks, but again, it's tough to blame Gutekunst for not pulling the trigger.

Strength is LESS of a priority at Center than it is at guard. Obviously you'd like maulers all over the place, but Centers are the smallest position on average along the OL. Yes, they have to deal with NTs...and they ALMOST never have to do it alone. You're getting a double on that NT from the Guard probably 90% of the time unless you're running away from him. Athleticism is the priority over size/strength at C. That's not to say Tom didn't need to make significant gains in terms of functional strength. It was an issue at any position along the OL. But he does look noticeably bigger this year.

This is of course the key. They need Misiorowski to continue to develop and stay healthy while moving relatively quickly through the system(as quickly as a pitcher really can while you build his innings each year). The prospect of Misiorowski, Ashby back healthy(which is why I wouldn't even be looking at him to make it back this year, but rather use ST'ing as a goal)...gives you the potential for two really overpowering arms. Gasser could be a very fine #3. Black-3B Chourio-CF Frelick-LF Wiemer-RF Yelich-DH Quero-C Turang-SS Brown Jr-2B Hiura-1B I don't have 1B figured out unless Hiura's new swing is actually going to yield results at the MLB level and we've still got some OFers to spare, but that's a really encouraging lineup looking at ~2025. If the Brewers can't get more production offensively, get Winker going or give Hiura a try, Frelick when he's back healthy, whatever it may be...I don't think it'd be out of line to see a trade with a team like the Mets. Burnes for Tidwell, Batty, a lower level arm like Diaz and...who knows, if they're desperate, maybe they'll take back the bulk of Yelich contract(that's a bit unlikely, but if Yelich is hitting ~.275 with an ~.800 OPS...is it impossible? Cohen doesn't seem to care about burning cash ala the Joker from Batman. Edit-At that point, I'd be all for including Williams in a trade to facilitate including Yelich. IF you are trading Burnes for example, then sell Williams when his value is still high...and this is NOT a reaction to the Twins. Just a way to try and see if you can get the Mets to bite and take of mostly off the hook for Yelich. A deal in which we pay his contract this year, next and then the buyout(in addition to what we're already paying in deferred money). It's always felt impossible to get out from under that, but MAYBE it's not. Feels like the worst thing the Brewers can do is just limp along, be ~500 and in it at the deadline. There's no real excitement, but there will be outrage if they sell. So get healthy, get those 3 bats in particular up and hope they can inject some life and if not, then I'd rather see them losing than sitting here in no mans land.

That is an incredibly difficult situation to be in. To be coming off two straight years where you're SO close to the SB and a QB who's won back to back MVPs...but man, with the benefit of hindsight, that is a franchise altering. A Super Bowl win is forever, so it's hard to blame them too much, but that's almost a Herschel Walker type trade. I wonder if the Broncos had just waited ~10 days...once Adams was traded, if the Packers would have changed course? If things had just moved quicker, perhaps this gets done. That gives us two years, a couple of premium picks and still an extra 1st for the '24 draft IF Love doesn't work out. I think Gutekunst did a nice job of squeezing out what compensation he could from NYJ...and again, I understand a SB is worth 2-3 1sts, but when you look back at an 8-9 season and you could end up with basically 2 2nd round picks and then the value of a late 3rd/early 4th to move up 2 spots, that's a stark contrast. That's not even addressing the salary cap and how much healthier we'd be when it comes to that. I can't crush Gutekunst for holding on, but when they lost Adams, then they turn around and move Rodgers a year later, it's definitely a move you'd love to have back.

I agree on Runyan. He's a solid starter. He's extremely reliable. Assignment sure. All those things have value, but he's as you said, physically limited. I'd like to see Tom at C, Myers at G and then open the competition up at RT. Tom has the athletic ability you need at Center where Myers doesn't. Myers struggles to get to the next level, he can be a bit slow off the snap and allows defenders to cross his face, however, he is a mauler and I think he has enough athleticism to play OG. But this is mostly about Tom. I think he could develop into a Kelce like Center. The way he comes out in the run game, he's smooth, quick and most importantly low. He just wasn't very strong last year. At RT, Jones looked interesting, but it's an uphill battle for him in this offense as he's also not a great athlete, but he's so damn big, it's was incredible how he was walling guys off last year. Some were even solid veterans trying to make teams. 6'9 and 36 inch arms and he looked pretty smooth out there. But the most likely scenario is Myers/JRJ and Tom pushing Nijman at RT. Whatever they end up doing with Tom, I think he's going to be a cornerstone of this OL moving forward, and outside of Watson, the player from the last couple drafts who has the most upside for their respective positions. With very few true Superstars, I believe those two are the most likely to ascend to that level. And I just think you start with putting your best players at LT, C and RT, then fill in the Guards around that. But despite MLF saying Tom would get snaps at C, and both spots on the right side, I'm not sure he's gotten those snaps at Center yet which would mean they think more highly of Myers than I. Sean Rhyan is playing some Center. I think that could be interesting despite most people writing him off after an unproductive rookie year culminating in a suspension. Whatever they choose to do, having their two top OL back to anchor the left side gives the whole group an enormous advantage over what they had going into last year or the end of '21 when both were out with injuries.

That was a LOT. The bubble, then an abnormally short post-season. Throw the Olympics in there and the Bucks weren't getting any time off. Also, if Middleton can come back and play a full season. How he played in the post-season this year was encouraging. If Beauchamp or Portis and the supporting cast. The big thing though, I just don't think you can break basketball down like you do Baseball. It's not individual matchups. In those post-season numbers for Jokic, he's not facing the same defenses. We saw what Giannis did vs the Suns. The Warriors were another team that did not have much inside resistance. Especially when you contrast that to what Giannis has with the Celtics, the Raptors when they had Kawhi, Gasol and Ibaka was still playing well defensively. Finally...I REALLY think trying to break down the best player into minutes played or games with Giannis is a little silly. You're not talking about Ben Simmons. The Bucks are extremely cautious(as they should be) with a generational talent. Jokic isn't running guys down like LeBron when, for example he got Bridges in the finals that's forgotten about as the play where he stops Booker and then goes up and gets Ayton was such an freakish play, they were asking if that was the best play in finals history the following day. In any event, there are two different conversations. Can the Bucks win again. Can they add teammates who will hit their shots, take pressure off Giannis as Murray does(and Middleton has) and who's the better player between the two. Throw Giannis on GSW, change nothing and he's going to be an even more efficient scorer and I'm pretty certain he'd widely be considered the best still. A playoff run like each have had most certainly cements your legacy, but it also leads to overreactions. With Giannis, as I said, it was "Is he a top 10 player all time already," and Jokic I saw a clip Richard Jefferson said he was KD scoring, Magic passing, Duncan rebounding and Steph shooting(though he at least added the caveat that Steph shot more often, so just as good, not better). You can certainly make an argument for Jokic right now. That's not crazy. I'd disagree, but Jokic is an incredibly skilled player. I don't think you can take what Giannis does on both ends and say it's so obvious it's not debatable.

In something that's actually news...aside from the "best shape of my life," platitudes, Bakhtiari is taking reps in team activities. That's a pretty big deal. You'd assume if he wasn't absolutely 100%, they wouldn't risk him in off-season activities that...he really doesn't need to be a part of. Perhaps confirmation that Gutekunst was telling the truth when he said they have "zero long term concerns about Bahktiari's health). All the talk about Love's weapons is great, but we know there's no greater weapon for a young QB than a great OL. Bakh/Jenkins all the way back healthy, and then some combination of Tom, Myers, JRJ, NIjman, maybe Jones or Walker(Jones is apparently weighing around 350, so he MIGHT actually be in the best shape of his life, though I remain skeptical). A more simplified, strictly MLF offense, experienced OL, an Elite RB and then Dillon trying to redeem himself from last year and explosive young WRers, If the OL holds up, that's everything a young QB needs to get a fair shot...and frankly more than just about any other 1st year QB gets.