Matt Breen

The problem is that we have a hard cap of approximately $139M. We cannot go over that because of the sign-and-trade deal with Bogdanovic (it's a rule that kicks in when you do a sign-and-trade). Our salary is at $123M (according to the graphic posted earlier) for 7 players. That means we have to squeeze everyone in for about $16M. And that's assuming we want to go above the tax line (which is $132M). That would only leave us about $9M. The MLE is, I think, $9.5M. But it's hard to imagine spending that all on one guy. They might want to split it up. I'm guessing we draft a couple of guys ($1M each), which helps keep costs down. I guess who we spend on will depend on who's willing to come to Milwaukee - and at what price. I'm guessing we get some decent guys, but not guarantee. Ok...I didn't know that. I thought as long as you signed the guy while you had cap space, you could still use the MLE to go over the Cap. What do they do if you were to sign a player...say Jordan Clarkson now for 4/40...and then they filled out their roster with guys making the veterans minimum? How do they enforce that? I'm not questioning you...I'm just asking questions because the NBA salary cap is easily the most convoluted. Also, are you including the likelihood that we are given some cap relief for Leuer? It SEEMS as though that's very likely to happen(but hasn't yet, so I'd assume you're not counting that into you're not figuring that in yet). Leuer would give us $3M - but I don't think that would open up until later in the season. But not sure of that. And yes, the NBA cap stuff is kind of convoluted. The key thing for the Bucks is that by orchestrating a sign-and-trade, they are CANNOT go over the $138.9M line. It's called an Apron, but in reality, it's a hard cap for Milwaukee. Normally, you can go over the Apron if you're resigning your own players - but the sign-and-trade deal for Bogdanovic kicks in a clause that simply gives us a hard cap.

This is correct. The benches get shorter in the playoffs. And as people have noted, you don't have to fill all 15 of your roster slots.

Do you think we've got a shot at someone more than just serviceable with the MLE? Again, Serge was being talked about as a potential target for the Bucks. He's near the end of his career. Do you think they'll try to add one more significant contributor or kinda piece the rest of the roster together with minimum salary guys? The problem is that we have a hard cap of approximately $139M. We cannot go over that because of the sign-and-trade deal with Bogdanovic (it's a rule that kicks in when you do a sign-and-trade). Our salary is at $123M (according to the graphic posted earlier) for 7 players. That means we have to squeeze everyone in for about $16M. And that's assuming we want to go above the tax line (which is $132M). That would only leave us about $9M. The MLE is, I think, $9.5M. But it's hard to imagine spending that all on one guy. They might want to split it up. I'm guessing we draft a couple of guys ($1M each), which helps keep costs down. I guess who we spend on will depend on who's willing to come to Milwaukee - and at what price. I'm guessing we get some decent guys, but not guarantee.

LOL ... someone actually tagged him on Twitter to ask just that, and he said he'd play for free. Obviously he's joking, but it would be fun to see a state guy like that, and a huge Packer/Brewer homer to boot, get a chance to log a few minutes on a title contender. He actually wouldn't be a terrible fit as an athletic wing who is a capable defender. Too funny. But I think the thought is right- they'll need a few vets who can competently give minutes each game for a fairly low cost. Those guys are definitely out there. Adding some vets shouldn't be an issue. Just want to get the guys who can help the most. The two 2nd round picks will cost only around a million each. So that helps. We should be able to add some serviceable veterans to fill out the roster.

I love Holiday - so adding him is pretty amazing. Cost is huge, but let's roll the dice and go for it.

Giannis, Lopez, Middleton, Bogdanovic and Holiday are heck of a good starting five. After that - going to be all minimum wage guys. These trades have transformed the Bucks into a really good starting five. Probably better than any in the league. But depth is weak, and there's no future picks for a long time (I think we don't have a first round pick for four years!). I wish we could have held on to DiVincenzo, but that's life. Depending on Bogdanovic's salary (probably $15M or so), the team is about $27M below the hard cap ($139M), which we can't go over (this is because Bogdanovic was a sign and trade - and if you do a sign and trade deal, you have to stay under the hard cap). That means we have to fill 7 slots with $27M (and you probably don't want to get to that ceiling so you can make an addition or two in-season). Sterling Brown might be smart to come back for his $2.2M tender as he'd get a lot more playing time with the second unit. The good part is that veterans will want to come here to make a run at a championship. The trading of 1st round picks for the next four years stinks, but this is a massive 'all in' move. Let's hope Giannis agrees and signs his extension. That will quiet all the speculation. Going to be a fun season.

Bucks also dealing Donte DiVincenzo, D.J. Wilson and Ersan Ilyasova to the Kings for Bogdan Bogdanovic. Wow, what a roster transformation.

That's good to hear. And it makes sense. I was thinking it would be nice to have gotten back a couple of 2nds so we could add a low level prospect or two. We need to develop a few players on our own if possible.

That's would be weird to have Harden in Milwaukee. Fascinating, but weird.

Lopez option out was a shocker. But I guess he wants playing time. As you say, I think he's doing us a favor.

I guess I am amazed at the lack of nuance in some of things that get said about this kind of thing. Virtually no one is saying grandma and grandpa or whomever can't see their kids or grandkids for two years. Or even a year. Or even a month. The idea is to be smart. Be aware. Be decent to others. If you are gathering together, get those attending to be smart about the event. Don't go drinking at a bar with a bunch of maskless people the weekend before. Don't have the kids do a get together with the neighbor kids in the days leading up to the holiday. Skip poker night for a week or two. Pass on church for a Sunday if you're able. Wear your mask. If you feel sick, pass on attending. I have seen family members and friends over the last few months, but always planning ahead. It's NEVER 100% safe, but you can do so much to make it a safer event. It's not always simple. And it's not always easy. Some people will do whatever they want no matter what the circumstances. And for some people, isolating is nearly impossible due to their jobs. But we can still make our interactions safer with a bit of thought and cooperation.

I think it's going to be ugly. At least in Wisconsin. My wife's organization saw the number of people hospitalized with COVID increase by 400% in the last two months. They expect their current numbers to double in the next two weeks. How people handle Thanksgiving will be a crucial factor.

Chris Paul to Phoenix. Plus Dennis Schröder to the Lakers. That takes a couple of potential off season targets away from the Bucks. I'd of loved to have Paul - but his salary ($44M a year), plus what it took to get him would have been pretty hard to manage.

I trust Cain to be a better player going forward than Longoria. He's still an elite defender at his position. Longoria is good - but not elite anymore. Longoria has been a - roughly - average hitter the last four years. Not bad, but not good either. But he is what he is. Cain offers some more upside than Longoria. His 2019 campaign was not good at the plate, and last year he elected to sit out, but before that he was really good. Obviously, it's not easy to predict the bat of a 35-year old player. But I see him as having the ability to get back to his 2018 form - rather than accept average (at best) from Longoria. Even if Cain's bat doesn't come back, his glove should still be an asset.

The Pfizer news is great. 90% effectiveness is amazing. They still have a couple of more weeks of gathering safety data, and then plan to apply for emergency authorization to produce the vaccine (which, I'm guessing, won't take long). Researchers say that there have been no serious safety concerns observed thus far. Assuming all goes well, some doses should start to be given by end of the year - mainly to high-risk groups such as healthcare workers, people in nursing homes, etc. The general public won't really see the vaccine until a few months into 2021. Pfizer says they will have 100 million doses of the vaccine by the end of March. A person will need two doses - so that means 50 million people can, potentially, be vaccinated by April. I read that distribution of the vaccine will be a major effort, as the virus has to be stored at super low temperatures - beyond what a regular freezer can reach. Some challenges ahead, but it's great news.

Saw a hospital chief lay out some tough numbers they have had. The first 7 months of COVID they had 1500 cases and 6 deaths. In the following three weeks they have had 4800 cases and 39 deaths. In that time, they have had between 22-24% of the staff out due to having COVID or the fact they have to quarantine. They have stopped 75% of all elective surgeries. They expect things to get worse.

Those were brilliant. The best are Darrell Hammond as Connery. And Norm McDonald as Turd Ferguson. Fixed it for you... You got it. Just great stuff.

Those were brilliant. The best are Darrell Hammond as Connery. And Norm McDonald as Burt Reynolds.

I won’t be shocked if the three highest paid relievers on that list aren’t with the team when 2021 gets underway. I think Knebel will be let go with that salary. It's not as if he's looked good lately. And with all the relievers on the market - it can go to other areas. I agree about Claudio. Just not that good. You can find someone else that fits the club better at that price. Hader is interesting. He's a great pitcher, but I just don't see anyone ponying up a ton for him when there's a lot of other options available in the FA market who are pretty good, including Liam Hendricks, Brad Hand, Trevor Rosenthal, Trevor May, Blake Treinen, Alex Colomé, Kirby Yates, Greg Holland and Mark Melancon. Are they as good as Hader? Probably not - but you can get them without giving up a couple of top prospects. Thus, I think we'll just go with Hader and a killer bullpen (I'd like to add one of those relievers to our stable as well. Hader, Williams and a guy like Hand would be amazing).

MLB Trade Rumors has Kim at 5-years and $40M, plus $7.5M posting fee. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/11/mlb-free-agent-predictions-2021.html

That would be a HUGE risk, but I like thinking outside the box! Well that's a brain fart. Fixed it

Here's my plan, assuming we don't have the DH. Free agent numbers are from MLB Trade Rumor predictions: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/11/mlb-free-agent-predictions-2021.html I've aiming for a budget of no more than $100M. Perhaps that's too much, but we shall see. I've got several guys who need to rebound (Garcia, Narvaez), and a few who need to step up (Lauer, Urias, etc.). I've got some mid-level free agents, but no big splashes. C - Narvaez ® - He's hit too well in his career, so let's plan on a rebound C - Pina/Nottingham ® - If Manny is healthy, great. If not, go with Nottingham. 1B - Hiura ® - Moving him to 1B - let him focus on reaching his potential as a bat. 2B - Kolten Wong (L) (FA - 2-year/$16M) - Excellent defense, good OBP SS - Urias - Huge risk giving him job, but we have to take some chances 3B - La Stella (L) - Consistent hitter. He probably won't hit 20 HR, but maybe get you 15 or so and hit .280 with adequate defense. Sounds good to me. LF - Yelich (L) CF - Cain ® RF - Garcia ® - Bank on a rebound OF - Taylor ® OF - Kevin Pillar ® (FA, 1-year $3M) - Looking for a guy who can play all three positions adequately and isn't awful with the bat. Might want a lefty, doesn't have to be Pillar, but you get the idea. INF - Gyorko ® - (FA, 1-year $2.5M) - Someone like this. Doesn't have to be Gyorko - but someone who can handle the corners. INF - I'm probably all set to cut the Arcia cord, but I'd take him back if we can't find someone better. SP - Houser (had some nice moments so let's give another try), Lindblom, Woodruff, Burnes, Robbie Ray (FA - 1-year $6M), Lauer RP - Hader, Peralta, Yardley, Suter, Williams, Rasmussen, Free agent signing, rookie Salaries MLB trade rumors has arby numbers. They provide three scenarios, which I've rounded to reach my number. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/10/projected-arbitration-salaries-for-2021.html Numbers are rounded to nearest 100k Narvaez - 2.9M Nottingham - .6 Hiura - .6 Wong - 8.0M Urias - .6 La Stella - 6.0 Yelich - 14.0 Cain - 17.0 Garcia - 10.5 Taylor - .6 Pillar - 3.0 Gyorko - 2.5 INF backup - 2.5 (slotting in a figure - could change) Houser - .6 Lindblom - 3.0 Burnes - .6 Woodruff - 3.0 Lauer - .6 Ray - 6.0 Yardley - .6 Peralta - 1.2 Suter - 1.6 Williams - .6 Rasmussen - .6 Hader - 5.5 FA - 5.0 (there are a lot of quality veteran FA relievers. Figure grab one or two. Could go a little higher if needed.) Rookie - .6 (give one of the young kids a chance - who, that's a good guess. Could always go with a low level FA signing for roughly twice this. TOTAL: $96.8M The number would be about $1.5M higher if you kept Pina over Nottingham.

Well said. And take care. Hope all works out well.

You would think the Indians would have tried to trade Hand before waiving him. At least get something - a flyer or two. Since they didn't make a trade, I'm thinking teams aren't going to pick him up - even for 'free'. Otherwise, they would have just offered a crappy prospect or two to the Indians to get him for sure.

My wife's hospital system has seen COVID patient numbers triple in the last three weeks - and they expect them to at least double - or perhaps triple - by the end of November. Their ICU beds are filling up - and only with people who need to be there. A big problem is getting staff. ICU nurses and docs have specialized training required to do that job. And they are quitting and moving out of the ICU at a record pace due to the stress and fear and frustration of the situation. Hospitals are routinely finding 10-20% of staff sidelined due to having COVID - or being forced to quarantine. I hope I am wrong, but things appear like they will be getting quite a bit worse in the coming month or so.