Realistic Ways to Improve the Bucks
by Superelkman on Feb 2, 2010 12:17 PM CST
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It is no surprise to anyone that the Bucks aren't really a contender at this point in time and will need to make a couple moves in order to insure they become one in the near future. As I see it the Bucks have some really good bench players on their team and really just need to add two things in order to become a contender.
1) An athletic frontcourt player - a guy who can alter shots, rebound the ball, atheltically finish at the rim, and is a good post defender
2) A scoring wing - a guy who can get his own shot late in the shot clock, get to the free throw line consistantly, collapse the defense
Realistic Options for Need #1
Through the Draft: SG Evan Turner and SF Wesley Johnson(probably only if we start losing more or their stock drops), SG Xavier Henry, SG Willie Warren, SF Al-Farouq Aminu and SG Avery Bradley
Through FA: None
Through Trade: SG Leandro Barbosa(alot of talk on their forums to get rid of him)... obviously there are more that we could trade for but alot of them would be too expensive financially or trade wise
-Also could hope that Meeks develops into this type of player
Realistic Options for Need #2
Through the Draft: Patrick Pattersen, Ed Davis, Derrick Favors, Larry Sanders...Jarvis Varnardo(2nd round)
Through FA: Marcus Camby, Tyson Chandler, Joel Pryzbilla(yes a 5, but can defend and rebound well), Amir Johnson
Through Trade: ???
Realistically What Could/Should Happen:
I like a lot of the wing players in this draft and think they have the potential to be really good players in this league so since you always should draft for the best player available instead of need I would draft one of them. Say we can get Xavier Henry(http://www.nbadraft.net/players/xavier-henry) in the first, Varnardo in the 2nd.
Or you could think Meeks is going to develop into that scorer and go for one of the bigs in the 1st.
Discuss...
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i would love
demarcus cousins. does everything you want in a 4…. patterson wouldn’t be bad either though. i just think that bogut needs a little pressure taken off him down low defending. to me, that is more important than a shooter right now. win with defense in the paint, force outside shots…
Agreed.
I’d love to have a physical, mobile 4. Cousins is an absolute beast, though I think in today’s game he’ll probably end up being more of a center…the dude is BIG.
Patterson is an interesting guy because he’s physically gifted and has added a spot-up jumper this year for UK. Maybe not ideal length but he’s athletic, strong, and you can definitely see him being a very good role-playing NBA player.
by Frank Madden on Feb 5, 2010 12:58 AM CST up reply actions
if cousins is more like a center
that wouldn’t be the worst either… when was the last time the bucks had an adequate backup at center. bogut is my favorite player, but he has been bit by the injury bug throughout his career. wouldn’t be bad to have someone that could step in if the unmentionable happens again.
that said, lets assume that he stays healthy. cousins is young and could mature with the rest of the young team. how sweet would it be in 3 years for bogut and cousins to be on the floor at the same time running pick and rolls with jennings while meeks sits in the corner like and assassin…
I agree.
We passed on Lopez b/c he was a pure center and we all know how that worked out, so I agree that if he’s BPA then the pick is easy. Fortunately I also think Cousins moves better than Lopez, so you could get away with a twin towers look. He’s skilled enough in the post that he’ll be able to bully smaller guys down there when teams try to go small.
I’m not a draft expert but was a bit surprised DX had him in the 10ish range for some time. He’s looked dominant when I’ve seen him and his productivity numbers right now are unheard of, so the fact that they’ve bumped him to #4 overall seems to make more sense. I think the biggest question with him is his head—he strikes me as pretty immature on the court at times. You love intensity, but I’m not sure he’s found the right balance.
by Frank Madden on Feb 6, 2010 10:58 AM CST up reply actions
maturity
that was one knock on jennings too, and so far it hasn’t shown up…
Jennings is one of the more fascinating personalities you’ll find IMO. On the one hand you can kind of understand why people would be worried based on his tendency to say stuff off the court and the general flair/streakiness he had in high school. Even now you can look at the numbers and easily conclude he’s way too much of a chucker.
Yet everything we’ve heard so far is that he’s a terrific teammate and extremely coachable, and even with all the shooting he does play like a true point guard the vast majority of the time. And as much as he likes to talk, he doesn’t seem like much of a partier or the type to run with the wrong crowd. Let’s hope he stays on track.
by Frank Madden on Feb 7, 2010 11:18 AM CST up reply actions
it is disappointing
that more people don’t follow the bucks. i really get into this draft stuff, and the bucks as a whole, and would love to see more talk about the bucks in general. brewer and packer blogs are flooded with conversation, but this blog is dead. don’t get me wrong, i think the blog is great, but where is everyone?!?!?! i realize some people just hate the NBA, and of the big three, it is probably my least favorite, but none the less, i still love the bucks. this young team, with a front office finally in place that looks like they know how to build a team, should be exciting people around the state. very disappointing that it apparently hasn’t…
You can pair two big guys like that in the same frontcourt
I am of the school of thought that you find a way to play your 5 best guys no matter what and create a system to make it work…. if cousins is there we take him if he is the overall best prospect in the draft….
if the nba draft has taught us anything it is that you never, ever, ever, ever draft for need over talent
I would not mind Larry Sanders at all either if Cousins and Pattersen are gone.
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/larry-sanders
He is athletic, defensive minded which is just what the Bucks need
Maybe not as high of upside as some but his defensive prowess seems unmatched in this years draft
Larry Sanders 2009-2010 Stats
26.9 mpg, 15ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.6 bpg
Those are some good per minute numbers.
PF Tiers
Seems like you’ve got the Favors/Cousins/Davis group that will go top five or so and likely be out of the Bucks reach. Then you’ve got a whole slew of guys whose stock will probably fluctuate a fair bit between now and the draft. Included in that:
Sanders
Ekpe Udoh
Patrick Patterson
Greg Monroe
Dontas Motiejunas
I’m probably missing some as well. I’ve only really seen Patterson and Monroe out of that group, and neither guy blows you away. Monroe is very skilled but fairly soft and a bit of a plodder. Sanders definitely sounds intriguing from what I’ve read, though he might not have the skill level to be a star. DX’s last report says he’s 6’10 with a 7’6" wingspan and great athleticism…so like Hakim Warrick with some defense? That could work.
by Frank Madden on Feb 6, 2010 12:09 PM CST up reply actions
i like patterson the best of that group...
sanders next….
monroe does seem skilled but kinda soft…. maybe a different version of boris diaw
if you guys really want to improve
trade jennings for the entire mavericks squad or something. he gonna leave when he gets the chance.
twitter.com/aighttho
http://aightthen.tumblr.com/
that's decent...
so he has a 5 year deal? or basically he does, on account rstricted free agency or something….
that kid can play man.. no bout adoubt it. honestly- jennings is special.
twitter.com/aighttho
http://aightthen.tumblr.com/
2+2+QO
Standard rookie contract: two years guaranteed, two team option years and then restricted free agency where the Bucks would have matching rights if they can’t come to a deal. He could also take the QO and become unrestricted thereafter.
I don’t think you start to worry unless he’s turning down a huge extension after his third season (when he’s eligible to get one). Who knows how good he’ll be or what position the team will be in at that point, especially given the CBA expiring after next summer.
by Frank Madden on Feb 7, 2010 11:27 AM CST up reply actions
Rudy Gay, Monta Ellis, Anthony Randolph, and Andre Iguadala are all athletic wing players that can score and get to the line (both huge needs of ours). I would like to see us go after Ellis, because Skiles seems to love attacking and spacing the floor with little guards who can handle the ball and beat you with speed. Jennings and Ellis would be unprecidented (as a prototype backcourt) but is it that different than Jennings and Ridnour? Or Hinrich and Duhon (a favorite backcourt of Skiles in Chicago)?
Hammond needs to do something with our expiring contracts, that “flexibility” was the only thing that made some of his past talent downgrades (Mo, RJ) palatable.
of all of those...
i would take iggy first… he is a “star” that gives good effort on defense and is top 3 in the league at converting at the rim
If we're going for a big money guy...
Then I’d probably stay away from Ellis. He needs the ball in his hands a lot and I don’t see that as being a good complement to Jennings, not to mention the fact that we’d be undersized in the backcourt I think you can get away with that much of the time but if you’re paying big time dollars I’m not a big fan of compromising.
Gay is an intriguing guy who I think would fit in nicely, though I worry that he’s expecting $12-13 mil next summer when he’s much more of an $8-10 guy. Not a high-efficiency scorer, doesn’t pass, defense has been questionable.
by Frank Madden on Feb 9, 2010 12:41 AM CST up reply actions
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/donatas-motiejunas
motiejunas intrigues me because even though I would prefer an athletic dominant 4 I think he fills our need for that guy who can get us buckets himself….
if his potential really is a 10 like his profile says and he can be a Bargnani type of player I think I would take that towards the end of the lottery… who knows if he will be there though… he is currently projected to go 4th
avery bradley
i wouldn’t mind him at the end of the lottery at all… offensively supposed to be like monta ellis… defensively supposed to be like monta ellis who actually gives good effort…
skiles has also had success with those combo guards like gordon…. our backcourt would be a little undersized if this happened but oh so frickin’ quick…. i would really challenge to find a backcourt quicker than ours if we paired jennings and bradley…. that could really be a big advantage for us in a lot of matchups
A year away?
I remember hearing a lot about him coming into the season but his first year just doesn’t seem to mesh with the hype. PG size yet he doesn’t pass, hasn’t been a big-time scorer (12.1 ppg) and hits just 48% of his free throws…yikes. I’m just not a big fan of gambling on an undersized shooting guard, especially when he hasn’t proven he’s a star at the college level.
by Frank Madden on Feb 9, 2010 12:47 AM CST up reply actions
on that team he doesn’t need to scorem more than 12ppg… but yeah i get those concerns…. at that point in the draft though if you can get a guy with a high celing like he does than i think you sometimes overlook those concerns… he isn’t ideal but i like his scouting report… his on the court performance does need to improve however
Cousins
I doubt this guy will be around when we are drafting, and while his talent is overwhelming, I just don’t like his demeanor on the court. Seems very into himself, and just childish somehow. I got a bad feeling that he’s gonna get into trouble in the NBA just watching him play. He did get brought in by the biggest snake oil salesmen there is in Calipari, so you know he’s vulnerable. :) Plus he can’t hit his free throws at all.
Good with the bad...
I agree it’s not likely to be relevant for the Bucks—he looks like a top five talent to me and we’re likely going to be in the 10-15 range. Still, if you’re going to get a steal then a guy with character question marks is one way to do it. It’s tough with players this young b/c they’re being judged as adults and many will probably get their act together. Some of course won’t. But guys like Jennings and Mayo provide some hope in that regard.
by Frank Madden on Feb 12, 2010 2:35 PM CST up reply actions
I like him, too. Obviously he’s not a long-term piece but as a rotation player he’d fit with almost anyone—good defender, knows his role, won’t cost a fortune.
by Frank Madden on Feb 12, 2010 2:37 PM CST up reply actions
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