All New MILWAUKEE BUCKS thread, the everlasting title contenders!

[Buckalis]

Clearly 2021 fonds the Bucks in the better shape than ever due to:

1 Giannis signing a 5 year super max extension with the team.
2.The addition of Jrue Holiday adds a third All-star in the Bucks roster and results in the tam not only having Giannis (probably the best player ibn the world currently), but another two Top-30 players on Middleton and Holiday in the starting roster.
3. The promotion of Donte Divincenzo in the starting roster (probably a coaching team's mistake it didn't happen a season earlier) and the expectation of Donte to take another step forward on his performance secures the Bucks to be significantly better than the previous season.
4. The addition of (very young in age) Bobby Portis not only provides support for the "bigs" in the starting roster for this season, but if thecBucks can extend his contract and him for the future, provides a reliable solution for the starting roster next to Giannis, Middleton, Holiday and Divincenzo for many years to come. Especially since Brook Lopez is aging.
5. Nwora seems to be an excellent selection for the Bucks to invest upon and with with huge future potential to secure the team's ability to compete among the title contenders in the near and long term future.

All in all, yhe Bucks seem to have secured a long term title contending future, they've improved dramatically their team age average and the NBA tile seems to be more feasible than ever before.

[Silent Killer]

There is too much assumption going on with this thread these days.hehe

Shaw seems to run a perimeter and guard oriented offense. That wont change in an instant. It is like trying to change chot's ways even if we already have very able bigs.

Kai will be drafted base on potential. His offensive and defensive potential will be the merits for his drafting. These writers werent NBA team's employees. They for sure arent team scouts or management. I dont really worry about them. It will all boil down to teams deciding on draft day. I still believe Kai is too skilled as a 7'3 big and his potential is too immense. Give him 1 to 3 years and he could be great. Milwaukee drafted Giannis mid first round and he didnt have tons of potential back then. No one would believe than he would grow to be 611 or more. He was just a mere big guard wannabee with very unsteady outside shot.

https://www.interbasket.net/forums/showthread.php?29899-The-Kai-Sotto-Nuthuggers-Thread&p=1394544&viewfull=1#post1394544

your thoughts with this?

[Buckalis]

https://www.interbasket.net/forums/s...=1#post1394544

your thoughts with this?

The Bucks drafting Giannis was a "lucky strike" based on his future potential given his body, long strides with the ball, acceleration and athletic abilities... 14 teams before the Bucks passed because they thought "sensibly" and preferred to go the traditional path of choosing a player "as ready as possible to contribute immediately" which obviously was never the case with Giannis... The Bucks risked on him, worked (hard) on him to train him and it payed back... Giannis now, has thanked the Bucks the best he could for their contribution on his developed and has rewarded them by extending his contract.

I believe Giannis will end his career with the Bucks and will possibly end up a Bucks executive after his career as a player ends.

[Buckalis]

As the trade deadline is now only a few days away, the needs that the teams which are contending for the title become evident so that they can improve their position for the playoffs.

THE bucks do look good as they are, but it is evident that if they stay put, there isn't enough support coming from the bench in order to overcome matching against the Nets or the Lakers. Ideally, the Bucks would need two more players if they were to challenge the best in the league, another combo guard to rotate with Divincenzo and Holliday to become their 7th rotation piece (considering that Portis is the 6th man) instead of D.J. Augustin and a big body 3&d wing to become their 8th rotation piece on a supportive role for both the bigs, but the wings too whenever necessary...

However, what i believe should be the first priority for the Bucks this season, isn't the addition but (and maybe I will surprise many by saying this) to move under the lux tax threshold for one more season! The reason is simple and I believe the management thinks the same... The Bucks are only 3.5M Over the lux tax threshold and according to the CBA, in order to avoid paying the (severe) repeaters tax which has historically destroyed many teams ability to contend in the long term for multiple titles by only pursuing the "one shot for the title" approach, a team cannot be above the lux tax threshold for more than 3 seasons in the later five!

It simply means that if the Bucks stay for another season below the lux tax threshold, they can then move deep into the lux tax tax for three continuous seasons, which given the fact Giannis' new contract comes into play next season, would happen anyway and will enable the Bucks to improve the roster considerably for the following three continuous seasons, thus becoming a super team able to win three continuous titles and still have the financials under control to continue contending in the long term after that... Especially if Khris Middletton (who will be 32 vafter 3 seasons) and Jrue Holliday (who also will be 32 after his current contract axpires), agree to a new contract a wealthy, but somewhat lesser salary in order to stay with the Bucks.

Therefore I believe that the optimum decision for this season, would be to only add one player via a trade and then pursue one or more addition out of buy out contracts while saving the 3.5M which are needed to be saved in order to move a penny below the lux tax threshold at the same time...

Who then should be the addition? I believe the Bucks should do all in their power to add Nemanja Bjelica for two reasons:

1. He can efficiently play both at the wing, but has the size to play sbC too and thus effectively support the bigs.
2. By using Nemanja at 3, Khris Middleton can take extensive minutes playing at the 2 position and thus support the guards in order for the Bucks to seek the additional help they need with their guards.

[Buckalis]

First (and most important) factor for the present and future of the Bucks has been achieved... The Bucks are now under the lux tax threshold after the "PJ. Tucker"trade... 13 players only on the roster and not enough depth as to challenge the better teams of the league for this season, but going under the lux tax threshold this season, simply means that the Bucks will go over the lux tax (and then deep into the tax) for three continuous seasons and then with huge potential of winning all three of them!

But... will the Bucks give up this season?

I don't know (actually I do) what the "reporters" on the various Bucks pages are raving about by thinking that "the P.J. Tucker trade was a big success" and that "P.J. Tucker will really help the Bucks" and also that "the Bucks will fill the two empty roster spots with released FAs"... But I do know all this is rubbish...

1. P.J. Tucker won't offer anything the Bucks don't already have on Pat Connaughton and Thanasis Antetokoumpo...
2. There is no chance in a million the Bucks are going over the lux tax threshold this season and there is no salary room to add a free agent, unless if after the addition is made another player gets released and his salary dumped or stretched...

Therefore here is what I expect to be happening...

The Bucks will sign a free agent (starting with Austin Rivers) and will go temporarily over the lux tax again, but immediately after they do, they will either come to a buyout agreement with... (yes) P.J. Tucker, or if he can't find another team to sign him. the Bucks will waive P.J tucker and stretch his salary over the next three seasons...
Either of these will release enough cash for the Bucks to end up the season both under the lux tax threshold, but with a full 15 players roster too...
As with the three free agents which will be signed and who they might be, my guess would be that Austin Rivers will be the 1st addition and then I consider most probably it will be another guard on Brandon Knight and I won't be surprised at all if the Bucks will bring back to the team... Jabari Parker!

Surely not the best roster in the league, but in any case the Bucks will be far better than they were last season and able to challenge the best in the league to the best they can... Who knows? the starting roster is up against the best in the league, if the additions will be prepared and have the will to contribute the best they can, the Bucks might have a good chance o give it a shot this season too.

[Buckalis]

It seems that I had a missed calculation (but then was spot on the fact that the Bucks 1st priority was to stay under the lux tax threshold) on that the Bucks would have to waive Tucker and stretch his salary over the three next seasons in order to fill the empty roster spots up and stay under the lux tax.... Things turned out to be even better since the Bucks were able to keep Tucker and use him (therefore won't have the additional "dead cap" that waiving Tucker would create over the next three seasons), but were able to fill up the empty roster spots up too and still stay under the lux tax threshold! Albeit, in order to stay (for just a few hundrends of $$$) the Bucks had to sign Jeff Teague for a salary below the minimum and risk to go into the playoffs for this season without a worthy to the rest of the roster back-up guard!

I guess this makes the "Tucker deal" what financially is "the deal of the century" for the Bucks, since they won't be paying a penny in luxury tax this season but, by far most important is the fact that it secures the Bucks avoiding the "repeaters tax" kicking in before three seasons later and thus, securing the team's advancing and ability to strengthen up and contend for many-many years to come...

The luck of an additional buck-up guard which would do justice to the rest of the rotation may of course prove to be the difference maker which may cost to the Bucks the title already from this season now that DiVincenzo is injured and out for the remainings of the playoffs, but never the less, the Bucks F.O. couldn't guess this (very unfortunate) incident happening, neither they could jeopardize the (bright) future of the team and risk entering the lux tax this season with nothing showing that the Bucks could win it all against the particularly loaded competition which is present this season...

As it is, I would fully co-line with the F.O. decision not to risk the many (perhaps multiple and successive) NBA titles that the Bucks will be the favorites to win during the following seasons, for hitting hard on a season in which the Bucks are not projected to have the "upper hand" over the loaded competition based on an "if" (which eventually happened with Donte's injury"...

Will the Bucks give up this season then?

I guess everybody who thinks this, isn't aware of the culture and mentality behind this team... There seems to be no (real) solution in solving the "DDV injury problem", but if I was coach Bud, I think the best alternative that could perhaps keep the Bucks going would be to:

1. Give additional minutes on Khris playing at 2 (SG) and some playing at 1 (PG) for the breaths Jrue will need...
2. Cut minutes from Khris playing at 3 (SF) and share them between P.J. Tucker and Pat Connaughton playing at 3...
3. Risk to use Teague for 7-8 minutes at PG... (Jeff... here is your chance to prove yourself!)

Lets go Bucks! With all (limited) we've got left, but it's all we have! Lets go and hit them hard, we can do it if everybody (and Teague in particular) stands up to the demanding role in which he is asked to give everything he has... Everybody wears the Bucks badge on his T-shirt on the court and he is asked to perform accordingly!

Lets go Bucks!

[Buckalis]

Mother of all battles starts tonight with the 1st game of the series against the Nets in Brooklyn... A promotion over the Nets which are believed to be the favorites to win it all this season, will rise the Bucks prestige over the roof and will establish the Bucks not only as the best team in the world, but perhaps the best team of all times...

The battle will be difficult and even more so after (crucial for the Bucks ability to play-make for as long as the game lasts) Donte Divincenzo got injured and will miss the rest of the playoffs, but although from a handicapped position, the Bucks can do it!

What will it take to win this battle?

1. Giannis and Middleton to take extensive play-making attempts so that they can help Jrue Holiday.

2. The performance of all 9 players which will be used to be as near to the maximum of their abilities.

3. The defense to be absolutely rock solid and restrict as much as possible the scoring abilities of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and especially James Harden.

It's the defense which wins in crucial battles and I believe the Bucks were hiding the defensive tactics they will follow in this particular battle all of this season... I believe that Giannis will of course take Durant's guarding and Jrue Holiday will guard Kyrie Irving... that's the obvious part, but I do think the Bucks will start P.J Tucker and will give him extensive minutes on a role to guard Harden... Tucker is among the best defenders in the league and he does know Harden's moves better than anybody else in the NBA after having practiced with Harden for thousands of minutes with the Rockets.

I really feel optimistic for the Bucks in this series against the Nets... My concerns are more for the performance of Teague for the limited minutes he will get in this series due to Divincenzo's absence and perhaps am a little bit concerned on Connaughton's abilities to guard the periphery for his minutes... Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis, both have to step up and back up successfully the defense of Giannis in the rim, as well as perform well the "pick and roll" for the minutes Giannis will be used as a ball handler.

LETS GO BUCKS! .... Lets do this!

[Buckalis]

It's the Hawks which will be against us in the Eastern finals!

Stay focused, don't underestimate the opponent, play great defence and hopefully the rest will take care of themselves... Pity Donte is out, he would have been a great additional help in this... It's exactly 50 years (half a century) after the 1971 championship and what an opportunity this is!

LETS GO BUCKS! .... Lets do this!

[Buckalis]

Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton have been called from Popovic to join the Olympics team USA... Needless to say they both accepted the Honor, which will make the Bucks being the only team in the league which will have four players playing in the Olympics provided that Greece with Giannis and Thanasis also gets promoted to the Olympics tournament.

[ChuckDiesel2]

Don't forget the possibility of honorary lifelong Buck Ersan Ilyasova to make it with the Turkey.

[Buckalis]

Don't forget the possibility of honorary lifelong Buck Ersan Ilyasova to make it with the Turkey.

He ain't a "lifelong Buck"as you call him... That (idiot) coach who I hope we'll get rid of this summer, brought him with him and "loaded him" on the Bucks for (another) two seasons, then he was pushed out of the rotation for the previous season's playoffs, then he was traded and was waived for good from the NBA (thanks God or Allah) and now I believe he is back in Turkey trying to convince the (corrupted) government that he can "make Tukish basketball great" from an executive's position if they can pay him in a "fat salary" in foreign currency... NBA has unfortunately made rich many idiots in this world...

[ChuckDiesel2]

He ain't a "lifelong Buck"as you call him... That (idiot) coach who I hope we'll get rid of this summer, brought him with him and "loaded him" on the Bucks for (another) two seasons, then he was pushed out of the rotation for the previous season's playoffs, then he was traded and was waived for good from the NBA (thanks God or Allah) and now I believe he is back in Turkey trying to convince the (corrupted) government that he can "make Tukish basketball great" from an executive's position if they can pay him in a "fat salary" in foreign currency... NBA has unfortunately made rich many idiots in this world...

Haha damn, you're the first person I've ever interacted with who has such a negative opinion of Ersan Ilyasova. Fifth all time in franchise games played, taker of ten thousand charges and giver of twenty thousand pump-fakes. I'll always have love/root for Ersan. Lifelong Buck in my book.

He landed with the Utah Jazz by the way, and his been in the States working out in anticipation for the tournament in Canada.

[Buckalis]

Haha damn, you're the first person I've ever interacted with who has such a negative opinion of Ersan Ilyasova. Fifth all time in franchise games played, taker of ten thousand charges and giver of twenty thousand pump-fakes. I'll always have love/root for Ersan. Lifelong Buck in my book.

He landed with the Utah Jazz by the way, and his been in the States working out in anticipation for the tournament in Canada.

He still was a starter with the Bucks when they "achieved" their worst record in the team's history, he then was traded to the Hawks and the Bucks made the playoffs a season later and then Budenholger "brought him back" only to pull him out of the rotation for good before we got rid of him and started doing really good!

The idiot was so arrogant that he bought a pair of new shoes as a gift for Giannis after the Greek freak was drafted by the Bucks and he did so, because he read that "Giannis didn't have the money to buy snickers when playing in Greece and he was forced to share shoes with Thanasis at the dates"... Giannis of course accepted "the gift", but never used it, because his manager already got him a deal with Nike (for 10K annually) and he had the supply of new snickers secured... five season's later, Giannis had a contract renewal with Nike, which led to the "most successful shoe of all times" and only half of the endorsement's worth, exceeds by far what Illiasova ever earned from the NBA... Yet. the Greek freak never forgot the irony of Ilyasova's "welcoming" to the best player the game has ever seen...

[Buckalis]

It means a lot... The Bucks were keeping the financials under control and were carefully avoiding to pass over the lux tax threshold for ages!

What are the consequences?

In one word: Huge!

The Bucks have their "big trio" on Giannis, Middleton and Holiday "locked" for another three seasons and are still under the lux tax threshold for this season!

What it means?

It practically means that the Bucks will be able to case another three titles after this season's one, without ever having to wary about becoming "repeaters tax eligible"... Which again, it practically means that the Bucks will still have at least two out of their "big trio" with the team four seasons later and will still be able to contend for as long as Giannis career lasts!

From this POV, winning the title already from this year, was never a priority, it comes as a bonus if achieved and it may establish the Bucks as "the most successful team ever in the NBA;s history" if it can happen, given that the Bucks will for the three seasons which will follow be a vastly superior team than what they now are!

[Buckalis]

As things turn, the Bucks are in the NBA finals after 47 years they've been there before and will fight to win the NBA title exactly 50 years (or half a century) after they've won it before in 1971...

It of course is an historic achievement, but never the less, the Bucks aren't the favorites to win this over the Suns...

The reason of course is Giannis' injury but Donte Divincenzo's injury too... There are of course hopes that Giannis may play at some point during the series, but of course nobody expects him to be able and contribute to the max of his abilities.

In any case and despite some media reporting that Giannis may play in game -1 (he better not play IMO) I will fully agree with Burkley's statement last night through National T.V. broadcast...

"Bucks winning in Giannis absence has done a lot of good for this team" he said... (and it may prove to be the Bucks secret weapon in these finals I may add...)

Bucks winning the Eastern finals without Giannis made clear on how Khris and Jrue may be most efficient for the Bucks... But most important, it clearly showed how can Giannis be integrated back to the team with his roll adjusted so that it only adds to Khris' and Jrue's game...

If this happens, Giannis returns before game 3 of the series and he is 80% or better ready... Then the Suns stand no chance!