Henson Resigns with the Bucks: 4/$45

[Ruzious]

Huh? They just signed Greg Monroe and re-signed Middleton without him even testing the market. I think the Bucks are under no illusions that they a premium destination city and they don't quite yet have the team to lure players seeking titles, but they definitely didn't sign Henson because of fear they couldn't potentially sign a replacement. They obviously view him as an asset.

That said, free agency is always a gamble no matter who you are. And next summer there will be more teams with money than players worth spending it on so it will be tough competition and you will have to overpay. So in that sense, its much smarter to lock up a guy you value now rather than entering a sellers market.

That's a lot of money Chuck. Add 4 or 5 million to it and you'd probably get a big upgrade in talent, or spend a couple of thirfty dollars and bide your time.

I don't think it was a smart economic move, seems like they are settling to me.

Who are they getting next offseason for that money, when 11 mil is essentially MLE money? Look at centers who signed for the MLE, and who's got the ability and upside of Henson. I count 2 this offseason, Baynes and Ajinca. And Henson's clearly better than Baynes to me and probably Ajinca, and younger than both.

I think that's a point that people aren't thinking through. 11 or 12 mil is very high for him now, but in 2 years, it's likely going to be low. And I concur with the point made that if they have a minutes issue with Parker and Giannis needing more minutes at the 4 and 5, Henson should be easily tradable. Oh, and a stat from Synergy Sports Tech - Henson finished 8th in scoring off of cuts last season.

[bondom34]

Production wise they arguably had better reasons to pay them. We've seen it first hand with the lack of opportunity to balance our roster for years. For example our bench was terrible last year, and look what it cost to get rid of those guys.

And it was a mistake for us.

I don't think they are close enough to justify it with a title run either.

This is their 2nd string C. Landry and JT were like the 4/5th PFs on the roster in Sacramento.

And Sacramento was under the impression they could move them if need be later.

Yes, and that was clearly wrong from the start. Those deals were called bad when signed by a lot of people, this is considered reasonable by most. Just because one team signed terrible players doesn't mean every backup player signed is terrible. Henson's already better than JT or Landry.

[Spens1]

it seems any big man can get this sort of money now

anyway Henson does have potential so it isn't too bad, he could be very much like an Ibaka for the Bucks and honestly, i prefer him in the starting lineup right now over Greg Monroe for the Bucks (if Parker plays the 4)

[Smitty731]

Not sure if anyone else noted this or not, but this is actually a declining contract. Starts at ~12.2 million and decline down to ~9.7. I liked it before and I like it even more now.

[NashtyNas]

Seeing some of the responses on this thread, I think a lot of people either have never watched Henson play, or don't understand his impact defensively. Everyone is okay with Thompson being valued so highly and demanding max money - in fact everyone including LeBron believes he is necessary to compete for a championship in Cleveland. Compare the 2 players and the numbers actually suggest Henson might be slightly better.

Higher PER, TS%, BLK%, EFG% DRTG, DBPM ... hell he's better at just about everything other than rebounding, where he is only slightly worse (16.7 TRB% vs. 16 for Henson). Oh and also FT's which he sucks at.

Despite Henson having a lower playing time last year, when they both played around ~26 minutes per game (Thompson last year and Henson the year prior), they have very similar numbers. Henson scored 3 more points on better efficiency, played better defense and got more blocks while Thompson got 1 more rebound and shot FT's at a better rate.

So before you "barf" at this very good deal, consider those facts for a moment. Sure you can use +/- but there are a lot more factors involved that affect that stat, just about every other stat favors Henson.

I'd rather have Henson at 4/45 than Thompson at 3/54 or 5/94 EVERY day of the week.

Granted, with Monroe's addition his PT in Milwaukee will be limited to around 20minutes, but this is a very good deal for the kid. You could move him for a good asset down the stretch if necessary, and as Smitty pointed out, the declining deal makes it even more attractive. Not seeing any reason to complain here.

[spearsy23]

Seeing some of the responses on this thread, I think a lot of people either have never watched Henson play, or don't understand his impact defensively. Everyone is okay with Thompson being valued so highly and demanding max money - in fact everyone including LeBron believes he is necessary to compete for a championship in Cleveland. Compare the 2 players and the numbers actually suggest Henson might be slightly better.

Higher PER, TS%, BLK%, EFG% DRTG, DBPM ... hell he's better at just about everything other than rebounding, where he is only slightly worse (16.7 TRB% vs. 16 for Henson). Oh and also FT's which he sucks at.

Despite Henson having a lower playing time last year, when they both played around ~26 minutes per game (Thompson last year and Henson the year prior), they have very similar numbers. Henson scored 3 more points on better efficiency, played better defense and got more blocks while Thompson got 1 more rebound and shot FT's at a better rate.

So before you "barf" at this very good deal, consider those facts for a moment. Sure you can use +/- but there are a lot more factors involved that affect that stat, just about every other stat favors Henson.

I'd rather have Henson at 4/45 than Thompson at 3/54 or 5/94 EVERY day of the week.

Granted, with Monroe's addition his PT in Milwaukee will be limited to around 20minutes, but this is a very good deal for the kid. You could move him for a good asset down the stretch if necessary, and as Smitty pointed out, the declining deal makes it even more attractive. Not seeing any reason to complain here.

Absolutely no-one is okay with Thompson being valued so highly and demanding a max contract.

[The59Sound]

Absolutely no-one is okay with Thompson being valued so highly and demanding a max contract.

Yeah, don't know where that came from.

[NashtyNas]

Absolutely no-one is okay with Thompson being valued so highly and demanding a max contract.

Yeah, don't know where that came from.

Every media outlet is saying the Cavs should play him. Everyone here expects that TO will pay him the max if the Cavs don't this year.
So.. that's essentially where it came from.

[The59Sound]

Absolutely no-one is okay with Thompson being valued so highly and demanding a max contract.

Yeah, don't know where that came from.

Every media outlet is saying the Cavs should play him. Everyone here expects that TO will pay him the max if the Cavs don't this year.
So.. that's essentially where it came from.

I'm not trolling you here, but I honestly haven't read a single post that says that. I'm sure a handful of people have made the comment, but it's obviously not the prevailing board opinion. The majority are rightly tearing Thompson apart for being delusional and are saying the Cavs shouldn't give him a max deal.

[Texas Chuck]

What we have heard is reports coming from the Thompson camp telling Cleveland that Toronto is prepared to give him a max contract next summer. None of that is coming from Toronto or any other reputable source. It's pure negotiating spin from Thompson and Rich Paul.