Bucks looking at Bledsoe, probably.

[yoshii8]

I also wouldn't mind taking a flyer on Doron Lamb. He seems like he would be a decent pairing w/ Knight.

[turbo2k]

DONT FEED THE TROLL!

I'd be ok to try Jimmer. I wouldn't be pissed if we got Bledsoe, I just don't think it's an ideal setup.

[MickeyDavis]

If Bledsoe doesn't happen (and I think we all agree it's a LONG shot) I say just go with Wolters and some minimum salary scrub. Personally I don't think Wolters will ever be more than a good backup but I certainly don't want to waste time/money on someone like Sessions.

[Kerb Hohl]

Yeah, if Bledsoe isn't in the picture, then we don't "need" a PG. Tank on unless some interesting trade or signing comes up for another young PG.

[Baddy Chuck]

If Bledsoe doesn't happen (and I think we all agree it's a LONG shot) I say just go with Wolters and some minimum salary scrub. Personally I don't think Wolters will ever be more than a good backup but I certainly don't want to waste time/money on someone like Sessions.

Agreed. If assets came with it I'd take Lin as well.

[Bernman]

12/13.. Orlando....20 wins.... 23 the next year (3rd worst in the league)
11/12.. Charlotte...7 wins.... 21 the next year (2nd worst)
10/11.. Minnesota.. 17 wins...26 the next year (10th worst)
09/10.. New Jersey..12 wins...24 the next year (6th worst)
08/09.. Sacramento..17 wins...25 the next year (3rd worst)
07/08.. Miami...... 15 wins....43 the next year (17th worst)
06/07.. Memphis... 2 wins... 22 the next year (3rd worst)
05/06.. Portland...21 wins... 32 wins the next year (7th worst)
04/05.. Atlanta.... 13 wins.... 26 wins the next year (3rd worst)
03/04.. Orlando....21 wins ... 36 wins the next year (10th worst)
02/03.. Cleveland....17 wins.. 35 wins the next year (9th worst)
01/02.. Chicago.... 21 wins.... 30 wins the next year (7th worst)

yeah... so if parker isn't a rookie LeBron, howard, or a prime wade.... id say its a safe assumption to suggest were gonna be pretty closely parked in that bottom 5-7 again. not a guarantee, but pretty hard to argue against it if we don't see some additional roster moves that make it pretty clear were trying to win more games immediately.

You are such a spinmeister.

When a team was tied for the worst record the previous year, but finished with the better record of the two the next, you omitted them. Golden State and Denver were both tied for the worst, then finished outside the bottom 10 the next year. For Golden State, who was their superstar? Denver's was the same guy ours is commonly compared to.

You also ignored that there was often a drop of 1-2 spots after the draft lottery. I mean we're talking about implications on our subsequent draft pick here.

You're also ignoring the stark difference between top 5 and top 10 picks as demonstrated by a few posters here.

This reminds me of when you tried to argue that the Bucks were as successful if not more so than the Brewers because they made the playoffs more during a cherry picked time frame, ignoring the change in trend under the Brewers' new ownership and the fact that there are so many more playoff spots available in the NBA.

[bango_the_buck]

Bledsoe is nice but I'd just as soon roll with Knight/Wolters if were looking at a max deal. I actually think SG is a bigger priority as we really only have one on the roster (Mayo). We need to try and move one of our 45 PFs for a 2.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

12/13.. Orlando....20 wins.... 23 the next year (3rd worst in the league)
11/12.. Charlotte...7 wins.... 21 the next year (2nd worst)
10/11.. Minnesota.. 17 wins...26 the next year (10th worst)
09/10.. New Jersey..12 wins...24 the next year (6th worst)
08/09.. Sacramento..17 wins...25 the next year (3rd worst)
07/08.. Miami...... 15 wins....43 the next year (17th worst)
06/07.. Memphis... 2 wins... 22 the next year (3rd worst)
05/06.. Portland...21 wins... 32 wins the next year (7th worst)
04/05.. Atlanta.... 13 wins.... 26 wins the next year (3rd worst)
03/04.. Orlando....21 wins ... 36 wins the next year (10th worst)
02/03.. Cleveland....17 wins.. 35 wins the next year (9th worst)
01/02.. Chicago.... 21 wins.... 30 wins the next year (7th worst)

yeah... so if parker isn't a rookie LeBron, howard, or a prime wade.... id say its a safe assumption to suggest were gonna be pretty closely parked in that bottom 5-7 again. not a guarantee, but pretty hard to argue against it if we don't see some additional roster moves that make it pretty clear were trying to win more games immediately.

You are such a spinmeister.

When a team was tied for the worst record the previous year, but finished with the better record of the two the next, you omitted them. Golden State and Denver were both tied for the worst, then finished outside the bottom 10 the next year. For Golden State, who was their superstar? Denver's was the same guy ours is commonly compared to.

You also ignored that there was often a drop of 1-2 spots after the draft lottery. I mean we're talking about implications on our subsequent draft pick here.

You're also ignoring the stark difference between top 5 and top 10 picks as demonstrated by a few posters here.

This reminds me of when you tried to argue that the Bucks were as successful if not more so than the Brewers because they made the playoffs more during a cherry picked time frame, ignoring the change in trend under the Brewers' new ownership and the fact that there are so many more playoff spots available in the NBA.

did you respond to the right post? I just went back on espn from the link big kurty posted... wrote em down exactly how they were listed on the site and posted it. there isn't any spin here. I certainly didn't intend any? im not sure I even understand the complaints that you raised?

edit... I just listed teams with the worst record in the league.... and then what they did the next year. those were the only teams I analyzed. im sure there are all sorts of improvements outside of that range.

which year are you talking about when golden state and Denver were tied for worst. is that outside my date range?

[Bernman]

Bledsoe is negotiating with he Suns...Vasquez with he Raptors, and Lin appears headed to Philly. So what are the other options out there? Teague? Sessions?

Meh,

Negotiating with the Suns means very little. If that negotiation doesn't involve an eventual full comfort in offering him the max, he'll play the field. And the concept of negotiating kind of goes against the idea they have full comfort in offering the max.

As for Lin, it sounds like a timing thing, and a matter of who is willing to take less between the Bucks and Sixers. If the Rockets can hold out a few days to sign their player(s), they'd be smart to because then the Bucks will know where they stand with Bledsoe, and if that's not happening they can drive the price down for the Rockets to unload Lin on someone.

Who cares about Vasquez.

If we strike out with Bledsoe and Lin, I'd just try to pry some team's prospect away like Schroeder or Ennis (less of a need for Phoenix if Bledsoe comes back), go with him or Wolters at point, and win as many games as you can with them and other prospects. Really make sure to unload guys like Ersan then.

[Ron Swanson]

What's really comical is that very few of you Bledsoe devotees have ever seen him play, except for a few u-tube highlights. And that's ok if his production was outstanding and you relied on that. But the love for a player who has produced very little and is very injury prone is cult-like. My guess is that if Brandon Knight played for a team in the West, you'd feel the same way about him, since he has produced similar numbers in fewer years of playing.

No........he hasn't

Bledsoe: 19.4 PPG, 6 AST, 5 RB, 1.8 STL, 0.4 BLK, 48% FG, 36% 3PT, 58% TS

Knight: 19.4 PPG, 5 AST, 4 RB, 1 STL, 0.2 BLK, 42% FG, 32% 3PT, 52% TS

Their raw scoring numbers are the only thing that is similar. So if all you care about is PPGz, and completely ignore efficiency, then yeah.....they're similar.

Lets see. Same points, same rebounds, same assists and now you want to look DEEPER. And all you can come up with is his efficiency, especially as a shooter. This, despite the fact, that even many of his supporters and almost all the analysts, admit that Knight is the much better shooter. Knight, on the team he was on last year, could not be efficient. He had to take tons of shots at the end of the shot clock because he was the only one who could create his shot. I'm not saying Knight is a great player. Only that all of you are drooling over Bledsoe and have nothing to point to that shows greatness.
Bledsoe and Knight are very alike. Bledsoe may be marginally better, but not to the extent all of you are making him out to be. The guy is going into his fifth year and with his meager production, you're all slobbering over him. Laughable.

Like......what are you even talking about? Do you even know what "efficiency" is?

You're either trolling or just incredibly uninformed about the game of basketball. If it's the latter then I'd suggest you realize the hypocrisy about calling other posters' opinions "laughable" and get informed. If it's the former, go away.

[fansinceforever]

I think I would bring in Bledsoe (Although I dont think we pry him from PHX) just based on the fact that he's still Young, has upside and has the ability to get us into the conversation of playing meaningful basketball games sooner than anticipated.

Our future is still predicated entirely on what Parker/Giannis become. IF Larry can stay healthy/out of trouble, they sign Bledsoe, The younger guys (Giannis, Middleton, Henson, Knight, Wolters) improve and Kidd is able to get them to play to their strengths then I see no reason why they can't compete for an 8 seed.

I'm not saying that's necessarily my desired outcome for the season but to get those guys playing "winning" ball this early would do wonders for their confidence and for the recovery of our fan base.

I say do it if we can.

[linguini8]

There's no chance we're top 5 bad this season without the exact same **** storm of last year happening all over again. But since Drew is gone, there's 0 chance that happens. Any competent coach would have won 10 more games than he did last season. That is how bad he was and how lucky we were. Scott Skiles would've gotten 25-30 wins out of last years team with everything that went down. Jason Kidd gets them 25. Seriously...Factor in all of the other changes and the growth and development of our young players and I think we're realistically looking at 30-35 wins. If we add a solid starter at PG/SG through FA or a trade before the season starts we could be looking at 40 wins.

Bledsoe/Wolters
Middleton/Knight/Mayo
Giannis/Delfino
Parker/Ersan
Sanders/Zaza/Henson

This team could win 40 games in the East next year if everyone stays relatively healthy.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

were gonna be bottom 10 for sure. I don't see the point of splitting hairs about whether its still bottom 5 or not.

Hi there, GoS, let me introduce you to saveourbucks.com, and the research done on the importance of top 5 picks:
http://saveourbucks.com/the-importance-of-a-top-5-pick/

theres a lot of guys suggesting our team as constructed is capable of a jump. im suggesting it isn't really unless we se dramatic improvement for giannis, and an amazing impact from parker. those 2 could put us in the bottom 10 vs the bottom 5 depending on their output. in this sense im agreeing with sob.

as far as Bledsoe goes..... id much rather have him AND a top 10 pick with a punchers shot at top 3..... then just another top 5 with no guarantee that its top 5 anyway. Bledsoe is worth a top 5 pick to me. I think hes that good.....AND hes a known quantity.

[Bernman]

12/13.. Orlando....20 wins.... 23 the next year (3rd worst in the league)
11/12.. Charlotte...7 wins.... 21 the next year (2nd worst)
10/11.. Minnesota.. 17 wins...26 the next year (10th worst)
09/10.. New Jersey..12 wins...24 the next year (6th worst)
08/09.. Sacramento..17 wins...25 the next year (3rd worst)
07/08.. Miami...... 15 wins....43 the next year (17th worst)
06/07.. Memphis... 2 wins... 22 the next year (3rd worst)
05/06.. Portland...21 wins... 32 wins the next year (7th worst)
04/05.. Atlanta.... 13 wins.... 26 wins the next year (3rd worst)
03/04.. Orlando....21 wins ... 36 wins the next year (10th worst)
02/03.. Cleveland....17 wins.. 35 wins the next year (9th worst)
01/02.. Chicago.... 21 wins.... 30 wins the next year (7th worst)

yeah... so if parker isn't a rookie LeBron, howard, or a prime wade.... id say its a safe assumption to suggest were gonna be pretty closely parked in that bottom 5-7 again. not a guarantee, but pretty hard to argue against it if we don't see some additional roster moves that make it pretty clear were trying to win more games immediately.

You are such a spinmeister.

When a team was tied for the worst record the previous year, but finished with the better record of the two the next, you omitted them. Golden State and Denver were both tied for the worst, then finished outside the bottom 10 the next year. For Golden State, who was their superstar? Denver's was the same guy ours is commonly compared to.

You also ignored that there was often a drop of 1-2 spots after the draft lottery. I mean we're talking about implications on our subsequent draft pick here.

You're also ignoring the stark difference between top 5 and top 10 picks as demonstrated by a few posters here.

This reminds me of when you tried to argue that the Bucks were as successful if not more so than the Brewers because they made the playoffs more during a cherry picked time frame, ignoring the change in trend under the Brewers' new ownership and the fact that there are so many more playoff spots available in the NBA.

did you respond to the right post? I just went back on espn from the link big kurty posted... wrote em down exactly how they were listed on the site and posted it. there isn't any spin here. I certainly didn't intend any? im not sure I even understand the complaints that you raised?

C'mon, you're doing it right now.

01/02.. Chicago.... 21 wins.... 30 wins the next year (7th worst)
01/02..Golden State...21 wins....38 wins the next year (11th worst)
02/03.. Cleveland....17 wins.. 35 wins the next year (9th worst)
02/03..Denver.......17 wins....43 wins the next year (19th worst)

You left the bolded teams out even though they tied for the worst record.

And this is just going by your criteria of bottom 10, which has been proven invalid. There is indeed a big historical difference between picking 1-5 and 6-10 that is not "splitting hairs", and your list didn't even show quite where they picked rather where they finished in the standings. You were blatantly spinning, again.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

when was the last time or even how many times..... has a team gone from worst in the league to outside of the bottom 10 the next?

has it ever happened without the addition of a clearcut HOF superstar in the equation?

That's a ridiculously small sample which fits all the qualifiers you've conveniently included to make it tough to satisfy. We're talking about like 35-40 very worst teams even if you go all the way back to 1980, and then if you were the very worst typically you've added a future star the next year as a result. Most expect Parker to be that type of player. Ray Allen will be a hall of famer, and I think that's a reasonable level of play expectation for the #2 pick in an outstanding draft. Ray was #5 in his. Speaking of which, I'll get back to the importance and efficacy of specifically top 5 picks later.

Anyway, going back to just the start of the 2000's, and looking at teams who've went from very worst to a #10 draft pick or lower....

Golden State went from tied for worst to #11 in '03
Denver tied for worst to #19 in '04
Cleveland tied for worst to #10 pick in '04
Orlando worst to #11 pick in '05
Miami from worst to #18 in '09
Minnesota from worst to #10 in '12

Besides, top 5 pick, and top 10 pick, is far from "splitting hairs" historically. Compare our own picks from 6-10 and 1-5, and there is a huge difference. Top 5's were Ray, Glenn, Bogut, etc. 6-10 were Alexander, Yi, Traylor, Baddy, etc. lol And to even probably get a top 5 pick, we need to finish in the bottom 3. That would be a challenge even without Sanders, with better young players than other possibly tanking/crap teams like Philly, New York, Boston, Detroit, and Orlando. That's not to mention the west with Minnesota, LA, and Utah. The reality is, we probably don't end up with a top 5 pick regardless next year, and maybe top 10 as presently constituted, yet some people don't want to add a relatively young core player, and even want to give up one in Sanders to boot to take gambles on probable 6-10 picks which haven't worked out well for us in recent years as previously illustrated. In spite of the different circumstance now with a core of young players, many are still stuck in the old mindset of the last ten years for the Bucks to TANK! more, but ironic that would now be yours when you defended decisions to make the team mediocre long-term with veterans under the previous proven horrible owner, instead of short-term with young players who have upside under the new owner. So I guess for you, you just like to go against whatever conventional wisdom is here.

hadn't seen this post when I posted my stuff. good info here. im certainly not trying to spin anything with my list

[Matches Malone]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/IAmDPick/status/486626216905277440[/tweet]

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

C'mon, you're doing it right now.

01/02.. Chicago.... 21 wins.... 30 wins the next year (7th worst)
01/02..Golden State...21 wins....38 wins the next year (11th worst)
02/03.. Cleveland....17 wins.. 35 wins the next year (9th worst)
02/03..Denver.......17 wins....43 wins the next year (19th worst)

You left the bolded teams out even though they tied for the worst record.

And this is just going by your criteria of bottom 10, which has been proven invalid. There is indeed a big historical difference between picking 1-5 and 6-10 that is not "splitting hairs", and your list didn't even show quite where they picked rather where they finished in the standings. You were blatantly spinning, again.

I did it hurridly at work and didn't notice the ties. just went off the bottom team on espns lists. thanks for posting.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

who would s/t for Bledsoe if it included a 2015 pick swap with phoenix as the main asset going out?

edit... lets say phoenix could have better of the 2 picks(ours and theirs), knight, and ersan or something of that nature. I think youd have to believe Bledsoe is capable of being part of a "big 3" championship model to do this. personally I think he is but whatever..... I wouldn't want to give up a first rounder in any draft right now but id settle for theirs even if it was worse. our pick maybe would tantalize them.

[Bernman]

I did it hurridly at work and didn't notice the ties. just went off the bottom team on espns lists. thanks for posting.

OK, sorry I was a little harsh. I just saw some convenient numbers included and excluded which supported your argument.

[ackypoo]

motivated mayo, healthy larry sanders, improved knight/wolters/giannis/middleton/henson, the addition of an nba ready parker, and an improvement in coach? thats +15 wins imo.