Bucks News, Trade Ideas, Transactions - Livingston Back on a 1 Year Deal - Page 76

[machu46]

If this roster is any good it'll be in a sizable way because of the development and success of KPJ. He's gotta start.

KPJ is probably our 3rd best player. Certainly our 3rd best talent.

Yeah, as currently constructed, if he isn't able to step up and be our secondary creator, things are going to get pretty scary pretty fast. If he fails, our next best options are probably (1) Hoping Doc suddenly becomes an offensive guru drawing up plays to get relatively limited offensive players open looks or (2) Kuzma making the leap as a secondary creator instead of Porter.

Even being generous, it's hard to believe either of those options are more than like a 5% likelihood.

[Wonka]

I think a lot of you hoping and expecting that KPJ turns into a bonafide number 2/3 are going to be very disappointed lol. He definitely has the talent but we are going to spread shots around like we always do. He’s going to fill an important role here but don’t be shocked if both BP and Turner get more shots than he does.

If either one of those guys average more shots than he does the entire front office needs to be fired for malpractice.

It could definitely turn out that he's not capable of being efficient at that high of a load but we need to find out

I have a feeling Doc’s giant ball tendencies may come back into play. And having given Turner that contract, we are going to give him a lot of touches/shots. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him average a career high in FGA per game with us.

Seems like Kevin is going to get every opportunity to prove himself. His efficiency probably will come down, but not to unplayable levels.

[BigO]

Bucks projected rotation players by D-EPM:

Gary Harris (+1.7, 96th percentile)
Giannis (+1.2, 88th percentile)
Andre Jackson (+0.6, 76th percentile)
Bobby (+0.5, 74th percentile)
Kevin Porter (+0.5, 73rd percentile)
Ryan Rollins (+0.3, 68th percentile)
AJ Green (+0.2, 66th percentile)
Myles Turner (+0.2, 63rd percentile)
Cole Anthony (+0.1, 59th percentile)
Jericho Sims (0.0, 55th percentile)
Gary Trent (-0.4, 40th percentile)
Kuzma (-0.6, 34th percentile)
Taurean Prince: (-0.7, 27th percentile)

It's an imperfect metric that probably overrates certain guys (Bobby, Harris) and underrates others (Turner, Trent), but I can't wait for the Doc excuses for when we're not a Top-6ish defense this season, because we absolutely should be with this current roster construction. No more Taurean Prince scapegoating allowed.

This is classic.

You cite a defensive metric, also used by others on this board, and then state based on your own subjective analysis that it doesn't apply to Harris and BP, because it doesn't fit your prior narrative, particularly on BP.

Ironically, I don't have faith in many of the defensive metrics, even though most of them state BP is a good defender and the one above seems fairly consistent with my eyes, with a few exceptions. It really nailed Prince and Kuzma.

[Ron Swanson]

We were forced to play Kevin Porter and AJ Green 46-minutes each in our last playoff game because we had zero other playable/healthy guards and people are actually annoyed that we brought in a rotation caliber guy (Anthony) who's younger than both of those dudes? Weird.

What's weird is wanting a 6' 2" player in your rotation who is not a good defender and isn't very good.

And it's also weird to say there are only two guards when Trent and Rollins are on the team.

If people are adamant that Trent is gonna play a ton of SF this season, then yes, we still have only two playable rotation guards on the roster (Porter, Green) until Rollins shows that he warrants the 16-game player hype, and that's even being generous to Porter who was low-key kinda ass in that playoff series.

[BigO]

We were forced to play Kevin Porter and AJ Green 46-minutes each in our last playoff game because we had zero other playable/healthy guards and people are actually annoyed that we brought in a rotation caliber guy (Anthony) who's younger than both of those dudes? Weird.

What's weird is wanting a 6' 2" player in your rotation who is not a good defender and isn't very good.

And it's also weird to say there are only two guards when Trent and Rollins are on the team.

If people are adamant that Trent is gonna play a ton of SF this season, then yes, we still have only two playable rotation guards on the roster (Porter, Green) until Rollins shows that he warrants the 16-game player hype, and that's even being generous to Porter who was low-key kinda ass in that playoff series.

We can debate Rollins ability to play point, but Rollins is a good defender with some size, who can switch.

Anthony isn't a point guard in my view. His skill is shooting, which he hasn't done very well. I expect his numbers will improve wth Giannis, but Rollins is a better overall player. He's more efficient and a better defender.

I said earlier that this isn't a champonship roster yet, because people are relying on Rollins and KPJ to be consistently good. That's a big ask, but I've seen enough of Anthony to want Rollins playing ahead of him.

[Prez]

I'm still at a loss as to the negativity on the Anthony signing. There's nothing preventing Doc leaning more into 3-guard lineups, playing Kuzma less at the 3 and more at the 4, and cutting Prince entirely out of the rotation. As it's been stated multiple times in here, while not ideal, having GTJ or AJ start and play the minutes at the 3 was extremely effective last year due to the sheer firepower/spacing you get next to Giannis and the lack of elite offensive SFs around the league to make us pay for that. There's absolutely room for all 5 guards to get their playing time without cutting a guy like Rollins out of the rotation. And if one or two of those guys doesn't live up to expectations, having another option to try out is just a positive.

[El Pooch Grande]

I think the question now is does Horst have one more swing up his sleeve this offseason or not? Do we get the Kuzma trade done for a championship caliber wing of note? Would Trey Murphy potentially be on the block after the Herb Jones extension? Honestly curious what everything thinks on the prospect of one more big move coming, because I think relying on the deadline to bring that guy in is a far riskier proposition. Horst needs to nail this next move for a chance to grab a true Middleton replacement #2, and he needs to do it sooner rather than later IMO.

[crowhead76]

KPJ | Anthony
Rollins | Trent Jr
Keegan Murray | Prince
Giannis | Bobby
Turner | Sims

Would love to see something like this.

[emunney]

I think a lot of you hoping and expecting that KPJ turns into a bonafide number 2/3 are going to be very disappointed lol. He definitely has the talent but we are going to spread shots around like we always do. He’s going to fill an important role here but don’t be shocked if both BP and Turner get more shots than he does.

If either one of those guys average more shots than he does the entire front office needs to be fired for malpractice.

It could definitely turn out that he's not capable of being efficient at that high of a load but we need to find out

I have a feeling Doc’s giant ball tendencies may come back into play. And having given Turner that contract, we are going to give him a lot of touches/shots. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him average a career high in FGA per game with us.

Seems like Kevin is going to get every opportunity to prove himself. His efficiency probably will come down, but not to unplayable levels.

I think Doc and Horst are both in alignment right now on the volume sniper + Giannis approach, but I worry that it's a tenuous situation, particularly with Kuzma and Prince still on the roster. The conditions are right for backsliding if there are some early hiccups with the new approach. Unless they're confident Kuzma's going to take a different approach to the game, Horst has to figure out how to move him for somebody who doesn't clearly represent The Old Ways.

[jute2003]

I feel like as it stands, the Bucks are comfortably a playoff team with top 4 in the cards if everything falls right. If they manage to get a legit sf on the roster before opening day, I think they'd bump up to comfortably top 4 seed with a chance for legit contender if everything falls right. Considering where things ended last year...that is a pretty good spot to be in.

[GoldenAntlers]

KPJ | Anthony
Rollins | Trent Jr
Keegan Murray | Prince
Giannis | Bobby
Turner | Sims

Would love to see something like this.

AJ Green leaves out in the Kuzma deal, I take it?

I would love to have Bobby as the backup 4 if it means more minutes for Sims.

KPJ has more doubters on the board than I thought. Consider me highly optimistic.

I get the concerns for Anthony's playing time at the expense of Rollins, but we got him for next to nothing and now we are a better team because of it.

Pretty sure we finish 2nd or 3rd in the East.

[Ron Swanson]

What's weird is wanting a 6' 2" player in your rotation who is not a good defender and isn't very good.

And it's also weird to say there are only two guards when Trent and Rollins are on the team.

If people are adamant that Trent is gonna play a ton of SF this season, then yes, we still have only two playable rotation guards on the roster (Porter, Green) until Rollins shows that he warrants the 16-game player hype, and that's even being generous to Porter who was low-key kinda ass in that playoff series.

We can debate Rollins ability to play point, but Rollins is a good defender with some size, who can switch.

Anthony isn't a point guard in my view. His skill is shooting, which he hasn't done very well. I expect his numbers will improve wth Giannis, but Rollins is a better overall player. He's more efficient and a better defender.

I said earlier that this isn't a champonship roster yet, because people are relying on Rollins and KPJ to be consistently good. That's a big ask, but I've seen enough of Anthony to want Rollins playing ahead of him.

Who you want to see playing ahead of whom is irrelevant. This is about filling out a rotation and having a viable backup guard that can handle the ball and shoot if Rollins and Porter don't meet these lofty expectations the board has set for them because we may be (probably?) asking too much of them, which you straight up agree with lol.

[SupremeHustle]

I'd feel better about everything if a healthy Midds and Jrue walked through that door in February.


Edit: Probably just nostalgia and not rational thinking on my part. I don't care, though.

[soxperry]

I'd feel better about everything if a healthy Midds and Jrue walked through that door in February.


Edit: Probably just nostalgia and not rational thinking on my part. I don't care, though.

we really did have it all, didn't we?

[BigO]

If people are adamant that Trent is gonna play a ton of SF this season, then yes, we still have only two playable rotation guards on the roster (Porter, Green) until Rollins shows that he warrants the 16-game player hype, and that's even being generous to Porter who was low-key kinda ass in that playoff series.

We can debate Rollins ability to play point, but Rollins is a good defender with some size, who can switch.

Anthony isn't a point guard in my view. His skill is shooting, which he hasn't done very well. I expect his numbers will improve wth Giannis, but Rollins is a better overall player. He's more efficient and a better defender.

I said earlier that this isn't a champonship roster yet, because people are relying on Rollins and KPJ to be consistently good. That's a big ask, but I've seen enough of Anthony to want Rollins playing ahead of him.

Who you want to see playing ahead of whom is irrelevant. This is about filling out a rotation and having a viable backup guard that can handle the ball and shoot if Rollins and Porter don't meet these lofty expectations the board has set for them because we may be (probably?) asking too much of them, which you straight up agree with lol.

I don't know how many ways to say this. I don't think Anthony is a good player. That's the basis for not wanting him.

I do think he has more basketball skills than Kuzma, but I dont think he's a winning player. So if Rollins and KPJ flame out, this team is screwed and Anthony isn't going to solve that problem.

Anthony is an irrelevant signing only to the extent that Doc keeps him on the bench. If he's a 25 minute a game player, that's a probem.

[Ron Swanson]

If he was some guaranteed starter and "winning player" he wouldn't be getting bought out and signing for a vet minimum. No **** dude.

[Ron Swanson]

I'm still at a loss as to the negativity on the Anthony signing. There's nothing preventing Doc leaning more into 3-guard lineups, playing Kuzma less at the 3 and more at the 4, and cutting Prince entirely out of the rotation. As it's been stated multiple times in here, while not ideal, having GTJ or AJ start and play the minutes at the 3 was extremely effective last year due to the sheer firepower/spacing you get next to Giannis and the lack of elite offensive SFs around the league to make us pay for that. There's absolutely room for all 5 guards to get their playing time without cutting a guy like Rollins out of the rotation. And if one or two of those guys doesn't live up to expectations, having another option to try out is just a positive.

Because people love to say that we should always just force feed minutes to certain prospects/young players we like, until of course it becomes an Ajax situation and it actively costs the team wins. It's the same with the Prince stuff except even weirder because again, Anthony's literally the 2nd youngest guard on the roster right now. I'm interested to see how he looks with Giannis and as far away from that horrendous offensive/spacing environment that he had in Orlando.

[JayMKE]

If our biggest concern is what 3rd PG the team signed for the veteran min then the team is sitting pretty well. Can’t let perfect be the enemy of good, we have to make do with what we have. I don’t really worry about guy’s “stealing” playing time, if Rollins or KPJ are the players you all think they are then they won’t be denied. They can’t be the only “point guards” on the team, so yeah, get over it.

[BigO]

If our biggest concern is what 3rd PG the team signed for the veteran min then the team is sitting pretty well. Can’t let perfect be the enemy of good, we have to make do with what we have. I don’t really worry about guy’s “stealing” playing time, if Rollins or KPJ are the players you all think they are then they won’t be denied. They can’t be the only “point guards” on the team, so yeah, get over it.

There is some big time naivete going on here. You, Swanson and Prez act like there is a meritocracy on the Bucks.

Doc is the coach and if we've learned anything it's that merit isn't the primary factor in playing time.

So ya, I'm concerned that Prince, Kuzma, and Anthony will have big roles on the team no matter what is merited.

I will say that out of those three, I'd rather have Anthony than the other two. Not a high bar.

[soxperry]

If he was some guaranteed starter and "winning player" he wouldn't be getting bought out and signing for a vet minimum. No **** dude.

Not necessarily true. Grizzlies always have a lot of young talent that they want to develop and Trent has signed basically a vet min two years in a row and people think hes a winning player.