ATL - Road teams now up 5-0 (Indy, NYK, Den, GSW)

[paulpressey25]

Not familiar if LA’s apron status but that is a landing area for Brook Lopez.

That said, I’m still convinced Giannis does not want to play center, and will want him here assuming he stays. Just as the AD never wants to play center (even though he’s a center).

[DingleJerry]

Yea Bucks definitely still need a thick big of some kind to spell Giannis or at least sell to him that he's not the full time guy there. But it should be blatantly obvious to him that the best lineups are him at 5 and that a big issue the last few years is how slow the team is. Which of course is greatly helped by taking off a big slow player and replacing with an athlete.

If Brook is cool with it and takes a 10 mil type deal so be it, but a guy like Sims is probably good enough for me and I'd rather spend Brooks money elsewhere. Plus I fear that as long as Brook is here they won't be able to quit him

[paulpressey25]

Yea Bucks definitely still need a thick big of some kind to spell Giannis or at least sell to him that he's not the full time guy there. But it should be blatantly obvious to him that the best lineups are him at 5 and that a big issue the last few years is how slow the team is. Which of course is greatly helped by taking off a big slow player and replacing with an athlete.

If Brook is cool with it and takes a 10 mil type deal so be it, but a guy like Sims is probably good enough for me and I'd rather spend Brooks money elsewhere. Plus I fear that as long as Brook is here they won't be able to quit him

Giannis at 5 isn’t going to happen. He doesn’t want it.

And now that he’s showed Giannis as ball dominant point forward is his most impactful position, we’re going to need to find that PJ mobile bruiser guy we’ve been missing for a long time.

[DingleJerry]

Yea Bucks definitely still need a thick big of some kind to spell Giannis or at least sell to him that he's not the full time guy there. But it should be blatantly obvious to him that the best lineups are him at 5 and that a big issue the last few years is how slow the team is. Which of course is greatly helped by taking off a big slow player and replacing with an athlete.

If Brook is cool with it and takes a 10 mil type deal so be it, but a guy like Sims is probably good enough for me and I'd rather spend Brooks money elsewhere. Plus I fear that as long as Brook is here they won't be able to quit him

Giannis at 5 isn’t going to happen. He doesn’t want it.

And now that he’s showed Giannis as ball dominant point forward is his most impactful position, we’re going to need to find that PJ mobile bruiser guy we’ve been missing for a long time.

Well then ask him if he wants to win, it should be so obvious. What's he afraid of, there is no big man stuff anymore. Watching these playoffs its good to see how hard and physical teams are playing, but the traditional 5 is basically gone. But isn't the PJ mobile bruiser type still putting Giannis at the 5 for your heaviest minutes and closing, vs 95% of teams other than the Jokic/Embiid?

But yea thats why I said you still need someone to fill that thick traditional big role and eat some mins for Giannis and to appease him to a degree. Brook covers that if all are on board with reduction in pay and minutes. I just fear if he's still here they'll just do the same thing again, and then wonder why they seem so slow for the 4th year in a row. And then we all sit here and say how unplayable Brook is in the playoffs.

[Bernman]

Yea Bucks definitely still need a thick big of some kind to spell Giannis or at least sell to him that he's not the full time guy there. But it should be blatantly obvious to him that the best lineups are him at 5 and that a big issue the last few years is how slow the team is. Which of course is greatly helped by taking off a big slow player and replacing with an athlete.

If Brook is cool with it and takes a 10 mil type deal so be it, but a guy like Sims is probably good enough for me and I'd rather spend Brooks money elsewhere. Plus I fear that as long as Brook is here they won't be able to quit him

We need a higher quality 5 than Sims, & a much younger one than Brook. Selling Naz Reid to come here and start on the non-tax MLE is the dream. You'd probably need the disabled player exception for another MLE to use on perimeter players for that to be workable though.

FWIW, this is Horst's one strength - FA. If he has 2 MLE's to play with, I'm confident he could maximize that to build out the starting 5 & depth to finally respectable levels. Would that still be enough w/out another core player or two w/ Giannis? I really doubt it. But better than this yr.

[German Athens]

I think the idea of doing Giannis at the 5 and having a lineup that looks like our last one in the playoffs is that you are able to switch more often.

At that point, it doesn’t matter what nominal position you really are.

[DingleJerry]

Yea Bucks definitely still need a thick big of some kind to spell Giannis or at least sell to him that he's not the full time guy there. But it should be blatantly obvious to him that the best lineups are him at 5 and that a big issue the last few years is how slow the team is. Which of course is greatly helped by taking off a big slow player and replacing with an athlete.

If Brook is cool with it and takes a 10 mil type deal so be it, but a guy like Sims is probably good enough for me and I'd rather spend Brooks money elsewhere. Plus I fear that as long as Brook is here they won't be able to quit him

We need a higher quality 5 than Sims, & a much younger one than Brook. Selling Naz Reid to come here and start on the non-tax MLE is the dream. You'd probably need the disabled player exception for another MLE to use on perimeter players for that to be workable though.

FWIW, this is Horst's one strength - FA. If he has 2 MLE's to play with, I'm confident he could maximize that to build out the starting 5 & depth to finally respectable levels. Would that still be enough w/out another core player or two w/ Giannis? I really doubt it. But better than this yr.

Well, IMO that's doing what I want. Giannis is the 5 and a guy like Reid would be the 4. He's 6'9 and plays on the wing shooting 3s, thats a 4 these days. Giannis is 7'0 and jacked and dominates in the paint, thats a 5. If it makes Giannis happy to call Reid the 5 then so be it, its not really the case but if you need to trick him that's fine. You're essentially advocating for what I want, a modern athletic 4 that can shoot with Giannis as the 5/big.

But even still you'll need a thick guy for certain matchups, I'd prefer to not spend much money on such a guy though, so someone in the Sims vein is enough for me. Especially if you still have a Bobby hanging around off the bench.

[chonestown]

Purple and gold doesn’t suit Luka. It’s time for him to come home.

I don't see how they can run this back. See what you can get in terms of young talent and future picks. Clear reckoning moment.imo

[Bernman]

Well, IMO that's doing what I want. Giannis is the 5 and a guy like Reid would be the 4. He's 6'9 and plays on the wing shooting 3s, thats a 4 these days. Giannis is 7'0 and jacked and dominates in the paint, thats a 5. If it makes Giannis happy to call Reid the 5 then so be it, its not really the case but if you need to trick him that's fine. You're essentially advocating for what I want, a modern athletic 4 that can shoot with Giannis as the 5/big.

But even still you'll need a thick guy for certain matchups, I'd prefer to not spend much money on such a guy though, so someone in the Sims vein is enough for me. Especially if you still have a Bobby hanging around off the bench.

Bobby was decent after the last couple months of his season and into the playoffs. More playable than Brook in that match-up & probably in general. But into his 30's now, w/ him forcing us to play one flawed style of d (switching), having posted mediocre efficiency in the playoffs, the shenanigans, & derisive comments about the city; I think I'm good.

If part of the retool is to bring him back & elevate him to full-time starter because of nostalgia or we can't do anything else w/ cap constraints, I become even stronger in preference to trade Giannis & rebuild. Cuz we're getting diminishing returns on what already had questionable efficacy. And we can't afford to get us back over the 2nd apron or take on contracts that are untradeable/wouldn't carry over to a potential rebuild.

[German Athens]

Naz would be great here, but I’m sure Minny will do everything in their power to retain him.

[DingleJerry]

Well, IMO that's doing what I want. Giannis is the 5 and a guy like Reid would be the 4. He's 6'9 and plays on the wing shooting 3s, thats a 4 these days. Giannis is 7'0 and jacked and dominates in the paint, thats a 5. If it makes Giannis happy to call Reid the 5 then so be it, its not really the case but if you need to trick him that's fine. You're essentially advocating for what I want, a modern athletic 4 that can shoot with Giannis as the 5/big.

But even still you'll need a thick guy for certain matchups, I'd prefer to not spend much money on such a guy though, so someone in the Sims vein is enough for me. Especially if you still have a Bobby hanging around off the bench.

Bobby was decent after the last couple months of his season and into the playoffs. More playable than Brook in that match-up & probably in general. But into his 30's now, w/ him forcing us to play one flawed style of d (switching), having posted mediocre efficiency in the playoffs, the shenanigans, & derisive comments about the city; I think I'm good.

If part of the retool is to bring him back & elevate him to full-time starter because of nostalgia or we can't do anything else w/ cap constraints, I become even stronger in preference to trade Giannis & rebuild. Cuz we're getting diminishing returns on what already had questionable efficacy.

I'm definitely on the trade Bobby side as well. He's one of our few assets someone else might actually want, hopefully can turn him and his salary into a more athletic/wing type person

[Bernman]

Well, IMO that's doing what I want. Giannis is the 5 and a guy like Reid would be the 4. He's 6'9 and plays on the wing shooting 3s, thats a 4 these days. Giannis is 7'0 and jacked and dominates in the paint, thats a 5. If it makes Giannis happy to call Reid the 5 then so be it, its not really the case but if you need to trick him that's fine. You're essentially advocating for what I want, a modern athletic 4 that can shoot with Giannis as the 5/big.

But even still you'll need a thick guy for certain matchups, I'd prefer to not spend much money on such a guy though, so someone in the Sims vein is enough for me. Especially if you still have a Bobby hanging around off the bench.

Bobby was decent after the last couple months of his season and into the playoffs. More playable than Brook in that match-up & probably in general. But into his 30's now, w/ him forcing us to play one flawed style of d (switching), having posted mediocre efficiency in the playoffs, the shenanigans, & derisive comments about the city; I think I'm good.

If part of the retool is to bring him back & elevate him to full-time starter because of nostalgia or we can't do anything else w/ cap constraints, I become even stronger in preference to trade Giannis & rebuild. Cuz we're getting diminishing returns on what already had questionable efficacy.

I'm definitely on the trade Bobby side as well. He's one of our few assets someone else might actually want, hopefully can turn him and his salary into a more athletic/wing type person

At a point we're going to have to stop adding more salary on sizable exceptions & sign-trades. We're getting back into 2nd apron territory and making too many commitments. Getting Caris Levert on a vet min would be preferable. Balances our books, while adding ball-handling, creativity.

[Reddeye]

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[bucksfansince88]

I think the idea of doing Giannis at the 5 and having a lineup that looks like our last one in the playoffs is that you are able to switch more often.

At that point, it doesn’t matter what nominal position you really are.

Just bring over lessort

[DanoMac]

Read on Twitter

Favorite movie Matilda

[paulpressey25]

Naz would be great here, but I’m sure Minny will do everything in their power to retain him.

Naz Reid would put us back in a lot of conversations. He's the perfect guy. But yes, I have no idea how you pry him out of Minnesota even with a full MLE offer.

[Bernman]

I think the idea of doing Giannis at the 5 and having a lineup that looks like our last one in the playoffs is that you are able to switch more often.

At that point, it doesn’t matter what nominal position you really are.

Just bring over lessort

He's more of a defender & rebounder. Wouldn't promote offensive creation & spacing. But the Bucks don't own his rights anyway it seems. The Wizards own official page reported they got him in the deal. So they fleeced the Bucks even more it turns out.

https://www.nba.com/wizards/news/wizards-acquire-middleton-johnson-from-milwaukee-bucks

[German Athens]

Naz would be great here, but I’m sure Minny will do everything in their power to retain him.

Naz Reid would put us back in a lot of conversations. He's the perfect guy. But yes, I have no idea how you pry him out of Minnesota even with a full MLE offer.

I think you could sell him on a starting role, but I think Minny will offer more than that 14m MLE value.

Considering his fit there, and their team’s recent playoff success, I don’t see him leaving.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Be interesting to see how LA fills out the roster for next season. They have some pieces but really only one good one in Reaves who kinda **** the bed this series. Be interesting if they do smaller moves or try and make a splash with Reaves and hope someone like Knecht could fill that role to some extent now that Luka's there.

Not familiar if LA’s apron status but that is a landing area for Brook Lopez.

That said, I’m still convinced Giannis does not want to play center, and will want him here assuming he stays. Just as the AD never wants to play center (even though he’s a center).

https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/LAL.html
Assuming they have DFS and LBJ cap holds when they opt in, they are already at $189m. Above the tax but $6m below the first apron with 11 guys assuming the 2 opt ins. Any realistic moves would have to be done via trade.

I wonder if there is any small, almost non-existent chance/legal way for LBJ to decline the option/they renounce him and sign for the vet min. Assuming Nike and other sponsors bribe him to come back for a retirement tour, but he is reluctant to do so unless he gets some more talent. Could add a guy like Harden on a discounted but long-term contract (say 4/110m) or 2-3 of Turner/Reid/Lopez/Kuminga/Beasley/Portis.

It would be an interesting dynamic next year where you have LBJ getting his roses while Luka is thinking WTF am I on a play-in team with a 41 year-old getting $50m and Austin Reeves as the second best player in my prime?

[tedbrogen]

Dame injury hurts more knowing if LeBron retires you could have gotten assets from them for Dame as I’m sure they’d be willing to pair healthy Dame with Luka for two seasons while they wait for bigger fish in free agency.