Bucks News, Transactions, Trade Ideas

[ShootingtheJ]

Were ****! They’re banking on a gap year pitch and keeping doc around. Move him to the front office if he has to stay around smh! Give him the figure head POBO role

There is no gap year pitch

[Bernman]

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The Bucks operate scared of Giannis leaving at any point, so they appease his worst instincts, instead of selling him on better ones. What ultimately would prompt him to leave is if things don't turn around in the win column, which Doc impedes. So tell him he can't have it both ways.

If they hold onto Doc, & the Bucks have another lackluster season, then are prompted to can him anyway, we're a yr from Giannis FA, w/out a coach he personally likes to boot. At least look for any lull to can Doc before the deadline to turn things around by decision time.

[ShootingtheJ]

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The Bucks operate scared of Giannis leaving at any point, so they appease his worst instincts, instead of selling him on better ones. What ultimately would prompt him to leave is if things don't turn around in the win column, which Doc impedes. So tell him he can't have it both ways.

If they hold onto Doc, & the Bucks have another lackluster season, then are prompted to can him anyway, we're a yr from Giannis FA, w/out a coach he personally likes to boot. At least look for any lull to can Doc before the deadline to turn things around by decision time.

Horst just needs to remove the veterans to force Doc to play the youngsters. Bringing back Brook, signing Prince, and trading for Kuz was dumb. Don't do that.

[MickeyDavis]

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The Bucks operate scared of Giannis leaving at any point, so they appease his worst instincts, instead of selling him on better ones. What ultimately would prompt him to leave is if things don't turn around in the win column, which Doc impedes. So tell him he can't have it both ways.

If they hold onto Doc, & the Bucks have another lackluster season, then are prompted to can him anyway, we're a yr from Giannis FA, w/out a coach he personally likes to boot. At least look for any lull to can Doc before the deadline to turn things around by decision time.

Horst has made some dumb moves and some very good moves. But it's a leap to assume a meeting with Giannis consisted of "Hey Giannis, what do you what us to do, we'll do whatever you say". I'm sure there were options presented. One was Doc staying (and whatever moves they hope to make this summer, which none of us have a clue about). And Giannis is happy Doc is staying, along with antipated moves. We here (almost universally) want a new coach for sure.

Let's not forget that Horst traded Giannis' best friend without telling him about it ahead of time. (Good trading Middleton, bad getting Kuzma). Giannis is entering his 13th season and has been 100% loyal to our little small market team. Getting his opinion on things is a small price to pay. He can't sign an extension for another 16 months. I'm not going to spend each day getting worked up about it. Giannis is going nowhere.

[Bernman]

Read on Twitter

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The Bucks operate scared of Giannis leaving at any point, so they appease his worst instincts, instead of selling him on better ones. What ultimately would prompt him to leave is if things don't turn around in the win column, which Doc impedes. So tell him he can't have it both ways.

If they hold onto Doc, & the Bucks have another lackluster season, then are prompted to can him anyway, we're a yr from Giannis FA, w/out a coach he personally likes to boot. At least look for any lull to can Doc before the deadline to turn things around by decision time.

Horst has made some dumb moves and some very good moves. But it's a leap to assume a meeting with Giannis consisted of "Hey Giannis, what do you what us to do, we'll do whatever you say". I'm sure there were options presented. One was Doc staying (and whatever moves they hope to make this summer, which none of us have a clue about). And Giannis is happy Doc is staying, along with antipated moves. We here (almost universally) want a new coach for sure.

Let's not forget that Horst traded Giannis' best friend without telling him about it ahead of time. (Good trading Middleton, bad getting Kuzma). Giannis is entering his 13th season and has been 100% loyal to our little small market team. Getting his opinion on things is a small price to pay. He can't sign an extension for another 16 months. I'm not going to spend each day getting worked up about it. Giannis is going nowhere.

They bent to his whims of wanting a former player as coach, leading them to Griffin, & in turn Doc. The meeting should consist of them convincing Giannis player coaches have worse efficacy on average, especially this one. Show Giannis the lineup data. You aren't contending like you want with this guy. It's plausible you are w/out him and the right fits.

Everyone has a breaking point & Giannis is only going to gauge cause-effect so much, especially if he's still backing Doc. It apparently needs to be sold to him. If he says he wants to risk losing so much more anyway in favor of working relationship, then he has to live with that here. But it's an act of self-sabotage, as well as of the team.

[JonHeist]

tbf the biggest (there are others) problem with doc was just sticking with that horrible starting lineup

which is something that should take 5 seconds to fix

especially if brook and prince aren't on the roster

(I like prince, but if doc is gonna insist he's a SG he's gotta go)

[MickeyDavis]

The Bucks operate scared of Giannis leaving at any point, so they appease his worst instincts, instead of selling him on better ones. What ultimately would prompt him to leave is if things don't turn around in the win column, which Doc impedes. So tell him he can't have it both ways.

If they hold onto Doc, & the Bucks have another lackluster season, then are prompted to can him anyway, we're a yr from Giannis FA, w/out a coach he personally likes to boot. At least look for any lull to can Doc before the deadline to turn things around by decision time.

Horst has made some dumb moves and some very good moves. But it's a leap to assume a meeting with Giannis consisted of "Hey Giannis, what do you what us to do, we'll do whatever you say". I'm sure there were options presented. One was Doc staying (and whatever moves they hope to make this summer, which none of us have a clue about). And Giannis is happy Doc is staying, along with antipated moves. We here (almost universally) want a new coach for sure.

Let's not forget that Horst traded Giannis' best friend without telling him about it ahead of time. (Good trading Middleton, bad getting Kuzma). Giannis is entering his 13th season and has been 100% loyal to our little small market team. Getting his opinion on things is a small price to pay. He can't sign an extension for another 16 months. I'm not going to spend each day getting worked up about it. Giannis is going nowhere.

They bent to his whims of wanting a former player as coach, leading them to Griffin, & in turn Doc. The meeting should consist of them convincing Giannis player coaches have worse efficacy on average, especially this one. Show Giannis the lineup data. You aren't contending like you want with this guy. It's plausible you are w/out him and the right fits.

Everyone has a breaking point & Giannis is only going to gauge cause-effect so much, especially if he's still backing Doc. It apparently needs to be sold to him. If he says he wants to risk losing so much more anyway in favor of working relationship, then he has to live with that here. But it's an act of self-sabotage, as well as of the team.

It's easy to "convince" Giannis to do it our way (which isn't always right of course) on a message board. But that's not the real world. We have no idea how the meeting went or what was said. And I get that a vast majority of posts on here, including mine, are just speculation anyway. But the amount of assumptions about how a meeting did and didn't go is amazing.

[Prez]

I'm tuning out most of next season if Doc remains coach. Straight up organizational malpractice.

[Matches Malone]

This franchise is infected with Haslam-itis. Just the good ole boys sticking together and probably golfing with Doc as we speak. Ironically enough, this team ran better when the Lasry's were here, even with the failson leaking draft boards.

[Ron Swanson]

We can blame the media all we want but this organization lives in constant fear of Giannis leaving and bases all of its major decisions on whatever they think he wants no matter how flimsy a rationale it actually is. I can’t imagine getting myself excited for another season of Doc, but I guess if Giannis is on board, I’ll still tune in. Just sucks that this is how this franchise operates.

[ReginaldDwight]

This franchise is infected with Haslam-itis. Just the good ole boys sticking together and probably golfing with Doc as we speak. Ironically enough, this team ran better when the Lasry's were here, even with the failson leaking draft boards.

Makes me so glad the Packers don't have an owner like this. Almost every poorly ran pro sports team is ran that way because of ownership.

[blazza18]

There hasn’t even been a whisper of Doc being fired and now we get a story like this. The Bucks just can’t help themselves and are extremely fortunate their star player is more like Steph than he is Lebron.

[MickeyDavis]

You guys overrate Haslam's influence. He owns 25% of the team, doesn't go to games and is busy with the Browns and his MLS team. Edens runs the show.

[Matches Malone]

You guys overrate Haslam's influence. He owns 25% of the team, doesn't go to games and is busy with the Browns and his MLS team. Edens runs the show.

I think when it comes to Doc, he's had a bigger influence than his 25% share would suggest.

[fan230]

From Bleacher Reports:


As Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to mull over his future, the Milwaukee Bucks are putting together a pitch they hope will convince the two-time NBA MVP not to request a trade.
Per NBA insider Marc Stein, the Bucks' plan involves pitching Antetokounmpo on staying in the Eastern Conference given how wide open things look going forward and selling him on a "gap year" in 2025-26 that will allow them to retool their roster:
"Milwaukee has indeed been eliminated in Round 1 by Indiana in each of the past two springs … which can't exactly be described as promising when the Pacers have a real shot to make their first trip to the NBA Finals since 2000. Yet simply staying in the East would almost certainly enhance Antetokounmpo's chances of winning the second championship he so deeply craves given the injury-related uncertainty facing contenders like Boston and Philadelphia and how much harder it clearly is just to get out of the West and into the NBA Finals. A significant aspect of the Bucks' pitch, then, is selling Antetokounmpo on the idea of a so-called gap year that enables them to retool the team while allowing him to maintain his one-team affiliation after 12 seasons in Milwaukee. The very forgiving East landscape certainly enhances the notion that it wouldn't take years (with an s) to return to contention."


Stein also noted the Bucks are hopeful head coach Doc Rivers can boost their case because he is believed to have a "strong working relationship" with Antetokounmpo during their two seasons together.
One reason for the "gap year" idea is the Bucks will likely be without Damian Lillard for most, if not all, of the 2025-26 season. He tore his Achilles in Game 4 against the Pacers and had surgery to repair the injury on May 2.
In the aftermath of Milwaukee's first-round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers, speculation about Antetokounmpo's future started. It was the third consecutive year the team has lost in the first round of the postseason.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported on May 12 that Antetokounmpo hasn't made any firm decisions about his future, but he was "open-minded" about seeing if his best path forward is with another organization.
There is a pathway for the Bucks to get out of their difficult cap situation this summer, though it does come with a caveat that could make them worse next season.
Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, the Bucks are set to be $23 million under the luxury tax entering the offseason if they don't bring back Brook Lopez. He did add they would move back into the tax by retaining Lopez, use their $14.1 midlevel exception and fill out the roster.

There aren't a lot of draft assets in Milwaukee's cache to use in trade offers. The club doesn't control its first-round pick until 2031.
As this is happening with the Bucks specifically, the conference around them is in a state of transition.
The Boston Celtics, who have been the dominant force in the East for most of the past nine years, might look to take their own gap year given how expensive the roster will be for the incoming ownership group, assuming the $6.1 billion sale gets approved, if they run it back.
Boston's situation was made even more complicated when Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles in Game 4 against the New York Knicks. The possibility of playing all of next season without him might push the front office to trade from its core this summer.


If the Celtics are out of the equation, who is the dominant team in the East going forward? The Pacers would seem like the favorite having reached the conference finals in back-to-back years with a talented core that is signed for multiple years going forward.
Beyond the Pacers, though, everyone has question marks going forward. The Cleveland Cavaliers aren't going to have a lot of flexibility if they run things back as a second-apron team.
The Knicks are already thin in terms of depth and only control one of their first-round picks from 2025 to '29. Teams like the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic have promising young rosters, but they are still a few pieces away from being a viable title contender.
It's a complicated path for the Bucks to get back to being a top-tier team in the Eastern Conference, but you can see it if you really look hard.
Antetokounmpo is arguably the best player in the conference right now, which would give them a leg up on many of their competitors. He has acknowledged being very loyal in the past that could certainly help Milwaukee's pitch to retain the superstar.
The 30-year-old finished third in MVP voting this season, his eighth consecutive year being in the top seven. He averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game in 67 starts.

[BigO]

tbf the biggest (there are others) problem with doc was just sticking with that horrible starting lineup

which is something that should take 5 seconds to fix

especially if brook and prince aren't on the roster

(I like prince, but if doc is gonna insist he's a SG he's gotta go)

No,no,no,no,no.

You think a dumb coach only sticks to a bad lineup and then when that is fixed he will make good moves thereafter? He is a bad coach. His substitution patterns make no sense.

Giannis will like whoever is hired as a coach. Can Doc win a championship? Yes, when he has the most talent in the league. He doesn't have that and only had it once in his life.

For the sake of the sanity of this board, Doc has to go. I guarantee that over half the posts next season will be about Doc and the vast majoirty will be on the money.

[LittleRooster]

The bucks are so reactive instead of proactive. Jenkins would be better and he already has a relationship with Giannis, why not at least hire him

[MickeyDavis]

The bucks are so reactive instead of proactive. Jenkins would be better and he already has a relationship with Giannis, why not at least hire him

Maybe the fact Giannis knows Jenkins is why we wouldn't hire him. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[paulpressey25]

You guys overrate Haslam's influence. He owns 25% of the team, doesn't go to games and is busy with the Browns and his MLS team. Edens runs the show.

Yeah, I think Haslam is just writing checks for much of this. I'd rank them this way in terms of power:

Edens
Giannis
Haslam
Fascitelli
Dinan

What I wonder is where Junior's 10% of shares will go.

[MickeyDavis]

You guys overrate Haslam's influence. He owns 25% of the team, doesn't go to games and is busy with the Browns and his MLS team. Edens runs the show.

Yeah, I think Haslam is just writing checks for much of this. I'd rank them this way in terms of power:

Edens
Giannis
Haslam
Fascitelli
Dimon

What I wonder is where Junior's 10% of shares will go.

Junior's 3 kids hold key roles in his businesses. Although everything might have gone to his wife. I'd imagine they'll hold onto the investment. I'm curious who Junior bought out. It was said he bought out "several" smaller investors. Rodgers owned 1% I believe, he could have been one.