Bucks looking at Bledsoe, probably.

[Ayt]

I'm intrigued with a Lin deal if it includes an asset and we get rid of some payroll. He's obviously be a stop gap PG. Bledsoe is the best of the bunch but I just don't think we'll end up getting him. I don't know a ton about Vasquez but seems like a guy that we could possibly snag.

The whole point for Houston would be to not add any payroll.

[Kerb Hohl]

I think a few on here are missing that:
1. Houston wants to shed payroll by dumping Lin.
2. We shouldn't care about Lin's basketball abilities for the year he spends in Milwaukee, rather that cheap, young set of players or picks that return in the deal with him.

[Thunder Muscle]

I'm intrigued with a Lin deal if it includes an asset and we get rid of some payroll. He's obviously be a stop gap PG. Bledsoe is the best of the bunch but I just don't think we'll end up getting him. I don't know a ton about Vasquez but seems like a guy that we could possibly snag.

The whole point for Houston would be to not add any payroll.

True, for some reason I thought Lin's last year was much larger than it is. So yeah, we're not shedding anything on them.
'r

[Ayt]

I think a few on here are missing that:
1. Houston wants to shed payroll by dumping Lin.
2. We shouldn't care about Lin's basketball abilities for the year he spends in Milwaukee, rather that cheap, young set of players or picks that return in the deal with him.

The thing is, it would impact our win total. It isn't like he's a terrible player. He's a quality starter who was on an awful roster for his particular talents. He's pretty much exactly the kind of attacking PG this roster needs to squeeze out extra wins since our guard play is horrific. The only guy on the roster who could consistently make anything happen off the dribble was also blind. Sessions breathed a lot of life into our offense in his limited time here last season and Lin is like a much better version of him.

If we actually did trade for him I think he'd have a fairly big year and would play his way into a new contract in the 8-10M range for someone. Even with any steps Giannis might take and the addition of Parker, a ton of the offense is still going to come down to guards making plays with the ball in their hands.

[Badgerlander]

IF we give up a pick you have to put protections on it in case of an injury, like top 10 this year, top 5 next year, etc, because if he does miss significant time then we are tankapalooza part 2. Also if Frye signs elsewhere I would think that they would have interest in Ersan as part of the deal.

But with protection a future pick is worth a lot less. If you want to get an asset now then trading the 2015 pick is the way to go. The Bucks want to compete in 2 or 3 years from now. A 2015 pick in the 4-10 range is not going to help significantly with that. Hoping for a top 3 pick is hoping for lottery luck with 25-30 wins. That's not a good thing to do and Kidd certainly doesn't want that.

Kind of lost me here. Yes putting protection on a pick makes it worth less to the Suns, but because of the injury worry it's pretty much mandatory. If we max Bledsoe and he goes down for more than half the season we would be in tank mode just like last year and we don't want to give away a top 5 pick. We wouldn't be banking on a top 3 pick or tanking at all, you play all the young guys the majority of minutes and whatever wins we end up with is where we are at. If we do end up with 25-30 wins AND somehow win the #1 pick we don't want to just give that away. Most people here think Bledsoe is worth Knight+Henson, or think Knight+1st or Henson+1st. So I think protected 1st+Ersan+Knight or Henson should be enough. Basically 2 mid lottery firsts plus a useful veteran player.

[DutchManDanFan]

I don't think signing Bledsoe stomps out our championship hopes or anything. We just wouldn't win one next year. We'd be hoping to truly contend about 4 or 5 years down the road still.

But do you believe a 2015 pick (5-10 range) will contribute a lot in 4 or 5 years? And do you think Giannis and Jabari will enjoy a 25/30 win season?
Or do you think they have a lot more fun winning 40 games, playing with a good PG and maybe getting some play off experience? Besides, Kidd is not coming to Milwauke for a 25/30 win season. It's just not happening. 7th seed in 2015 will be the target, followed by 5th seed in 2016 and 3rd seed in 2017. And in 2018....

Spoiler:

Seatlle

To compete in 3 to 5 years from now a point guard with experience is needed most. If the Bucks can bring him on board already with Bledsoe, that's great. More young talent on the Bucks roster isn't needed at all. So trade the 2015 pick if that's what it takes to get Bledsoe.

[Baddy Chuck]

If Lin plays himself to a new contract he'd probably have value as an asset at the deadline. Win win.

[FlagsFlyForever]

Why are you assuming we couldn't extend Bledsoe if things work out?

I feel there's a good chance that he doesn't resign here if he does pan out the way people who want him at the max are expecting of him. People have called him an "elite talent". We've seen this with Chris Paul or LeBron or Bosh or Kevin Love or so many others. Elite players don't stay in places like Milwaukee. If an elite Bledsoe is being pursued by the Lakers and the Rockets and the Heat and the Knicks, etc, I think there is a small chance he would resign here.
If he doesn't grow beyond the player he was last year, I feel we could sign him in 2018. My point is that I think people are overrating what signing him now means as far as having him beyond his current contract.

Let me ask this, and I am not trying to suggest this is the black and white situation we face. Theoretically if we could sign Bledsoe at the max right now and there was a guarantee that he would go to another team in 2018, would we still do it?

It seems absurd to me to already make the assumption that a guy wouldn't resign here four years from now and then use that as part of the argument for not signing him now.

It is because we don't need him now. We need him then, when he won't be here. If the Bucks were ready to make a championship run next season, then I would be all over Bledsoe.

Signing Bledsoe is not a longterm move because the future is too uncertain. If we sign him then we get him until 2018 and that's it. You can't just assume he'd stay here beyond that anymore than you can assume we have no chance at him in 2018 if he signs with another team this year. To assume anything beyond that is to make assumptions about things we don't know and if we want to play that game then I can start making assumptions too about what possibilities will exist by then. The point is the future is uncertain and if you sign Bledsoe, you're looking at a four year window with him.

[AussieBuck]

I think a few on here are missing that:
1. Houston wants to shed payroll by dumping Lin.
2. We shouldn't care about Lin's basketball abilities for the year he spends in Milwaukee, rather that cheap, young set of players or picks that return in the deal with him.

The thing is, it would impact our win total. It isn't like he's a terrible player. He's a quality starter who was on an awful roster for his particular talents. He's pretty much exactly the kind of attacking PG this roster needs to squeeze out extra wins since our guard play is horrific. The only guy on the roster who could consistently make anything happen off the dribble was also blind. Sessions breathed a lot of life into our offense in his limited time here last season and Lin is like a much better version of him.

If we actually did trade for him I think he'd have a fairly big year and would play his way into a new contract in the 8-10M range for someone. Even with any steps Giannis might take and the addition of Parker, a ton of the offense is still going to come down to guards making plays with the ball in their hands.

Yeah Lin other than his loose handle is like Ramon but better. He looks crap off ball so people forget how effective he can be.

[Ayt]

If Lin plays himself to a new contract he'd probably have value as an asset at the deadline. Win win.

If he plays himself into a new contract it could very well be with us.

[ampd]

If Lin plays himself to a new contract he'd probably have value as an asset at the deadline. Win win.

Yep. And the biggest problem with Vasquez is its another likely 3 year MLE-ish deal for a guy who could go either way, is unlikely to fetch much in the way of being an asset at any point, and still carries the risk of going all OJ Mayo on us.

Teams in our position should be going big after difference making players and elite talent or taking shots on potential Wes Matthews type steals on small contracts. One big 4 year mistake with Bledsoe doesn't mean much if you aren't saddled with a bunch of mediocre guys making 7-10 million each.

The MLE guys are the ones you add after you know what you have, getting an elite talent is never a bad idea.

[sherm]

Some of you guys have gotten so used to losing that all you ever want is more and more draft picks. How has that worked for Cleveland or Minn? We have a core of good wing players. Adding a good to great pg could put us in top 5 in east. What ever team LBJ goes to, Pacers,and Bulls would be the only teams I see being better than us with Bledsoe in 2 years.

[Baddy Chuck]

If Lin plays himself to a new contract he'd probably have value as an asset at the deadline. Win win.

If he plays himself into a new contract it could very well be with us.

I'd be willing to risk that for the assets we'd get and could potentially get trading him for the 3-5 wins he'd add.

[Ayt]

I think a few on here are missing that:
1. Houston wants to shed payroll by dumping Lin.
2. We shouldn't care about Lin's basketball abilities for the year he spends in Milwaukee, rather that cheap, young set of players or picks that return in the deal with him.

The thing is, it would impact our win total. It isn't like he's a terrible player. He's a quality starter who was on an awful roster for his particular talents. He's pretty much exactly the kind of attacking PG this roster needs to squeeze out extra wins since our guard play is horrific. The only guy on the roster who could consistently make anything happen off the dribble was also blind. Sessions breathed a lot of life into our offense in his limited time here last season and Lin is like a much better version of him.

If we actually did trade for him I think he'd have a fairly big year and would play his way into a new contract in the 8-10M range for someone. Even with any steps Giannis might take and the addition of Parker, a ton of the offense is still going to come down to guards making plays with the ball in their hands.

Yeah Lin other than his loose handle is like Ramon but better. He looks crap off ball so people forget how effective he can be.

The turnovers are definitely a problem. He could also tighten up his D quite a bit, but I think he still has potential on that end because his instincts are good, he has good size, and he plays hard. His shot has also improved every season so far to the point that he shot 36% last year on decent volume. He's pretty damn good on the break which would be a nice bonus with our roster.

I think he has quite a bit of untapped potential. If we got him along with another asset just for taking on his salary it could turn out to be an excellent move in the long run. He seems like the type of PG who could break out a little later in his career just because of how things have played out for him so far (kind of like another former Rocket in Dragic).

[WRau1]

I guess I'd rather have a shot at a top3 pick next year, where the projected top5 worst teams do not need a PG, and try to grab Mudiay. I'd use the cap that people are suggesting we spend on Bledsoe and use it to take on Lin or a player in a similar situation to Lin that comes with additional picks. Cut Lin or trade him at the deadline if he proves to be a positive asset. So it comes down would you rather have Bledsoe and minus whatever we have to give up to get him or another top5 pick plus whatever we get for taking on Lin and dealing the assets that we would've used to acquire Bledsoe.

[Badgerlander]

So looking at Win Shares from last year

Bledsoe 4.1/Lin 1.6/Vasquez 1.2/ Wolters 1.2
Knight 2.8/Mayo 0.1 (2012-13 4.2)
Giannis 1.2/Middleton 2.7
Parker 5.5 (Year one Melo was 6.1 and year two was 4.9, split the difference at 5.5)/Ersan 1.6 (2012-13 6.7)
Sanders 0.7 (2012-13 6.0)/Henson 3.3/Zaza 1.7

[Badgerlander]

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA 2m
Channing Frye has agreed to a four-year, $32 million deal with the Magic, source tells Yahoo Sports.

Frye is 31 and getting more than Ersan who is "27"

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA 2m
Channing Frye has agreed to a four-year, $32 million deal with the Magic, source tells Yahoo Sports.

Frye is 31 and getting more than Ersan who is "27"

Nice! We need to make an Ersan+whatever for Bledsoe sign and trade now.

[RRyder823]

Why are you assuming we couldn't extend Bledsoe if things work out?

I feel there's a good chance that he doesn't resign here if he does pan out the way people who want him at the max are expecting of him. People have called him an "elite talent". We've seen this with Chris Paul or LeBron or Bosh or Kevin Love or so many others. Elite players don't stay in places like Milwaukee. If an elite Bledsoe is being pursued by the Lakers and the Rockets and the Heat and the Knicks, etc, I think there is a small chance he would resign here.
If he doesn't grow beyond the player he was last year, I feel we could sign him in 2018. My point is that I think people are overrating what signing him now means as far as having him beyond his current contract.

Let me ask this, and I am not trying to suggest this is the black and white situation we face. Theoretically if we could sign Bledsoe at the max right now and there was a guarantee that he would go to another team in 2018, would we still do it?

OKC managed to lock up not one but 2 superstars in Durant and Westbrook. They could could've gottin Harden to re up also but they simply decided to leave money available for Ibaka and didn't want to pay the tax. If that's not a good enough example our very own Bucks where able to get Ray Allen to sign an extension while he was still here and in star form... Love's main reason for wanting out of Minnisota is because the rest of his team has been so bad.....While it can be harder to retain players when they're in smallers markets if you already have the piece's in place for them to compete if they stay and are willing to pay them the odds tend to be pretty good at resigning them. ....

Seems you've become a little jaded with the star players right now seemingly jumping ship to go a big market ala Lebron, Wade, Bosh... But Lebron never leaves the Cavs if they had managed to put anything resembling an NBA roster around him, hell he might even end up leaving the big city in Miami to go back there because they might finally have talent on that roster. Whether it comes down to signing a guy out right or resigning our own star player the 2 most important that come into play on whether you'll get him to sign on the dotted line are....

1: The other piece's on the roster that they'll be surrounded by and how they get along

2: How much you can pay them.

Market size while very importent in FA matters a whole let less if your able to meet the first 2 criteria

Lets put it this way...... If we end up paying the max for Bledsoe for the next 4 years..... Bledsoe becomes a Stud level player... Sanders returns to DPOY form...... Both Giannis and Parker develop in to Stud players themselves..... And we're willing to give him another max extension in 4 years..... Then why would you have any doubt he'd re-up with us????? Hell if all that comes to pass that'd take one hell of a superteam being formed to tear him away from the Bucks

[wichmae]

WTF is going on with these teams. On what planet are these guys worth this much money?