ATL - Oladipo is Really Good (and Bledsoe dominant again)

[SkilesTheLimit]

I know it's a division ah rival? But this is great from Paul George and sure to stir up some trouble when Indiana/Chicago next play.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/AschNBA/status/398352348512124928[/tweet]

[Insert Caron Butler big balls gif here with Paul George's head photoshopped]

Love it. Bulls look bad this year. Reggie Rose is shooting his mouth off and Derrick is not the player from 2 seasons ago. Indiana will battle them til the end in the division.

[runasone]

With Chandler out, I wonder if NYK would have an interest in Udoh. Unfortunately, they don't have much that would be of value to the Bucks (other than Shumpert, who they won't be giving up). Although with Dolan you never know. They gave up a 2016 1st rounder for Bargnani, and Udoh is better than him.

[CanadaBucks]

With Chandler out, I wonder if NYK would have an interest in Udoh. Unfortunately, they don't have much that would be of value to the Bucks (other than Shumpert, who they won't be giving up). Although with Dolan you never know. They gave up a 2016 1st rounder for Bargnani, and Udoh is better than him.

Talked a bit about this yesterday

2018 1st
Hardaway Jr.

[paulpressey25]

Udoh for Hardaway JR would be an interesting deal for us. I'd do it fast and I'm not a huge fan of Hardaway.

[CanadaBucks]

Udoh for Hardaway JR would be an interesting deal for us. I'd do it fast and I'm not a huge fan of Hardaway.

Only reasons I like the pick better is that it takes a bit of the roster pressure off and may have more upside.

Headline Reads:

Woodson Privately Questions Knicks' Roster Given Dolan's 'Win-Now' Edict

If he privately questions it, how does anyone know to write the story?

[runasone]

Udoh for Hardaway JR would be an interesting deal for us. I'd do it fast and I'm not a huge fan of Hardaway.

I like Hardaway as a combo guard off the bench. If we got one of the PGs in the lottery, a 2nd unit of Wolters/Hardaway/Middleton/Henson/Zaza could do some real damage.

[engelmartin]

Udoh looked better yesterday than he did all of last year. If Sanders and Ilyasova miss any decent stretch, Udoh should find a niche with this group and increase his trade value. Probably should wait to deal him, especially since we can extend the QO and retain him for a reasonable amount if no good deals present themselves. IHardaway Jr. or any comparable swing would be fine in a deal, but he'll probably be worth more to a team fighting for home court around the deadline.

[Wonka]

If we got Hardaway, I would hope we would package Neal in that deal somewhere...

[runasone]

If we got Hardaway, I would hope we would package Neal in that deal somewhere...

Neal can't be traded until December 15th. With the Knicks, Udoh is probably more valuable now than later. The closer they get to Tyson being back, the less they need Epke. With any other team, I do think it makes more sense to wait until closer to the deadline.

[engelmartin]

Even with Tyson back, the Knicks still have an extremely weak front court. I'd go as far to say it's the weakest in basketball. Bargnani/K Mart/Amare?

[runasone]

Even with Tyson back, the Knicks still have an extremely weak front court. I'd go as far to say it's the weakest in basketball. Bargnani/K Mart/Amare?

Yeah, without Chandler they're a lottery team. Last year they were able to compensate for that lack of front court depth by creating mismatches with Melo at the 4 and spacing the floor. For some reason they' haven't been doing that this year, even though Felton/Prig/Shump/Melo/Chandler has been their most effective lineup. Chandler is so good as a rim protector and rebounder that those lineups have worked in the past. There's no way to make that work when your options are one of the worst rebounding big men in league history, and a couple of guys who are old/injured and on strict minute limits.

[daschysta]

I know it's a division ah rival? But this is great from Paul George and sure to stir up some trouble when Indiana/Chicago next play.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/AschNBA/status/398352348512124928[/tweet]

It's funny, because the pacers have accomplished less than the bulls in the last few years.

This Bulls team has never been 1 game from the NBA finals. Regular season is less important than that. Plus I expect Indy to win 60 plus this year.

[Wooderson]

I know it's a division ah rival? But this is great from Paul George and sure to stir up some trouble when Indiana/Chicago next play.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/AschNBA/status/398352348512124928[/tweet]

It's funny, because the pacers have accomplished less than the bulls in the last few years.

Don't really think this is accurate. Both lost to the Heat in the ECF and 2nd round, and I'd say the Pacers actually played them tougher in both series respectively (although the 2011 series against the Bulls was closer than the 4-1 result). The Pacers had the advantage of Bosh's injury in 2012, but I'd argue that LeBron was a superior player in 2012 and 2013 (along with the additions of Ray/Birdman in 2013).

At worst it's a wash, they've won an equal number of playoff series the last 3 years. And while Chicago lost Rose, Indy has only had it's current version of PG for one year (along with Hibbert's massive improvement).

[ReddWing]

I thought your Tobias comment was pretty funny and a good comeback.

My only comment on your line above about the "vets" not being back is that means that even if this current team wins 41 games and is fun to watch, the success won't be sustainable. That's partly what I hate about the way Kohl runs the team.

You can get maybe one great season out of a John Salmons, Brian Skinner, Damon Jones, ZaZa, Ridnour, etc. But in the end, their performance in helping the Bucks achieve a 40-win season is always unsustainable. Either the guy gets noticed and is overpaid by the Bucks or another team the next year or the guy wasn't that good to begin with. Or the guy's one year performance as an essential glue guy is a one-year event.

We need to get a core of 3-4 players that are really good like we had with Big Dog, Ray, Sam and TT. Guys you can work with for a 4-5 year stretch. Because Kohl refuses to employ competent front office people and strategies to get him that core, we are stuck with high water points being a 41-win season every fourth or fifth year.

Thanks!

I wasn't a huge fan of the offseason veteran signings either. I could understand Ridnour as a one year backup to Knight. I don't think anyone expected Wolters to not only emerge as an impact player but as a probable starter going forward. Delfino AND Caron was a big mistake.

That being said, I am trying to be optimistic about the whole situation. Developing players alongside veterans is a good strategy, in my opinion. This team is being built for the future. The current veterans are nothing more than stopgaps and are there to hopefully provide leadership. We should want proven NBA veterans like Caron, Zaza, Ridnour, and Delfino rubbing off on the younger guys. What good is a team filled with 18 year olds, unproven players, scrubs, and jabronis? I also think it's better for player confidence and development when they are playing in close ballgames and to win games. If RealGM had it's way, this Bucks team would get drilled and embarrassed every single night. And that's exactly what would happen if we didn't have an OJ Mayo or Zaza to stabilize the team.

I like the idea of tanking for a high draft pick but we all know it's never going to happen with Kohl. People forget how old this man is. Imagine your grandpa running a professional basketball team. He is stubborn, old fashioned, sort of delusional, and doesn't understand how to build a team. This endless complaining is falling on deaf ears. All we can do is hope that Bone's picks continue to be solid. I don't think this team is good enough to make the playoffs and fully expect us to be a top 10 drafting team.

[blazza18]

Kinda cool seeing Redick being used the right way.

[raysbookclub]

Udoh for Hardaway JR would be an interesting deal for us. I'd do it fast and I'm not a huge fan of Hardaway.

I like Hardaway as a combo guard off the bench. If we got one of the PGs in the lottery, a 2nd unit of Wolters/Hardaway/Middleton/Henson/Zaza could do some real damage.

That bench makes sense. Unfortunately, our many veteran additions makes less sense. If those are 6-10, then the starters are, I guess: 2014 draft pick PG, Mayo, Delfino, Ersan, Sanders. Where do we put Knight, Neal, and Giannis?

I'd be happy with the Udoh for Hardaway trade, even if Hardaway's not that great. We could get a lot less for Udoh, based on previous trades the FO has made. We should also be looking at trades for any or all of Delfino, Ersan, Knight, Neal, and perhaps Butler's expiring.

[mattg]

Kinda cool seeing Redick being used the right way.

Redick was hilarious at the end of the clips/heat game.

[jakecronus8]

A future conditional second is fine for Udoh. He is worthless.

[runasone]

Udoh for Hardaway JR would be an interesting deal for us. I'd do it fast and I'm not a huge fan of Hardaway.

I like Hardaway as a combo guard off the bench. If we got one of the PGs in the lottery, a 2nd unit of Wolters/Hardaway/Middleton/Henson/Zaza could do some real damage.

That bench makes sense. Unfortunately, our many veteran additions makes less sense. If those are 6-10, then the starters are, I guess: 2014 draft pick PG, Mayo, Delfino, Ersan, Sanders. Where do we put Knight, Neal, and Giannis?

I'd be happy with the Udoh for Hardaway trade, even if Hardaway's not that great. We could get a lot less for Udoh, based on previous trades the FO has made. We should also be looking at trades for any or all of Delfino, Ersan, Knight, Neal, and perhaps Butler's expiring.

That bench was part of my fantasy "If I ran the team" scenario. So the starting lineup would be Lottery Pick/Mayo/Giannis/Ersan/Sanders. I'd trade Ersan, but only if we can get above market value for him.

I realize that in our current reality, this team will continue to trot mediocre vets out there. That doesn't mean I can't delude myself into thinking that might change someday.

[Siefer]

Jeff Teague is looking very solid. He's averaging 18/9/3 on 42%, and he's getting to the line over 7 times a game. You'd like to see better three-point and free-throw shooting, but that's pretty good stuff overall. It looks like he's taking another moderate leap, and if he keeps playing this way, you can mark it as another botched move/missed opportunity by Hammond and friends.