Bucks News, Trade Ideas, Transactions

[randy84]

Good to see the Bucks trading for his returning player rights. He sounds like he has had some injury issue.
https://www.postcrescent.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2024/10/11/milwaukee-bucks-liam-robbins-hard-nosed-play-stands-out-in-homecoming-waukesha-native/75564139007/

[raferfenix]

If Prince is mostly a 4 for us I’m less clear who’ll slot in behind Khris.

During a group interview following Tuesday’s practice, Prince once again revealed something new about his role this season.

“I like learning,” Prince said of Rivers’ installation of new concepts this preseason. “I like being a sponge, so being able to play the 4 again in this offense is kind of new compared to what I’ve done the last couple of years, but I think it can serve the team very, very well.”

Last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Prince spent the majority of his time playing small forward for the first time since he played with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018-19 season, according to positional estimates from Cleaning the Glass.

After leaving the Hawks following the first three seasons of his career, Prince has primarily played power forward, except for last season with the Lakers. The Lakers outscored opponents by 1.4 points per 100 possessions in the limited possessions Prince played power forward last season, which was a continuation of the overwhelming trend of Prince’s career. Outside of the 2020-21 season, Prince’s teams have outscored opponents while he has been in lineups that feature him at power forward since leaving the Hawks.

The 30-year-old forward told reporters that while his exact role and position on the floor didn’t come up all that much as the Bucks tried to convince him to join their team, he expected to play power forward with Milwaukee.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5829169/2024/10/09/milwaukee-bucks-camp-notebook/

[emunney]

If Prince is mostly a 4 for us I’m less clear who’ll slot in behind Khris.

During a group interview following Tuesday’s practice, Prince once again revealed something new about his role this season.

“I like learning,” Prince said of Rivers’ installation of new concepts this preseason. “I like being a sponge, so being able to play the 4 again in this offense is kind of new compared to what I’ve done the last couple of years, but I think it can serve the team very, very well.”

Last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Prince spent the majority of his time playing small forward for the first time since he played with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018-19 season, according to positional estimates from Cleaning the Glass.

After leaving the Hawks following the first three seasons of his career, Prince has primarily played power forward, except for last season with the Lakers. The Lakers outscored opponents by 1.4 points per 100 possessions in the limited possessions Prince played power forward last season, which was a continuation of the overwhelming trend of Prince’s career. Outside of the 2020-21 season, Prince’s teams have outscored opponents while he has been in lineups that feature him at power forward since leaving the Hawks.

The 30-year-old forward told reporters that while his exact role and position on the floor didn’t come up all that much as the Bucks tried to convince him to join their team, he expected to play power forward with Milwaukee.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5829169/2024/10/09/milwaukee-bucks-camp-notebook/

[-Jragon-]

If Prince is mostly a 4 for us I’m less clear who’ll slot in behind Khris.

During a group interview following Tuesday’s practice, Prince once again revealed something new about his role this season.

“I like learning,” Prince said of Rivers’ installation of new concepts this preseason. “I like being a sponge, so being able to play the 4 again in this offense is kind of new compared to what I’ve done the last couple of years, but I think it can serve the team very, very well.”

Last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Prince spent the majority of his time playing small forward for the first time since he played with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018-19 season, according to positional estimates from Cleaning the Glass.

After leaving the Hawks following the first three seasons of his career, Prince has primarily played power forward, except for last season with the Lakers. The Lakers outscored opponents by 1.4 points per 100 possessions in the limited possessions Prince played power forward last season, which was a continuation of the overwhelming trend of Prince’s career. Outside of the 2020-21 season, Prince’s teams have outscored opponents while he has been in lineups that feature him at power forward since leaving the Hawks.

The 30-year-old forward told reporters that while his exact role and position on the floor didn’t come up all that much as the Bucks tried to convince him to join their team, he expected to play power forward with Milwaukee.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5829169/2024/10/09/milwaukee-bucks-camp-notebook/

KM should rotate as a small ball 4 too... we might become completely positionless soon.

[raferfenix]

If Prince is mostly a 4 for us I’m less clear who’ll slot in behind Khris.

This is where our young guys have such a big opportunity and also where we are so reliant on some combo of them being able to play.

That’s especially if / when Middleton misses a stretch of games.

Reading this was a reminder of how great it’d be if Ajax could just figure it out on defense:

But scoring isn't why Jackson Jr. might have a breakout year.

Here's the thing. The 22-year-old is an absolute energizer. Rebounds, hustle plays, defense — those are the areas he thrives at. If all five players on the court look sluggish and a coach needs someone to light a spark and turn up the intensity, Andre Jackson Jr. is the one to call.

While there are plenty of other players in the league who also take on the “workhorse” role, Jackson Jr. arguably has more upside than most of them. Just look at his physical gifts. He stands at 6'6 with a 6'10 wingspan and a 39.5-inch vertical leap. Due to his profound athleticism, Jackson Jr. made headlines this past March with a putback slam that saw his head go above the rim, causing everyone in the arena — as well as the Sacramento Kings' bench — to react in surprise. It's one thing when a player's own teammates react to a play; It's another when the opposing team does. Check out the highlight below, via the NBA's X account.

Read on Twitter

https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-player-shock-nba-breakout-2024-25-season?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0YjrcVfJ59rQZltsWtYhrYBWctisnnHgRzwABQGACGtIxEwwLWzcXEEow_aem__porMtGR9a7y57CD42wEMg

[Fotis St]

Khris for LaMelo ...
He can run point on offense and guard the 2 on D
Dame plays more like Steph Curry as a 2 without dominating the ball and guard the 1 on D.

All the slow mos of our team need to go
Brook,Khris, Pat

Lets get younger and play faster for a change

[buckboy]

Lol first play here:

Watch on YouTube

Explosive athlete IMO.

[nagawicka]

If Prince is mostly a 4 for us I’m less clear who’ll slot in behind Khris.

During a group interview following Tuesday’s practice, Prince once again revealed something new about his role this season.

“I like learning,” Prince said of Rivers’ installation of new concepts this preseason. “I like being a sponge, so being able to play the 4 again in this offense is kind of new compared to what I’ve done the last couple of years, but I think it can serve the team very, very well.”

Last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Prince spent the majority of his time playing small forward for the first time since he played with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018-19 season, according to positional estimates from Cleaning the Glass.

After leaving the Hawks following the first three seasons of his career, Prince has primarily played power forward, except for last season with the Lakers. The Lakers outscored opponents by 1.4 points per 100 possessions in the limited possessions Prince played power forward last season, which was a continuation of the overwhelming trend of Prince’s career. Outside of the 2020-21 season, Prince’s teams have outscored opponents while he has been in lineups that feature him at power forward since leaving the Hawks.

The 30-year-old forward told reporters that while his exact role and position on the floor didn’t come up all that much as the Bucks tried to convince him to join their team, he expected to play power forward with Milwaukee.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5829169/2024/10/09/milwaukee-bucks-camp-notebook/

Sure, but if one of those guards is Pat Connaughton, the second guard is giannis and the third guard is Khris $Khash$ Middleton, is it really a three-guard lineup?

Who among us would say otherwise?

[LuessiT]

I’m very interested in seeing what happens with Bobby. He’s extension eligible, apparently has a chip on his shoulder from being in trade proposals by fans (and possibly by the FO) and he’s potentially the only expendable piece of significant value. A lot of scenarios could be on the table. Somehow feel like an extension that protects him from being traded this season (like Josh Hart last season) could be in everyone’s interest.

[Ron Swanson]

There's probably a zero percent chance that Bobby would accept anything less than what Obi Toppin got (4-yrs $60 mil) and if we're being realistic, you're looking at something north of $18 mil per year. Can't even blame the guy considering he's done nothing but take discounted deals ever since he's signed with us, but it's a business at the end of the day, and that's the number you gotta keep in mind leading up to the trade deadline.

[MickeyDavis]

This is just part of his interview with Nehm

“Having a successful season out there is playing damn near 82 games,” Middleton told The Athletic during the Bucks’ training camp visit to UC-Irvine. “Understanding that there may be a couple games where you can’t go because you got kneed to the thigh or something like a bad ankle sprain, those types of things, you miss one or two games. But not playing only 60 games. Anything below 70, 75 games, no, I do not consider that a successful season for me.”

“I try not to read and look at that stuff, but yeah, the injury-prone stuff is frustrating because I feel like for the most part, it’s just — I don’t want to say freak accidents — but just accidents, man,” Middleton said. “And I think when you say injury-prone, that goes to how you take care of your body.

“And I take a lot of pride in taking care of my body since day one that I’ve been here. So, no, I don’t think I’m injury-prone at all. I’ve just had unfortunate incidents that have happened on the basketball court, which is a wrong place, bad time type of thing.”

“I really could give two s—s about it,” Middleton said when asked about other teams being viewed as better than the Bucks. “It doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t need motivation from outside sources or outside whatever. It comes from within. It comes from wanting to be the best player or the best team. So that stuff — expectations from the outside or outside noise — really doesn’t bother me. The only expectation that matters is inside our locker room.”

“I’m going to have one of the best years that I can,” Middleton said. “A consistent year. I want to play in many games.

“To me, it’s simple. Just be the best version of myself I can be. If that means I’m scoring 10 points and we’re winning every single game, that’s a great year for me. Whatever it takes to win. To me, that’s a great season. I learned early in my career, we win, everything takes care of itself.”

[nagawicka]

I’m very interested in seeing what happens with Bobby. He’s extension eligible, apparently has a chip on his shoulder from being in trade proposals by fans (and possibly by the FO) and he’s potentially the only expendable piece of significant value. A lot of scenarios could be on the table. Somehow feel like an extension that protects him from being traded this season (like Josh Hart last season) could be in everyone’s interest.

Is a commitment to excel, to earn it, whether driven by casual comment (e.g., Jordan) or constant criticism (look around) legit a 'chip on his shoulder', really? The redoubled work is hardly 'from being in trade proposals by fans', because fans don't make make trade proposals they gossip and talk loose so Bobby Portis has not been in any of these 'proposals'. Don't know that earning it and being miffed or irked by the bull thrown around as though the opinions are real or gold or somehow matter really rises to the level of having a 'chip on his shoulder'

[Ryan5UW]

This is just part of his interview with Nehm

“Having a successful season out there is playing damn near 82 games,” Middleton told The Athletic during the Bucks’ training camp visit to UC-Irvine. “Understanding that there may be a couple games where you can’t go because you got kneed to the thigh or something like a bad ankle sprain, those types of things, you miss one or two games. But not playing only 60 games. Anything below 70, 75 games, no, I do not consider that a successful season for me.”

“I try not to read and look at that stuff, but yeah, the injury-prone stuff is frustrating because I feel like for the most part, it’s just — I don’t want to say freak accidents — but just accidents, man,” Middleton said. “And I think when you say injury-prone, that goes to how you take care of your body.

“And I take a lot of pride in taking care of my body since day one that I’ve been here. So, no, I don’t think I’m injury-prone at all. I’ve just had unfortunate incidents that have happened on the basketball court, which is a wrong place, bad time type of thing.”

“I really could give two s—s about it,” Middleton said when asked about other teams being viewed as better than the Bucks. “It doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t need motivation from outside sources or outside whatever. It comes from within. It comes from wanting to be the best player or the best team. So that stuff — expectations from the outside or outside noise — really doesn’t bother me. The only expectation that matters is inside our locker room.”

“I’m going to have one of the best years that I can,” Middleton said. “A consistent year. I want to play in many games.

“To me, it’s simple. Just be the best version of myself I can be. If that means I’m scoring 10 points and we’re winning every single game, that’s a great year for me. Whatever it takes to win. To me, that’s a great season. I learned early in my career, we win, everything takes care of itself.”

Only thing I care about is Midds being healthy and in form for the playoffs. I don't care if he plays 70 games or 7 during the regular season.

[paulpressey25]

Only thing I care about is Midds being healthy and in form for the playoffs. I don't care if he plays 70 games or 7 during the regular season.

That's what we've been saying for the two seasons prior to this one. But the reality is you need him out there in the regular season so the team develops a chemistry and an identity going into the playoffs. Does he have to play 70 games? No. But his ability to play 70 games is a good sign he's over any issues.

For what it's worth, I agree with his take above that his injury stuff is not a result of him being out of shape. Think the issue is that he's got tendons/ligaments/cartilage that is just more prone to tears and strains. It is what it is. Maybe Jez can comment further on this.

[Rstuedes24]

Is Jalen Mcdaniels better than Marjon? He just got waived so I'm imagining he can't be that great

[MiltownMadness]

I'm happy that Khris wants to play as many games as possible, I think we need him to for big 3 chemistry

[Bernman]

Is a commitment to excel, to earn it, whether driven by casual comment (e.g., Jordan) or constant criticism (look around) legit a 'chip on his shoulder', really?

Yes, he's been public about his frustration w/ disrespect, he doesn't get it, therefore he has a chip on his shoulder.

The redoubled work is hardly 'from being in trade proposals by fans', because fans don't make make trade proposals they gossip and talk loose so Bobby Portis has not been in any of these 'proposals'.

False, he was in a trade proposal for Grant Williams (Williams acknowledged this), which Bobby was openly bothered by because he said he views himself as better than him, & the Bucks agreed because they turned it down. But they were in discussions to trade him. This is where the "gossip" came from. You're using "gossip" and fans to deflect from reporting.

Don't know that earning it and being miffed or irked by the bull thrown around as though the opinions are real or gold or somehow matter really rises to the level of having a 'chip on his shoulder'

"Bull" like him having a negative +/- somehow on a contending team & the D-LEBRON objective metric classifying him as an F-grade defender. The "bull" is you in denial about these facts & then acting like Bobby isn't as well to be mad at the criticism.

To Jrue's credit, he acknowledged his playoff failures on offense at least. He didn't pass the buck, but eventually did get passed by the bucks for it. Bobby will too if he doesn't turn things around (maybe anyway cuz he's 1 of their few tradeable contracts). If he does, the past criticism was still warranted. This is sport. You get what you earn.

[raferfenix]

Doc making a point to amp up expectations for Khris seems like a good sign too:

But nearly every time Bucks coach Doc Rivers has received a question about their chemistry this preseason, he goes out of his way to remind people there is one more player on the roster whom people need to discuss in the same breath.

“We don’t talk about Dame, Giannis and Khris enough,” Rivers told The Athletic following a practice session at the team’s training camp in Irvine, Calif. “We should talk about all three more, not just two of them.”

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5836938/2024/10/14/khris-middleton-milwaukee-bucks-interview/

[benultimate]

Is Jalen Mcdaniels better than Marjon? He just got waived so I'm imagining he can't be that great

He's marjonly better

[-Jragon-]

Only thing I care about is Midds being healthy and in form for the playoffs. I don't care if he plays 70 games or 7 during the regular season.

That's what we've been saying for the two seasons prior to this one. But the reality is you need him out there in the regular season so the team develops a chemistry and an identity going into the playoffs. Does he have to play 70 games? No. But his ability to play 70 games is a good sign he's over any issues.

For what it's worth, I agree with his take above that his injury stuff is not a result of him being out of shape. Think the issue is that he's got tendons/ligaments/cartilage that is just more prone to tears and strains. It is what it is. Maybe Jez can comment further on this.

This is 100... other teams got too good now and if they consistently have their top 3 guys (or 5) starting 65+ games together during the season then that chemistry will likely be the difference in a long series -- especially as you have to adjust to plan B and C since teams have days and days to scheme for you.