torsport wrote:Sigh,
Okay, okay, this thread wasn't supposed to be about Raps = Milwaukee.
It was more about the phases of team building and models we've had over the years.
There was a time when we wanted to be like the championship Detroit Pistons where we could win it all without a super star, but really good star players up and down the lineup (because Raps would never get a super-star player - or get one to stay).
There was a time when the board saw the Raps as Spurs north, drafting/signing international players to get an edge.
Then the Kawhi trade happened, but the year after sort of supports Raps early concerns that they can't retain a super star talent.
After Kawhi we were told of vision 6'9 with highly switchable players.
Now it looks like we're in a new era of building - to me it looks more similar to the Milwaukee championship team model (maybe not too unique - since surrounding your multi-dimensional star with responsible defenders and shooting isn't ground breaking, but a shift from the previous approach).
But we don't have a title-level centerpiece, is the point. So nothing we will do will effectively ape the Milwaukee model for taht reason.
The year they won the championship the Bucks were:
PTS/G: 120.1 (1st of 30) Opp PTS/G: 114.2 (22nd of 30)
Off Rtg: 117.2 (6th of 30) Def Rtg: 111.4 (10th of 30) Net Rtg: +5.7 (4th of 30)
Yeah, and right now, we're 24th in ORTG and 25th in DRTG, lacking a focal star.
We aren't at the "building to contention" phase yet. We're at the "how do we become a competent team in the league again" phase.
MIlwaukee in 2020 was a 56-win team with a superstar, and lost in the second round. The next year, the 2021 Bucks were a 46-win team (shortened season) who titled with tools we don't have. Resources we don't have. A foundation we don't have.
That basic premise is why it doesn't make sense. They drafted Giannis in 2013. That changed their fortunes.
They were a 38-win team before him, then won 15 games with him coming off the bench as a rookie. Turned into a starter the year after, and they were suddenly a .500 team. 33, 42, 44 wins. Then in 2019, they got really strong (Middleton's first AS season, and they added BroPez and Pat Connaughton).
So looking at 2021 Milwaukee in any way doesn't make sense because nothing lines up for us in terms of how they got there over the previous 8 seasons.