Bucks News, Transactions, Trade Ideas - Sign Pete Nance to 2-way

[SupremeHustle]

Anything to read into the Bucks looking at Fultz?

Could be we were choosing btw KPJ and him, but it also didn’t need to be mutually exclusive since MarJon wasn’t a keeper:

Fultz said he has been training Monday through Friday in Los Angeles in recent months while preparing for his comeback. He drew interest from the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks and other teams before reaching an agreement with the Kings following a private workout in front of assistant general manager Wes Wilcox and other members of the organization.

https://hoopshype.com/rumor/clippers-bucks-expressed-interest-in-markelle-fultz/

I'm just happy to hear that he was on their radar. Good stuff. I think he would have been awesome here but he'll have a better opportunity with the Kangz.

[crowhead76]

If the Bucks don't give Rollins the final roster spot, Killian Hayes could be an option. He's finally developing as a shooter in the G League. He's a solid defender, and still just 23.

This would be an interesting add, he can defend 1-3 and offers additional playmaking.

[ShootingtheJ]

Bucks have been struggling to choose between a Ajax who is a great defender and a terrible offensive player & Green who is an elite shooter but an average defender. On balance it seems to me that Green should get more minutes simply based on relative strengths. Also Kuzma’s strength as a defender, I think, tilts the balance even more towards Green.

But I have a feeling that Kevin Porter (or possibly Gary Trent on the days that he is in his on days as a scorer only) might be the one to try out; Porter might be the one. Any thoughts on this?

Porter will be starting by the next game or so, would be my prediction.

I would be very surprised by that. Seems like hes more valuable coming off the bench when Dame sits

We tried to sign him in the offseason, I'm assuming to be the starter. Trent was plan B, Ajax became plan C.

No idea how it turns out with KPJ, but our season is pretty much resting on the shoulders of this talented ticking time bomb.

[soxperry]

Porter will be starting by the next game or so, would be my prediction.

I would be very surprised by that. Seems like hes more valuable coming off the bench when Dame sits

We tried to sign him in the offseason, I'm assuming to be the starter. Trent was plan B, Ajax became plan C.

No idea how it turns out with KPJ, but our season is pretty much resting on the shoulders of this talented ticking time bomb.

i would argue our season rests much more so on Kuzma. i dont think the Bucks think there is any world where they can count on KPJ to play high level, team based, focused basketball for 30+ minutes in the deep post season. But as I've said, there is a big need for bench creation that isn't just Bobby in the post. I think they would be thrilled if we can get 20 solid bench minutes from him every night.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

I would be very surprised by that. Seems like hes more valuable coming off the bench when Dame sits

We tried to sign him in the offseason, I'm assuming to be the starter. Trent was plan B, Ajax became plan C.

No idea how it turns out with KPJ, but our season is pretty much resting on the shoulders of this talented ticking time bomb.

i would argue our season rests much more so on Kuzma. i dont think the Bucks think there is any world where they can count on KPJ to play high level, team based, focused basketball for 30+ minutes in the deep post season. But as I've said, there is a big need for bench creation that isn't just Bobby in the post. I think they would be thrilled if we can get 20 solid bench minutes from him every night.

i once confronted my college coach why he was on my ass so much and his response was that me and one other guy were the only guys that mattered so why would he bust the teams ass. really stayed with me after that and i took what he gave. it was a high compliment. looked at the other guys and i took them off the hook as long as they played hard.

kuzma is a mediocre starter that can log mega minutes and be mediocre in a plyoff caliber kind of way. a medicore high minute playoff performer. but thats steady. he is what he is but we have that now. khris was risky and couldnt grind. we could have wasted a whole season relying on him.

kuzma a similar guy to lopez. just steady guys you know what you got. guys who can grind. in baseball i think of average 3rd or even great 4th starter types. 200 inning pitchers with a 4.00 era. can hold the fort with a .500 record on those days they go. get alot of innings in without **** things up

we have one other slot with the young guys hopefully we can platoon and a couple guys can contribute and not **** the bed. we know we have guys for the minutes there at least.

our season resides purely on the health and performance of dame and giannis. if everybody else is healthy, playing harddefense, playing unselfish and being average then we will find out what we got with the dame/giannis thing.

win a title or not(thats always unlikely and unlikely for everybody).... we can hopefully be healthy and just play hard all the guys and find out how close we are. if giannis/dame play like the best two guys in the series we can make some noise with a full roster. i feel confident of that at least now

[JayMKE]

If our season depends on KPJ or Kyle Kuzma then we’re already ****

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

If our season depends on KPJ or Kyle Kuzma then we’re already ****

when we fired bud...if we had also, then.....traded jrue/midds for dame/kuzma..... it would have been a trade we probably all would have made for better or for worse at the time. most of the board would have been thats bitchin good!

nobody would have thought any damn thing one way or the other about kuzma except ok ok.... but goddam we got dame!

this season, and most likely the next... is all about dame and the player giannis demanded in order to sign his deal. again thats dame. so its their legacy on the line. if they need a bunch of additional primetime guys then whats that even mean?

[tedbrogen]

Bucks playoff fortunes will be decided in this order:
1) Giannis being healthy
2) Dame playing to the top of his offensive abilities
3) Having four or five role players that can be out there and not actively hurt the team

If they want to make the finals then they will need some guys to step up and randomly go off in big games. Similar to 2021 where it was really Giannis and Midds carrying them but they also had the Brook Lopez game against the Hawks as an example. But the role players won’t determine how things go unless Giannis is healthy and Dame is delivering so they have a fighting chance against the Cavs, Celtics, and/or Knicks. And they are not getting past the second round without beating one of those three teams.

[raferfenix]

Let's say a healthy Giannis at the peak of his powers with legacy-defining motivation is what we get these playoffs.

Even if that freak were playing with some dudes from the Y I think we'd have a reasonable shot at making the ECF.

[tedbrogen]

Let's say a healthy Giannis at the peak of his powers with legacy-defining motivation is what we get these playoffs.

Even if that freak were playing with some dudes from the Y I think we'd have a reasonable shot at making the ECF.

Against the Celtics, Knicks, or Cavs, he’d need Dame to get past them especially because Dame will play big minutes and be hunted on the defensive end. If he’s not bringing his usual or better offense, I can’t see how they’d get past any of those three teams.

We saw legacy defining Giannis in 2022 against a lesser version of the Celtics and he couldn’t drag the team past them because Midds was out and no one could step up to help him.

[Frank Nova]

If our season depends on KPJ or Kyle Kuzma then we’re already ****

I don’t agree with this only because it’s phrased wrong. We aren’t “depending” on those 2, we’re depending on Dame and Giannis being as close to 100% healthy as humanly possible when the playoffs start. Kuz and KPJ can 100% be valuable role players for this team when we get there. Their skillsets bring athleticism and transition to an older team that lacks athleticism and pace. If anything we’re just depending on them to not completely suck in the playoffs and I think we’re good on that front. Both can get up and down the court and both can defend their positions, switch and rebound. In any playoff series we’re still going to have 2 of the best possible players on the court against any team, it’s gonna be health we’re dependent on but you can easily say that about any team. Boston Cleveland and New York are also going to be 1 Tatum, Mitchell and/or Big Kat injury away from being in a whole heap of trouble.

The Bucks go as Giannis and Dame as a duo go, everything else is 2nd fiddle. I’m very optimistic about this group we have currently. My biggest fear remains the health of our 2 super stars and a coach I have little faith in. My hope is our star power carries us to the promise land which isn’t all that far fetched at all.

Bucks in 6 as always!

[Dick Tate]

All of this due to JayMKE’s +1 quip? The season hinges on Freak and Dame. No ****. The point being made was other starters matter too.

[soxperry]

All of this due to JayMKE’s +1 quip? The season hinges on Freak and Dame. No ****. The point being made was other starters matter too.

Correct

I am penciling in dominant performances from Giannis and Dame if they are healthy. But look at the east. Thats not enough if the rest of the team doesn't show up.

So next up is Kuzma. If he can play efficient winning basketball next to elite Giannis and Dame, thats absolutely huge.

[BigO]

Here's what Horst had to say about Kuzma:

“We have really good shooting on our team,” Horst said. “And Kyle, we hope will follow a similar trend that a lot of guys have when they come here. A lot of guys shoot better with us. They get better shots and they’re capable, and there’s a lot of analytics that show that Kyle is very capable of making shots when we can improve his shot quality and he can improve his shot quality.”

Horst is hoping Kuzma's shot quality will increae.

I am still skeptical, since he's shooting 60% on free throws and that has nothing to do with who his teammates are.

[-Jragon-]

If Johnson turns into a player, history will not be kind we traded him and Midds for Kyle **** Kuzma.

Even worse, Johnson was really traded for a 2nd, and to get out of the 2nd apron, and this was needed because Horst grossly overpaid Lopez.

Odds are about 10% Johnson hits Kuzma's production in the NBA. Kuzma has been a relatively decent player in the NBA. Most players like Johnson never escape the bench and end up in Europe.

Add in KPJ (24) also.. If KPJ is our Johnson replacement (and Kuz replaces KM), the odds that AJJ ever gets 50 points in an NBA game extremely low and the whole NBA would be completely shocked. Hopefully Dame takes to him and becomes a mentor on/off court.

[-Jragon-]

Here's what Horst had to say about Kuzma:

“We have really good shooting on our team,” Horst said. “And Kyle, we hope will follow a similar trend that a lot of guys have when they come here. A lot of guys shoot better with us. They get better shots and they’re capable, and there’s a lot of analytics that show that Kyle is very capable of making shots when we can improve his shot quality and he can improve his shot quality.”

Horst is hoping Kuzma's shot quality will increae.

I am still skeptical, since he's shooting 60% on free throws and that has nothing to do with who his teammates are.

I didn't check other years, but his catch and shoot corner 3 was in the high 30's% even this year. Worse off the dribble

[M-C-G]

Here's what Horst had to say about Kuzma:

“We have really good shooting on our team,” Horst said. “And Kyle, we hope will follow a similar trend that a lot of guys have when they come here. A lot of guys shoot better with us. They get better shots and they’re capable, and there’s a lot of analytics that show that Kyle is very capable of making shots when we can improve his shot quality and he can improve his shot quality.”

Horst is hoping Kuzma's shot quality will increae.

I am still skeptical, since he's shooting 60% on free throws and that has nothing to do with who his teammates are.

I didn't check other years, but his catch and shoot corner 3 was in the high 30's% even this year. Worse off the dribble

Don’t forget you can improve shot quality by reducing the number of low quality shot attempts. Get him to take less stupid shoots and his numbers will improve.

[-Jragon-]

If our season depends on KPJ or Kyle Kuzma then we’re already ****

I don’t agree with this only because it’s phrased wrong. We aren’t “depending” on those 2, we’re depending on Dame and Giannis being as close to 100% healthy as humanly possible when the playoffs start. Kuz and KPJ can 100% be valuable role players for this team when we get there. Their skillsets bring athleticism and transition to an older team that lacks athleticism and pace. If anything we’re just depending on them to not completely suck in the playoffs and I think we’re good on that front. Both can get up and down the court and both can defend their positions, switch and rebound. In any playoff series we’re still going to have 2 of the best possible players on the court against any team, it’s gonna be health we’re dependent on but you can easily say that about any team. Boston Cleveland and New York are also going to be 1 Tatum, Mitchell and/or Big Kat injury away from being in a whole heap of trouble.

The Bucks go as Giannis and Dame as a duo go, everything else is 2nd fiddle. I’m very optimistic about this group we have currently. My biggest fear remains the health of our 2 super stars and a coach I have little faith in. My hope is our star power carries us to the promise land which isn’t all that far fetched at all.

Bucks in 6 as always!

I think the merit to all of this is that it's more realistic to bottle up 2 superstar players with 5 good defenders if the rest of their team is tight and the kick out role player guys are chuckers that are more likely to go 1 - 6 than 4 - 6. Kuz and KPJ appear to have a different swag to them which inspires hope but it's dependent on their shot selection and patience. It's easy to imagine those attacking closeouts successfully and creating rotation issues and stand alone 3s for teammates.

Our other role players have been nice but also robotic so it's easy to imagine them going cold from 3 and being a non-factor in a series (TP/AJG and even GTJ). Harder to imagine them successfully attacking an aggressive closeout. I'd like to see GTJ loosen up a little but I don't know if it's to be so hopefully his shot stays on.

[raferfenix]

Let's say a healthy Giannis at the peak of his powers with legacy-defining motivation is what we get these playoffs.

Even if that freak were playing with some dudes from the Y I think we'd have a reasonable shot at making the ECF.

Against the Celtics, Knicks, or Cavs, he’d need Dame to get past them especially because Dame will play big minutes and be hunted on the defensive end. If he’s not bringing his usual or better offense, I can’t see how they’d get past any of those three teams.

We saw legacy defining Giannis in 2022 against a lesser version of the Celtics and he couldn’t drag the team past them because Midds was out and no one could step up to help him.

Certainly don’t mean to be too hyperbolic — how we’d define a “reasonable shot” absolutely can be debated.

That said: Giannis earlier this season showed signs of unexpected improvement, especially with his mid-range game.

After 2 years of missed playoffs it stands to reason a healthy Giannis would be chomping at the bit that much more as well

And unlike 2022 this team now has Giannis’ chosen partner with Dame and a former player as a coach. He can’t just blame the Bucks if it doesn’t work out here. Giannis’ legacy would take a hit even though he’s tried to keep his fingerprints off the front office moves he negotiated before extending.

But to your point even a new level of play alongside even more legacy-defining motivation most likely wouldn’t be enough if Dame and the rest can’t play as well as they possibly can.

[Ron Swanson]

I won't rule out this team's chances until we see a decent chunk of this post-ASB stretch with everyone rested. The Nuggets won a championship with Jokic/Murray going bonkers and a dude like Aaron Gordon being just good enough as a 3rd guy that did a little bit of everything. That's probably the scenario you have to envision with Kuzma.

And before anyone says "they also had Bruce Brown, KCP, and Michael Porter", well, look at what those dudes have done since then and I think it's clear they were just well placed cogs in the machine and not these actual awesome difference-makers that some pretended they were.