Bucks News, Transactions, Trade Ideas - Horst Given Extension

[WeMajor34]

I'm getting tired of this and last season's reporting about coach's meetings, player meetings, drama behind the scenes, etc.

Ever since 2022 and our brutal second loss exit to the Celtics, this organization has been in flux and most of the change hasn't paid off.

A lot of bad wherever you look: coach hirings, signings, trades, draft picks, injuries, egos

I'll truly never take 2021 for granted. I just can't visualize a championship anymore after I could going from 2019 to the highs after the Dame trade. After those highs, we've been served a heaping pile of inconsistent play on the court and overall bad vibes.

It's sad to think we will not get to a conference finals with Dame, but it's becoming clearer by the day that we probably won't.

[Ron Swanson]

Ah yes, a closed doors "meeting" with your two stars 4-weeks before the playoffs start. Doc is floundering and just about out of excuses.

[paulpressey25]

Ah yes, a closed doors "meeting" with your two stars 4-weeks before the playoffs start. Doc is floundering and just about out of excuses.

They won't but I'd fire him now and promote Joerger.

But I'm sure they have the 'deal' in place with Darvin per Woelfel last fall.

[Wonka]

I wish Giannis and Dame would band together to get Doc out of there. The roster is poorly made, but he’s not going to do anything with a well made roster. He’s cooked. Hopefully we hear more about this meeting.

[WeMajor34]

Ah yes, a closed doors "meeting" with your two stars 4-weeks before the playoffs start. Doc is floundering and just about out of excuses.

The criticisms about Doc from other fanbases that had to deal with him have turned out to be more fair than not. He's not a good NBA coach in this day and age. He's a "leader of men" who can relate to players. While that can be true, the same sentiment was also said about Adrian Griffin, which got him canned halfway into his first season as head coach. Solely relying on your players to play well and not adjusting/implementing schemes/tweaking rotations is great when you have a super team. Needless to say, we don't have that luxury.

His 2008 title with a truly stacked Celtics team has given him far more leash than he deserves.

[neiLz]

How can you have 15 assistant coaches and not really try/experiment with anything offensively?
How can you be the 2nd best 3pt shooting team and not shoot enough 3s?
How can you have 2 of the top 75 basketball players of all time on the same roster and make them look lost offensively?
How can you start Kuzma along with Prince and have prince guard SGs and PGs?

WTF.

[MickeyDavis]

Ah yes, a closed doors "meeting" with your two stars 4-weeks before the playoffs start. Doc is floundering and just about out of excuses.

They won't but I'd fire him now and promote Joerger.

But I'm sure they have the 'deal' in place with Darvin per Woelfel last fall.

Ugh. Yes he had to deal with the Lebron circus but there are indications he was in over his head. Better suited to being an assistant. Griffin 2.0.

[BUCKnation]

One thing that is annoying is that he's been playing this 'jumbo' lineup but they rarely look like the bigger, more physical team.

[DingleJerry]

Prime Dame + Stotts' heavy pick & roll scheme was an automatic Top-5 offense for years and he's only been a Top-10 usage guy three times in his whole career. What are we doing here?

Stotts quitting might be one of the most overlooked or more important minor things that happened. Some of us said it at the time, for me it was more of a sign that Griff was a bad coach to have a guy like Stotss say 'F this' so quickly. I wouldn't have thought the O would struggle this much. Say he doesn't quit, he's there to take over for Griffin for at least last year, possibly long term too. I'd bet a lot of money we wouldn't be complaining about the O right now if that was the case. But, would the D still be a mess like it was under Griffin? Quite possibly. But at the least he'd have been there to take over mid season so at least there's no Doc, new coach offseason and possibly with Stotts still as assistant.

Long story short, they had the perfect guy on the staff to build an O system around Dame and managed to chase him away.

[GoldenAntlers]

One thing that is annoying is that he's been playing this 'jumbo' lineup but they rarely look like the bigger, more physical team.

Yeah, it would be one thing if it was obviously working.

But it's not and hasn't been.

[Ron Swanson]

Ah yes, a closed doors "meeting" with your two stars 4-weeks before the playoffs start. Doc is floundering and just about out of excuses.

They won't but I'd fire him now and promote Joerger.

But I'm sure they have the 'deal' in place with Darvin per Woelfel last fall.

Sure, I would too, it's just too little too late at this point (at least for this season). Mind-boggling that we've had so many chances these past 18-months to make the right coaching decision, and we've picked wrong basically every time (picking Griff over Stotts after the practice blowup, twice not hiring Atkinson, not letting Prunty ride out the '24 season, etc.).

This is why nothing's gonna change until we get a new, respected voice in the front office. I'm all about kicking Horst out the door, but it's been unfair to him that he's had to constantly look over his shoulder and worry about being undermined by the coach, execs, ownership, whatever. Knocking the Bud hire out of the park should have at least given him free reign on the next coaching hire, and who knows how much of this mess we'd have avoided if they'd have let him pick his guy.

[Turk Nowitzki]

Hate on Horst all you want, some of it is deserved, but by all reports if he had his way Kenny Atkinson would be coaching this team.

[slos]

At this point all I'm hoping for is health in the playoffs and Dame/Giannis showing that they have another gear over there while playing super high minutes. Doc finally fixing the starting SG spot is another hopeful thinking.

Dame (40)/Porter (8)
Porter (16)/Trent (24)/Prince (8)
Kuzma (32)/Prince (16)
Giannis (40)/Bobby (8)
Brook (32)/Bobby (16)

I don't trust Green and it's probably too late to upgrade the 9th spot with Rollins or Jackson. Slowing the game, cutting the rotation to 8 players should be a choice in the playoffs. Hopefully you keep the 4th seed until then since you need every help for a deep run.

[nagawicka]

Ah yes, a closed doors "meeting" with your two stars 4-weeks before the playoffs start. Doc is floundering and just about out of excuses.

They won't but I'd fire him now and promote Joerger.

But I'm sure they have the 'deal' in place with Darvin per Woelfel last fall.

Ugh. Yes he had to deal with the Lebron circus but there are indications he was in over his head. Better suited to being an assistant. Griffin 2.0.

Anyone who cuts his own swath aboard the Good Ship LA Lakers deserves a **** medal. Seems like a no-win situation in all directions and hardcore fans who like hardnosed coaches would point out that there's one decision: either everybody gets on the same page as the coach, or b) coach ends up feeding everybody's fragile egos, look! here's an apple! Only one of those paths leads to a winning run.

[drew881]

One thing that is annoying is that he's been playing this 'jumbo' lineup but they rarely look like the bigger, more physical team.

Yeah, it would be one thing if it was obviously working.

But it's not and hasn't been.

This reminds me of playing all fat guys in NES Hockey or the crap Mirotic Giannis Lopez lineup

[tedbrogen]

At this point all I'm hoping for is health in the playoffs and Dame/Giannis showing that they have another gear over there while playing super high minutes. Doc finally fixing the starting SG spot is another hopeful thinking.

Dame (40)/Porter (8)
Porter (16)/Trent (24)/Prince (8)
Kuzma (32)/Prince (16)
Giannis (40)/Bobby (8)
Brook (32)/Bobby (16)

I don't trust Green and it's probably too late to upgrade the 9th spot with Rollins or Jackson. Slowing the game, cutting the rotation to 8 players should be a choice in the playoffs. Hopefully you keep the 4th seed until then since you need every help for a deep run.

Second round ceiling and could MAYBE push a healthy Knicks, Celtics, or Cavs to six games if Giannis and Dame can play 40+ mpg at their absolute best if they keep using Doc’s outdated offensive system while starting Prince at SG.

More likely first round exit.

The supporting cast will shoot sub 30% from three against playoff defense. Giannis and Dame will be exhausted ISOing against elite defenders. The Bucks won’t be able to slow the pace because they’ll still have Brook on the floor a majority of the time and he’s one of the reasons teams push the pace against the Bucks.

[emunney]

Ownership needs to eat the cost of Doc's contract and move on this offseason. Then, and I don't know if I'm ready to say this, but time for seeing what Dame could get us. I don't dislike a Van Vleet, Jabari, Suns 12th pick for him tbh. Also assuming we could make a good choice on that 1st round pick...

People are going to hate this but I'd prioritize getting Sheppard in that deal.

[tedbrogen]

If Darvin is the replacement plan for Doc and what Lakers fans say about him are accurate, the window isn’t only closed, the house is burning to the ground.

[emunney]

One thing that is annoying is that he's been playing this 'jumbo' lineup but they rarely look like the bigger, more physical team.

Yeah, it would be one thing if it was obviously working.

But it's not and hasn't been.

This reminds me of playing all fat guys in NES Hockey or the crap Mirotic Giannis Lopez lineup

Not playing all skinny guys is a terrible experience.

[JayMKE]

Coaching change is just part of it, need a roster that fits together. Too old, too low IQ, too many guys who get targeted on D. Bringing the same team back next year with a different coach won’t be any better.