Bucks News, Trade Ideas, Transactions - Livingston Back on a 1 Year Deal - Page 76

[midranger]

On paper, Vassell feels like the best fit of the three as he has secondary ball handler/playmaker chops AND can hit threes at a decent clip.

He also has a sizable 4 year deal that maybe(?) they want to get off of despite recently signing it less than two years ago. Maybe Castle’s play and Harper’s addition diminishes his role enough to take Kuz for him? Dunno enough about SAS to be honest.

Don’t see how we could get Barnes.

Minimal interest in Keldon Johnson. Also, don’t see a path to acquire him with Kuz.

[ShootingtheJ]

What do we think of the Spurs’ guys?

NBA insider Jake Fischer recently noted that Harrison Barnes and Keldon Johnson are on the trade block for the San Antonio Spurs, with Devin Vassell being available as well.

"Just like they went out and flipped some guys for Kelly Olynyk, they are very willing to move off of Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson, and I believe they're also open to moving Devin Vassell as well," said Fischer.

https://ripcityproject.com/spurs-gifted-blazers-ideal-sharpshooter-propel-playoffs-devin-vassell

I think I still want Vassell? And I think Barnes would be a good fit.

Agree. Also, I'd rather hold on to Kuzma for a different deal than flip him for Keldon.

What are the Spurs looking for?

[drone3]

What do we think of the Spurs’ guys?



https://ripcityproject.com/spurs-gifted-blazers-ideal-sharpshooter-propel-playoffs-devin-vassell

I think I still want Vassell? And I think Barnes would be a good fit.

Agree. Also, I'd rather hold on to Kuzma for a different deal than flip him for Keldon.

What are the Spurs looking for?

That report doesn't make sense.. Vassel is their best shooting guard. They need him big time to pair with Fox, Harper and Castle.

Barnes is getting old.. can shoot it but pretty mediocre and lacks creativity

[ShootingtheJ]

I think I still want Vassell? And I think Barnes would be a good fit.

Agree. Also, I'd rather hold on to Kuzma for a different deal than flip him for Keldon.

What are the Spurs looking for?

That report doesn't make sense.. Vassel is their best shooting guard. They need him big time to pair with Fox, Harper and Castle.

Barnes is getting old.. can shoot it but pretty mediocre and lacks creativity

As others have said, the Spurs might be just afraid of that big contract they gave Vassell?

If we landed Vassell, we'd be a true contender for years.

[midranger]

Agree. Also, I'd rather hold on to Kuzma for a different deal than flip him for Keldon.

What are the Spurs looking for?

That report doesn't make sense.. Vassel is their best shooting guard. They need him big time to pair with Fox, Harper and Castle.

Barnes is getting old.. can shoot it but pretty mediocre and lacks creativity

As others have said, the Spurs might be just afraid of that big contract they gave Vassell?

If we landed Vassell, we'd be a true contender for years.

They will have some big extensions coming up (assuming they want to keep Fox) and between Fox, Harper, Castle, Carter Bryant, Champagnie, even Sochan… that developmental guard/wing position is pretty full outside of Vassel and Johnson, certainly Barnes.

I just don’t know enough about their timeline, who they value, and what kind of team they’re building toward.

[Licensed to Il]

Vassell is the guy to get, good off the ball but can also handle and pass well. Spurs probably are looking for future picks and matching salary vets.

[Bucks4005]

I know I saw Marcus Snart might get bought out,if we lean into this 3 guard starting lineup, think he’s just an option to just say screw in, start this physical defender at SF? At 220, he at least has some bulk, and those smaller guys like Smart this can be pests on ball at times for the bigger guys they guard. And his finish speed is a bit mitigated at SF. And offfensively, doesn’t he doe exactly what we want. Shoot 3s? Sure, he’s not great at it, but no one’s perfect, for a minimum contract, could be a solution to our SF position which is really what we’re looking for.

I mean, OKc has clearly leaned into the guard heavy lineup with good defenders, just thought it was an option. Just lean into small ball since we, unlike a lot of teams, will always likely have 2 near 7 footers on the floor regardless.

[yb90]

Vassell is the guy to get, good off the ball but can also handle and pass well. Spurs probably are looking for future picks and matching salary vets.

I think Vassell is the best fit but what I would struggle with is if he is worth more than going after Quentin Grimes who is only a few months older and who would probably be signed for less money.

[engelmartin]

Okoro would be sweet. There are still so many dominos to fall. Banton and Coffey are still out there too.

[Ron Swanson]

I don't think Vassell warrants the amount of hype he still gets. I'd be more interested in keeping an eye on what the Knicks will do with their cap situation. Bridges is due a big extension and OG is making 39, 42, and 45 the next 3-seasons. One of those guys is gonna be available in the next 6-10 months.

[M-C-G]

Really?

A highlight reel is the same as stats over a career or over individual seasons?

Incorrect. A highlight role shows me what a player is peak capable of, career stats from a different organization, under a different role iswhat he was THERE, but is not the same as what he could be here. Unless you are suggesting there isn’t a Giannis boost to players, which would be an interesting theory.

So Desmond Mason is basically Jordan than... had some amazing highlights

Good to see the context was not lost throughout this insightful exchange. Yes Desmond Mason is Jordan. Or….looking at ways a guy played his best to see how that might fit in a new system, but hey Mason is Jordan, Semi is Kawhi, you guys nailed it.

[M-C-G]

OKC may value Kuz declining contract is there some salary from them that fits the SF we could work out?

[Matches Malone]

Read on Twitter

[raferfenix]

Horst interview part 1 from Eric Nehm.

Not impossible it’s posturing but referring to the offseason as over (and doing this interview in the first place) does not make it seem like a Kuzma trade is imminent.

Myles is an incredible player in the prime of his career for four years. So four of those five years, we have Myles Turner, so it wasn’t like we just did something now and then we have to take four years of risk beyond this year and four years of carry without any production. We have four years, at least, of Myles Turner at elite production while that’s on our books. And there (are) other things that we did, there (are) other moves that we made, other players we’re able to acquire because of this move now that I believe will outweigh the carry of the 20-plus million dollars that we have.

We went into the offseason saying that, besides Detroit and Brooklyn at the time, we had as much flexibility as anybody else, and we actually had tradable draft picks and we had tradable contracts, and so this was not an offseason where we were completely up against the wall. It was an offseason where we had a lot of different avenues to pursue and explore. And so this was one that we were always exploring. And Myles has always been a target.

One of the things that I love about the acquisition for us — one of many things — is there’s no question that it opens up things for us to do differently. But, largely, it allows us to be the same in the ways that we’ve been really great also.

Myles is a great floor spacer. We love to be big and physical and defend the rim, and Myles does that. He’s elite at defending the rim. And I think that we needed to grow in our perimeter speed and our perimeter ability to navigate the pick-and-roll game, which is such a big part of the NBA now. To have multiple switch defenders on the floor. To play faster offensively and defensively in transition. And I think Myles adds that, as does Bobby (Portis) in a bigger, more important role for us than I think that he’s ever been in.

I think that is one of the things that’s a little bit undertold is keeping Bobby and letting Bobby play in the way he played near the end of the season. He’s really increased his shot speed. I mean, he really gets rid of the ball quicker. His shot quality has really improved. He understands he can dominate around the rim, rebound the basketball, shoot the ball on the perimeter.

Jericho (Sims) was one of the best switch defenders in the playoffs. He’s got a limited, limited sample, but I believe that he can do it. He’s an elite rim protector. He’s big, he’s physical, he’s athletic. I think the core four of those guys as a frontcourt is as good as anybody. And I think that it’s largely the way that we’ve been dominant in that space over 10 years. But I also think it gives us a chance to modernize and catch up in some of the other areas as well.

He just continues to grow at such a high rate in generating 3-point shots for his teammates. It’s elite. His decision-making is elite. His turnover game is reducing. He truly is becoming a real point guard — or a real point forward, like Doc calls it — so I think that allows us to dive even deeper into it than we have in the past, but I think those have always been some of our most successful lineups and groups. Putting him out there with a bunch of shooters and ball movers and let him just dominate.

I love being around [Doc]. He’s very well-connected. So when it comes to recruiting and networking and just the different things that you can do with a roster that are necessary, he’s amazing at that as well.

Have we done enough? We’ve done everything, I’ve done everything within my human possible power this offseason. I feel like our group works our butts off. I’ve got to shout out Dave Dean, Ryan Hoover, Milt Newton, Pat Haneman, Samer Jassar, David Mincberg, and Arjun Mahendroo, the whole group, we do everything we can to get better. We do everything we can to put the next version of this thing out there, to give Doc and Giannis and Bobby and Scoot (Kevin Porter Jr.) and the guys on our team every chance that they can to win every night.

And so have we done enough? I don’t know. We’ll find out. Have we done everything that we possibly could? Absolutely. And have we done more than anyone else could possibly do? I believe we have. And that’s not an arrogant thing to say. In a very humble way. I think we’ve done as much or more than anyone else could possibly do, and I’m proud of that.

The thing that I’m as excited about or more excited about is that we’re not done. That was just the offseason. Then we’re gonna have a training camp, and we’re going to be evaluating our roster. We’re going to be evaluating our talent, and we are going to build up toward a trade deadline and we’re gonna evaluate every single thing we can. And we’re going to try to have an amazing trade deadline also. It might be that we do nothing because we have the best team in the NBA, or it might be that we do a bunch of things because we need to, but I just think we’ve left nothing on the table.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6496242/2025/07/16/bucks-jon-horst-myles-turner-giannis-offseason-interview/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nbatw&source=nbatw

[engelmartin]

Kind of weird that neither Horst or the national media acknowledged the fact we don’t have a single small forward

[BigO]

Interesting info in the interview, especially about BP and his shot speed.

But Nehm never asks Horst why Doc waited until the end of the playoff series to yank Kuzma and Prince. Nehm is a journalistic coward to not ask the most obvious question when discussing Doc.

[MickeyDavis]

Kind of weird that neither Horst or the national media acknowledged the fact we don’t have a single small forward

Horst isn't going to tip his hand on what he thinks he needs/wants. He says he's happy with the team as is but there is no doubt he's actively shopping Kuzma. That doesn't mean a deal will get done before the season starts. Trading Kuzma just to trade him makes little sense. The right deal has to be there. If it isn't you hang tight. The important date is Feb. 6. That's when we have our final roster.

[MVP2110]

The fact that Horst implies the offseason is mainly over, and then doesn't list Kuzma as a front court option, leads me to believe that they still view Kuzma as a 3 which is gross. Hopefully I'm just overanalzying

[raferfenix]

The fact that Horst implies the offseason is mainly over, and then doesn't list Kuzma as a front court option, leads me to believe that they still view Kuzma as a 3 which is gross. Hopefully I'm just overanalzying

Yeah that does seem notable Horst said "I think the core four of those guys as a frontcourt is as good as anybody" with Sims in there as opposed to Kuz or Prince.

But to be fair to Nehm and Horst alike -- this interview is only part 1.

Stands to reason Kuzma and the SF position will be addressed in part 2.

[Bernman]

It's great news. We're not going to blow our last remaining picks on a new flawed player when we need a more reliable 2nd option. He's going to be patient until the deadline, and he thinks have a great one. That IDK because his trade history is very sus, but at least we should have better tools.

I wish he'd make a sensible move at the 3 before the season though. Maybe that's not being accounted for when relaying the roster is put together. But we're at 14 now & it could be simple as Thanasis rounds it out. Yet Jim O implied Ajax would be traded. By himself that return would be modest.