The Brandon Jennings Conundrum (Day 30)

[breakchains]

If the Bucks were smart they'd show brandon more love than any other team and welcome him back.

considering precisely zero teams have shown him any love, that is not a high bar, and one the Bucks have already likely met. If they were smart, they would have cut ties with him and Ellis when both actually had value, and received some real assets instead of peanuts on the dollar to put a damn team together.

[Nebula1]

Brandon hasn't been in the wire taps because Bucks said they'd match, which is good.

[VooDoo7]

Can't pass cant finish imo

Every village has one.

[Chapter29]

Brandon hasn't been in the wire taps because Bucks said they'd match, which is good.

Many teams say they will match. Its nothing more than a negociating tactic. Heck NY said that about Lin too. Houston then tried to up the deal to the point where it would hurt NY financially and they then declined and said here you can have him for that much.

You have to assume that with all RFA's the incumbent is likely to match anything of fair value.

The reason imo Jennings hasn't had an offer is because of the huge delta in self evaluation. He is probably holding steady at that 10M plus figure. GM's might be in that 5-7M range. Thus no offer.

I was shocked that a team who I thought made pretty smart decisions and uses advanced statistics to measure a players worth would have actually signed Ellis to a 10M dollar deal. I would take Ellis and his flaws at perhaps 8M or so, but not 10M. Still get to laugh though as he had a much better deal he turned down with us.

[HurricaneKid]

You know when you are having a conversation with certain people and you know they aren't listening to what you are saying but simply waiting for their chance to talk? Jennings plays basketball like that. He is just waiting to shoot again. He has it in his head that more shots = more points = AllStar = $$$. He even came out and said he would stay in Milw if we made him our franchise player (paid him max, but more importantly let him shoot whenever he felt like it). He is as far away from getting it as a guy in his position could be.

If you think he is going to play nice for a season so he can get a new deal like so many players before him you are overlooking the fact that for BJ scoring more points IS playing better. If he went the other way and played distributor like he did for a week last season he would get his money and he would get to own the ball somewhere. But he just wants to shoot as much as he can. And he is one of the few guys anywhere that I wouldn;t want on a relatively inexpensive deal in their FA season.

[emunney]

If he would just distribute the ball, play defense and shoot open 3s, he'd be a damn good player. He has the ability to do all of those things... we've seen him do them. He just has no discipline in his game at all. And no right hand, of course.

[Nebula1]

He is as far away from getting it as a guy in his position could be.

[Nebula1]

If he would just distribute the ball, play defense and shoot open 3s, he'd be a damn good player. He has the ability to do all of those things... we've seen him do them. He just has no discipline in his game at all. And no right hand, of course.

All very correctable, although I would argue he does distribute the ball, just not enough and is an adequate defender with room to improve. Point is, all of his "flaws" can be worked out with coaching, practice and determination and this is precisely why I want to keep him.

[emunney]

He wasn't close to adequate defensively last year. He stopped fighting through screens and closing out on shooters. He gambled excessively and lost excessively.

[HurricaneKid]

He is as far away from getting it as a guy in his position could be.

I would be willing to bet that BJ is appraoching the abject silence from the other 29 teams as an indictment against Milwaukee and how they could not afford to lose their franchise player at any price rather than acknowledging he is an inefficient chucker who is a lot closer to Lou Williams (who scores more points/36 at better efficiency, etc) than he is to Jrue, et al.

Lou has a better FG%, 3%, PER, P/36min, WS, WS/48, etc. Over the last two years his DRTG has even been better. And Lou makes 5MM.

[Nebula1]

He wasn't close to adequate defensively last year. He stopped fighting through screens and closing out on shooters. He gambled excessively and lost excessively.

I don't disagree he coasted in the second half of last season, but he's got plenty of ability to get it done and has shown it in the past. I do think having a lame duck over Skiles impacted those efforts as well his general frustration.

[JimmyTheKid]

Could this be the JS foreshadowing a Jennings return on the QO?
Headline: Brandon Jennings a Problem the Bucks Must Live With For Another Season

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/bucks/br ... 32331.html

"As awkward as Jennings' one-year return would be, I'm thinking a potentially bad situation could actually become a good thing next season for player and organization with a lot of work and understanding on both sides.

In a contract year, Jennings would be highly motivated to become the player he thinks he is and get the money he thinks he's worth. With a new coach and without the friction caused by Monta Ellis' presence, it's possible that Jennings' attitude could be reshaped to make something of next season for the Bucks."

Son of a *****.

As ridiculous at that notion seems, I agree. Again, the front office never having a Plan B, C, or D has led us to yet another unenvious situation. I'd rather have Jennings at the PG position than anything currently out there. We're not getting anything of value back for him unless we include one of our assets. Ugh. As much as I want Jennings gone, I agree with this article. Another day in the life of a Bucks' fan.

[HurricaneKid]

All very correctable, although I would argue he does distribute the ball, just not enough and is an adequate defender with room to improve. Point is, all of his "flaws" can be worked out with coaching, practice and determination and this is precisely why I want to keep him.

So a player who was a better defender at 19 and 20 than he was at 21 and 22, a player who has not only NOT DEVELOPED, but actually REGRESSED, should be rewarded due to his upside? That is some crazy rationalizing.

You CAN'T have the highest paid player on your team be a guy who doesn't get better. The example that sets for the team is horrifying.

[LUKE23]

Having him back on the QO wouldn't be bad, assuming we had the intent to trade him. I doubt he'd veto really any deal at this point.

[Nebula1]

He is as far away from getting it as a guy in his position could be.

I would be willing to bet that BJ is appraoching the abject silence from the other 29 teams as an indictment against Milwaukee and how they could not afford to lose their franchise player at any price rather than acknowledging he is an inefficient chucker who is a lot closer to Lou Williams (who scores more points/36 at better efficiency, etc) than he is to Jrue, et al.

Lou has a better FG%, 3%, PER, P/36min, WS, WS/48, etc. Over the last two years his DRTG has even been better. And Lou makes 5MM.

I would be willing to bet you have no idea the discussions his agent is having or how he views Milwaukee. And perhaps, as you suggest, Jennings is closer to Lou Williams and his agent is working to set his value. Just don't take the lack of wiretap reports as a lack of communication. Teams and agents are in constant talks and there is nothing wrong with patience in negotiation.

[Nebula1]

All very correctable, although I would argue he does distribute the ball, just not enough and is an adequate defender with room to improve. Point is, all of his "flaws" can be worked out with coaching, practice and determination and this is precisely why I want to keep him.

So a player who was a better defender at 19 and 20 than he was at 21 and 22, a player who has not only NOT DEVELOPED, but actually REGRESSED, should be rewarded due to his upside? That is some crazy rationalizing.

You CAN'T have the highest paid player on your team be a guy who doesn't get better. The example that sets for the team is horrifying.

Jennings was not a better defender as a rookie. He used to crumple getting through screens and would bail out going under all the time. Skiles did get his defensive abilities up and he has improved until last year when the wheels came off a bit with Boylan. Overall Jennings is a better player and is improving YoY in all areas despite the basically static statistics. Once he gets his FG% up by improving his shot selection, the reviews of his game will change dramatically. In addition to improved shot selection will come a higher rate of assists and likely a reduction in turnovers, despite being a pretty solid handler. The extreme negativity around this player is unwarranted imo.

[sdn40]

After doing a lot of wondering, my conclusion will go against the grain. Just as drafting Ginnis is high risk high reward and the right thing to try, maybe signing Jennings to the QC or a lower end deal is worth the risk for the exact same reason. Even though I just lost 99% of you, I'll explain a bit further. Jennings only coaches have been Skiles and Boylan. I'm no expert, but maybe a new face like Drew can make a difference. And if it can make a difference, the reward could be much higher than the garbage that is out there in FA. Let's be real people, the difference maker via the FA route is NOT coming to Milwaukee. I don't know how charred the bridge has burned (media can exaggerate to get their clicks), but if you want high risk, high reward, seeing what Drew can do for Jennings may be the way to go. As long as you dont go 4 for $48, is it really any more damaging than the cast offs we already signed ?

[Diggr14]

How did they not have a plan concerning Jennings, im confused.. I thought they handled him perfectly this summer.

They gauged where he was in terms of a contract. He said 15MM per... the Bucks ran away from the table and went to Teague and offered him a contract at the value he is worth... ATL matched. If you overpay Teague you create another problem later on... so Im glad they stayed at the 8.

Back to Jennings, If any team wanted to make him an offer they could have. The Bucks waited to see what his fair market value was and no one even picked up this said player that wanted 15MM (who is 23 still). Im glad that the Bucks let other teams set the market for Brandon instead of bidding against themselves. Ironically, not getting Teague likely means we will get Jennings on a one year 4.3 million dollar deal which honestly is not a bad situation for MKE. They can still offer him a contract next year (if he magically matures) or just cut bait with him all together and start fresh at PG through the 2014 draft or Free agency. At this point, no one really has the cap room or want to go out and get Jennings, the Bucks would be wise to just let him come back, drive the tank, shoot as much as he wants - drive up his value and trade him midseason to a team that has an injury at the PG for draft picks.

In the end, Im glad we didn't get Teague. I think this is a much better spot for the stealth tank to get us into that top 5-9 of this upcoming draft. Having Teague probably would have made our team a bit better and put us in that 10-14 range. Hold the line Hambone... let Jennings come in on a QO, piss him off as much as possible and ride that tank!!!

[engelmartin]

If Jennings puts up like seven more workout videos, I'm considering taking him back. Seven more times doing such a rigorously edited workout routine probably makes him nearly as strong as Rondo.

[JimmyTheKid]

The extreme negativity around this player is unwarranted imo.

Its really not. At all. In fact, you were also pretty negative towards Jennings at the end of last season. If you remember correctly, there were two regulars (you and me) that backed Jennings through thick and thin. Quitting on the team for a 2nd consecutive year after not making the All-Star game was the final kicker for me. Obviously, he has talent. But he's a head case. He thinks he's a lot better at basketball than he truly is and he's wildly inconsistent. Obviously, he's been in a sh*t situation with an inept franchise. There have been mediocre to poor offensive players around him during his time in Milwaukee. And then they bring in Monta Ellis, which was doomed from the start. And then Redick. But at some point Jennings has to take responsibility for himself. Instead, he pouts and quits on his team. The extreme negativity is very much warranted.

That all being said, if he's our starting PG next year, he'll get a clean slate from me, and I'll root for my favorite team to play good basketball.