The Brandon Jennings Conundrum (Day 30)

[StickeeFingaz]

This situation is just way past it's expiration date. At this point I really don't care what happens, I've lost any passion I had in having a successful off season, culminating in a tortuous standoff between two complete idiots in Hammond and Jennings.

[Nebula1]

That video didn't say anything new.. Jennings has poor scoring percentages. Shocking.

He can improve his finishing by getting a stronger right hand. He can improve his percentages by getting to the rim more, earning fouls and improving his shot selection. Jennings should try to find an open player with only ticks left on the shot clock rather than chucking a bailout 3. His weaknesses are fixable.

I hope this process has humbled him a bit but also motivated him to improve where he needs to improve. He wants to be a star but the with production measured the way it is, he'll have to evolve his game if he wants the status he desires. I think he's got that desire.

[jr lucosa]

I went to Yahoo and this was the first story I saw under 'All stories'

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/7/22/4545662/nba-free-agency-brandon-jennings-bucks

[HELPLESS]

You could go over every single player in the NBA, list their weaknesses, and say that if they do this...this...this...then they're going to improve. How often does that happen, Nebula?

How many Chauncey Billups have there been in the NBA? The above rarely happens after a players first couple of years in the league. Yes players can get better at things and refine things but they rarely go from being terrible at something to being really good at it. In Brandon's case finishing and actually being a pure point guard aren't going to magically turn on.

Jennings might be young in age but he isn't young in basketball experience. The kid has played high levels of competition for a decade. It's not even like he's 20-21 years old anymore. He turns 24 before the season starts and has been a pro player for 5 years now. The percentages dictate that he pretty much is what he is at this point.

[El Duderino]

That video didn't say anything new.. Jennings has poor scoring percentages. Shocking.

He can improve his finishing by getting a stronger right hand. He can improve his percentages by getting to the rim more, earning fouls and improving his shot selection. Jennings should try to find an open player with only ticks left on the shot clock rather than chucking a bailout 3. His weaknesses are fixable.

I hope this process has humbled him a bit but also motivated him to improve where he needs to improve. He wants to be a star but the with production measured the way it is, he'll have to evolve his game if he wants the status he desires. I think he's got that desire.

We've been looking for Jennings to improve on these weaknesses since his rookie season and for the most part he hasn't improved on any of them, despite playing a ton of minutes and his defense has regressed.

[StickeeFingaz]

Coaches tell kids in middle school that they need to finish with their off hand in order to become a better player...we shouldn't have to explain to Jennings that he needs to get better with his weak hand, that's ridiculous.

[Nebula1]

I don't buy the "he is what he is" argument simply because he's 23 years old. All he has to do is improve a couple areas of his game since his poor results are usually simply a matter of style of play. It's not a matter athletics or size and is almost entirely based on shot selection.

If you could get Jennings to check down to a different player with 5 seconds on the clock rather than trying to go "Kobe" on it, that would do wonders. If you could get him to keep attacking the rim despite no calls, that would do wonders. Maybe Larry Drew can reach him.

But we're all where we are on this player. I think he'll get better as he progresses with his career while others claim he is what he is. My guess is we'll see the player show improvement, but not become the star he sees in the mirror until he's on a team with some great players to keep him in check.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Yeah, that video makes sense, but I think the fact he is a RFA is 70% of the reason he is unsigned. If he was UFA this offseason, he would've signed the first week and would've been a fart in the wind for Milwaukee.

[HELPLESS]

Everyone has an opinion and you can't really hate on it (unless it's the cronies coming around here making excuses for 25 years of ineptitude) but the plain old statistics say that a player is what he is after 5 professional seasons. Just go do some research.

So you can buy my argument or not. It's not a big deal, but history is history and history tells us that 99% of guys don't completely revamp their game after 5 professional years in a sport. You seem to be making the argument that Jennings doesn't have to revamp his game but just improve in a couple of areas. While then that's where you and I disagree. He's a low percentage - high usage shooting guard in a smaller point guards body. That's his entire game. That isn't a small area that needs changing. That's an entire mindset.

[Nebula1]

Jennings TS% by year = .475, .493, .514, .510.. while not a huge improvement and overall lower than it needs to be, that's still an uptrend, especially if he improves it next season.

3pt% is overall lower than it needs to be, but despite dipping after his rookie season, has been uptrending. Assists are the exact same: dip after rookie, uptrend since.

Rebounds and steals are probably close to static to marginal improvment outlook.

Free Throws have always been good. Overall FG% is bad, but can be improved by playing smarter.


Jennings is far from perfect, but he's still a very intriguing player with some explosive upside. He's volatile and needs work, but over time, guys like this can develop into solid players and is a good risk for Milwaukee to take.

[Nebula1]

Everyone has an opinion and you can't really hate on it (unless it's the cronies coming around here making excuses for 25 years of ineptitude) but the plain old statistics say that a player is what he is after 5 professional seasons. Just go do some research.

So you can buy my argument or not. It's not a big deal, but history is history and history tells us that 99% of guys don't completely revamp their game after 5 professional years in a sport. You seem to be making the argument that Jennings doesn't have to revamp his game but just improve in a couple of areas. While then that's where you and I disagree. He's a low percentage - high usage shooting guard in a smaller point guards body. That's his entire game. That isn't a small area that needs changing. That's an entire mindset.

I don't disagree his stats are poor and you may find general rules of thumb like that helpful, but I don't. Stats only tell part of the picture and Jennings has been used no differently than many scoring point guards in the NBA. He's just not efficient (yet) doing so and is probably better off reducing his dependency on shooting. A good coach can help this player find his way and reduce his overall usage.

[Matches Malone]

but over time, guys like this can develop into solid players and is a good risk for Milwaukee to take.

I think you can make a case that guys like Jennings can definitely develop into solid players but I'm not so sure he can do it in Milwaukee. While we are trying to "Win Now" I don't think we have any real chance of competing this year. On top of that, we don't really have anybody on the roster that can take Jennings under his wing and help him turn into a solid player. Now I'm not saying you need a mentor to make a good player, I just don't think the set up we have in Milwaukee is conducive to make Jennings better. I think if Brandon ever wants to succeed in this league, he needs a fresh start and to play for a team that doesn't need him to be "The Man." Teams like Miami or Houston that already have a solid foundation that need a point guard might be a better spot for him than Milwaukee.

[Mr Roboto]

That video didn't say anything new.. Jennings has poor scoring percentages. Shocking.

He can improve his finishing by getting a stronger right hand. He can improve his percentages by getting to the rim more, earning fouls and improving his shot selection. Jennings should try to find an open player with only ticks left on the shot clock rather than chucking a bailout 3. His weaknesses are fixable.

I hope this process has humbled him a bit but also motivated him to improve where he needs to improve. He wants to be a star but the with production measured the way it is, he'll have to evolve his game if he wants the status he desires. I think he's got that desire.

I hate the pouting and in general the immaturity that Jennings has exhibited throughout his career as a Buck. On the court his statistics speak for themselves. With that said, I appreciate that you are taking a minority position and think you make some solid points. IIRC Sampson did allot of one on one work with Jennings and once he left I don’t know if our staff had a coach that did a good job with player development, although Sanders obviously improved year to year. I am not a Skiles fan his reputation among players speaks volumes, so I would be curious to see what Jennings would do under a new coach after presumable being humbled by the FA process this offseason. I guess I feel I would rather bring Jennings back and hope he develops under Drew or turns into a more valuable trade asset than just giving him away. I will admit I still see talent and potential.

It appears that changing the culture/locker room has been a huge point of emphasis the offseason, but I would hate to lose Jennings for nothing and see him develop on a different team. Hard time believing BJ wants the QO. Would a two year commitment at 9M with a team option for a 3rd at 14M per be something both sides would be interested in doing?

[ReddRum]

Regardless if Jennings has any upside left he is a clown, and if we bring him back we are nuts. Why we haven't been able to pull off a sign and trade at this point is beyond me - just further shows Hammonds incompetence. He is a cry baby who over-inflates his own value and our best player in Sanders doesn't even like him. Get his ass out of town. Let him go play in a big market like he wanted to, and then he will feel the real wrath of the media, when he is putting bricks up all day long for a contender...

[SeaLORD_0318]

I think the Bucks/BJ bridge has been burnt. At most he plays out his QO and will probably play hard as hell trying to drum up interest. Thank God the dudes ego is too big to sign long term here.

[HELPLESS]

We're just not going to see eye to eye on this one.

Assists went from 5.7, 4.8, 5.5, 6.5. I don't know if I'd call one season an uptrend but I consider his passing skills pretty below average for a point guard. So does pretty much every analyst. Reference the above video.

His defense has gotten progressively worse every season. How do you explain that? The explosive upside is something that it seems like only a couple of people can reason. I just don't see it.

It once again goes back to my opinion that this guy is a shooting guard in a 6'1" 160 some pound body. He has to change around his entire game to reach this potential you speak of. He's also a risk Milwaukee has already taken and it's failed miserably so I don't see why they want to re-up that risk.

[Nebula1]

but over time, guys like this can develop into solid players and is a good risk for Milwaukee to take.

I think you can make a case that guys like Jennings can definitely develop into solid players but I'm not so sure he can do it in Milwaukee. While we are trying to "Win Now" I don't think we have any real chance of competing this year. On top of that, we don't really have anybody on the roster that can take Jennings under his wing and help him turn into a solid player. Now I'm not saying you need a mentor to make a good player, I just don't think the set up we have in Milwaukee is conducive to make Jennings better. I think if Brandon ever wants to succeed in this league, he needs a fresh start and to play for a team that doesn't need him to be "The Man." Teams like Miami or Houston that already have a solid foundation that need a point guard might be a better spot for him than Milwaukee.

I don't believe Milwaukee is actually trying to Win Now. At least not yet, we haven't seen the Josh Smith deal. Overall we've added some okay bench guys who know the franchise, but the team has regressed from last year.

I do maintain that Jennings' development has been stunted by not having a big alpha vet to help show him the way and keep him in line. And on top of that, we've mixed him with the likes of Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis. The result is a Jennings mindset that he's a one man army trying to save the Milwaukee franchise and then got offended when the Bucks traded for JJ and put him under lame duck Boylan.

I think he could succeed in Milwaukee, if Milwaukee had a damn direction. For example, if the Bucks actually bottomed out and brought in a big time lottery pick, Jennings' star power would be threatened, which would be healthy for everybody. Instead we keep drafting projects and asking Jennings to do everything, which he's not capable of.

I'd love him in Houston, however and before we hear the "MOREY would NEVER.. advanced stats, yada, yada" I think he'd work nicely falling in line behind Howard and Harden.

So Asik/Lin for Ersan/Jennings??? You can flip Asik for a SF.

[Matches Malone]

It appears that changing the culture/locker room has been a huge point of emphasis the offseason, but I would hate to lose Jennings for nothing and see him develop on a different team.

Sometimes it's addition by subtraction. If he stays he may never develop like we want him to. Maybe he develops somewhere else under good coaching and team chemistry? I think he has some potential left. However, I feel as though the bridge is burned between Jennings and Milwaukee. He may not be able to develop with the Bucks but might be able to somewhere else. I just think that this team needs to move forward. We aren't winning with him so we might as well try and turn this treadmill another direction and see if they can spark some kind of magic under Larry Drew.

Much like the 2003-2004 Milwaukee Bucks, they didn't have any star players going into the season. Michael Redd ended up being an All-Star that year but for the most part, that team lacked talent on paper. I think if you let Jennings go, this team we have going forward could be something similar. Hard working players, hard working coach and a team oriented philosophy.

[SeaLORD_0318]

Everyone has an opinion and you can't really hate on it (unless it's the cronies coming around here making excuses for 25 years of ineptitude) but the plain old statistics say that a player is what he is after 5 professional seasons. Just go do some research.

So you can buy my argument or not. It's not a big deal, but history is history and history tells us that 99% of guys don't completely revamp their game after 5 professional years in a sport. You seem to be making the argument that Jennings doesn't have to revamp his game but just improve in a couple of areas. While then that's where you and I disagree. He's a low percentage - high usage shooting guard in a smaller point guards body. That's his entire game. That isn't a small area that needs changing. That's an entire mindset.

I don't disagree his stats are poor and you may find general rules of thumb like that helpful, but I don't. Stats only tell part of the picture and Jennings has been used no differently than many scoring point guards in the NBA. He's just not efficient (yet) doing so and is probably better off reducing his dependency on shooting. A good coach can help this player find his way and reduce his overall usage.

Its the Bucks luck that Jennings would roll out after this year and sign into a stable and competent organization and proceed to be a perennial All-Star.

[Matches Malone]

So Asik/Lin for Ersan/Jennings??? You can flip Asik for a SF.

How about a 3 team trade:

To Boston: Omer Asik

To Milwaukee: Jeremy Lin, Jeff Green, Future 1st round pick via Houston

To Houston: Brandon Jennings, Ersan Ilyasova