Trade Targets (postcript on yesterday-other teams)

[Giannis Parker]

Who was that guy that used to post on here a lot that hasn't for a while MMOT or something?

It was MBOT, he currently posts on Brewhoop from time to time as GoBango4 something or another. Guy is pretty funny sometimes, clearly a troll though.

[mlloyd10]

Giannis Parker - Listen - Nobody is saying Knight is a bad player - Right now, he is our best, but for the reasons already mentioned, he just not the player the bucks need going forward unless its for a reasonable cost.

I like Knight, but just hate when the ball is in his hands.

If we can draft a player like Jerian Grant, i would be fine bringing him back

[Giannis Parker]

Giannis Parker - Listen - Nobody is saying Knight is a bad player - Right now, he is our best, but for the reasons already mentioned, he just not the player the bucks need going forward unless its for a reasonable cost.

My issue with that is many of you just assume Giannis and Parker will be stars.

I mean, I clearly think they will be stars, but I would not bank on it when one is 19 and coming off ACL surgery and the other is 20. We clearly cannot tank right now for a top draft pick, so what is your other option?

The other option is to continue gathering assets and slowly upgrading the roster for the future. Your proposal at best keeps us sideways, so then why take on the risk?

I will again bring up the comparison to the Thunder dumping Harden. I am not comparing Knight and Harden here (though someone is still going to troll this like they did last time). What my comparison is is look what happened to the Thunder once they decided they did not want to pay 3 people a large sum of money. They plateaued as a team that does not appear they are going to win a title, and are now stuck. Why, because they were cheap. I feel that letting Knight go, especially when money is not currently a concern, is a cheap move, and shortsighted. If we get a package for Knight that moves the needle for now and the future, sign me up. Otherwise, do not pull a Thunder and dump a player out of "fear to overpay him".

[paulpressey25]

The Bucks are likely going to either lose Knight for nothing after this season or over-pay him.

Yep. And after lots of going back and forth while at the same time watching this team develop over the last 30-days, I think Knight is the guy you trade for the reason you note above.

Obviously if he gets picked as an ASG replacement for Wade, then it complicates things further. It also would be a big chemistry and PR risk. That said, some sort of Knight for Lawson thing (fill in the other pieces) is the type of move that could take the Bucks to a 50-win level next season. And it would really energize the current team.

[mlloyd10]

Giannis Parker - Listen - Nobody is saying Knight is a bad player - Right now, he is our best, but for the reasons already mentioned, he just not the player the bucks need going forward unless its for a reasonable cost.

My issue with that is many of you just assume Giannis and Parker will be stars.

I mean, I clearly think they will be stars, but I would not bank on it when one is 19 and coming off ACL surgery and the other is 20. We clearly cannot tank right now for a top draft pick, so what is your other option?

The other option is to continue gathering assets and slowly upgrading the roster for the future. Your proposal at best keeps us sideways, so then why take on the risk?

I will again bring up the comparison to the Thunder dumping Harden. I am not comparing Knight and Harden here (though someone is still going to troll this like they did last time). What my comparison is is look what happened to the Thunder once they decided they did not want to pay 3 people a large sum of money. They plateaued as a team that does not appear they are going to win a title, and are now stuck. Why, because they were cheap. I feel that letting Knight go, especially when money is not currently a concern, is a cheap move, and shortsighted. If we get a package for Knight that moves the needle for now and the future, sign me up. Otherwise, do not pull a Thunder and dump a player out of "fear to overpay him".

Maybe for this year, but not next -Giannis/Middleton and Parker to some extent need a player that can create for them.

[Ruzious]

The Bucks are likely going to either lose Knight for nothing after this season or over-pay him.

Yep. And after lots of going back and forth while at the same time watching this team develop over the last 30-days, I think Knight is the guy you trade for the reason you note above.

Obviously if he gets picked as an ASG replacement for Wade, then it complicates things further. It also would be a big chemistry and PR risk. That said, some sort of Knight for Lawson thing (fill in the other pieces) is the type of move that could take the Bucks to a 50-win level next season. And it would really energize the current team.

I'd try to add Sanders for McGee to the deal. Maybe a fresh start would be good for both of them.

[Ruzious]

Giannis Parker - Listen - Nobody is saying Knight is a bad player - Right now, he is our best, but for the reasons already mentioned, he just not the player the bucks need going forward unless its for a reasonable cost.

My issue with that is many of you just assume Giannis and Parker will be stars.

I mean, I clearly think they will be stars, but I would not bank on it when one is 19 and coming off ACL surgery and the other is 20. We clearly cannot tank right now for a top draft pick, so what is your other option?

The other option is to continue gathering assets and slowly upgrading the roster for the future. Your proposal at best keeps us sideways, so then why take on the risk?

I will again bring up the comparison to the Thunder dumping Harden. I am not comparing Knight and Harden here (though someone is still going to troll this like they did last time). What my comparison is is look what happened to the Thunder once they decided they did not want to pay 3 people a large sum of money. They plateaued as a team that does not appear they are going to win a title, and are now stuck. Why, because they were cheap. I feel that letting Knight go, especially when money is not currently a concern, is a cheap move, and shortsighted. If we get a package for Knight that moves the needle for now and the future, sign me up. Otherwise, do not pull a Thunder and dump a player out of "fear to overpay him".

LOL, what a terrible thing it would be to be a Thunder fan. Their only problem is they play in the West - and they had 2 superstars injured for a big chunk of games at the same time this season. If they were in the East, they might be favored to go to the finals.

Again, there is no question that the Bucks should be better - significantly - if they get Lawson for Knight - none - for the reasons already given. That's not sideways. And trading for him would not be risky as counting on Knight.

[tski1972]

I would like to work off a Knight/DMO based trade, but Howards injury is screwing it up.

[raferfenix]

I am looking to move Ersan, Mayo, and Zaza. Those are the pieces that have no part of our future or do not seem like they will ever appreciate in value moving forward.

If ZaZa were available I bet we could get a nice haul for him from a playoff team like the Rockets / Thunder / Warriors.

Those same kind of teams also might be willing to take on Mayo / Ersan in a package, although I don't see them generating much positive value because of their contracts.

Dudley is an X-factor here too. And Bayless might be very valuable to cap-conscious teams in particular since he's paid so cheaply for another season but provides high caliber guard play at both spots.

I tend to agree with this. If I had to peg the organizations plans, they will keep Knight, Middleton, Giannis, Parker, and Henson as the projected starting 5 of the future. I also think they keep Marshall, Bayless, and Dudley for the future or in Dudley's case now. Bayless can certainly be a part of the future here with the Bucks. He seems like the ideal combo guard in Kidds system, I would mark that off as a position of strength moving forward for the Bucks.

I feel Zaza being moved is going to hinge on what the team feels about Sanders. If they think Sanders will indeed come back and play (I do not think so), then maybe they move Zaza for a piece. Not sure what he hauls in, but he is a top level backup Center in the NBA, would think he gets you a talent on par with what Dudley or Bayless are overall.

I am a lone wolf here in regards to both Mayo and Ersan. I get their contracts are not ideal, but each only has one year left essentially (Ersan 400k guaranteed 2 yrs from now). I see plenty of teams like Houston for instance that are tied up for 2-3 years and would happily take either player on to enhance their title push.

I also like your trade proposal above this. If we can get Kanter for that package, you absolutely jump on it.

Very much hoping you're right about Mayo and Ersan! The Kings are another team I've been thinking about in this vein -- if they trade Stauskas somewhere, maybe they want both of them.

It's also a very interesting question whether our organization is -- or should be -- projecting Knight / Middleton / Giannis / Parker / Henson as our starting 5 of the future.

From my end, I see Henson only making it as a long term starter if he really got into a Tyson Chandler kind of role on the break, which I think only happens with an upgrade on the break at the 1 spot.

So even if we keep Knight I'd imagine that one of him or Middleton would be starting at the 2 with the other coming off the bench. They might be a very expensive bench player but if we practice responsible cap management otherwise we could afford to bankroll a 6th man.

That said, I could just as easily see Henson's top-line potential for us being a super-sub off the bench, in which case we come back to whether it's worth investing in both Middleton and Knight if we would still need to upgrade at PG.

On the flipside, if you believe in a Knight / Middleton back court long term -- where they provide good enough guard play to make it work with Henson or whoever is starting at center -- then we would have an incomparable kind of flexibility with our available assets.

[SkilesTheLimit]

The Bucks are likely going to either lose Knight for nothing after this season or over-pay him.

Yep. And after lots of going back and forth while at the same time watching this team develop over the last 30-days, I think Knight is the guy you trade for the reason you note above.

Obviously if he gets picked as an ASG replacement for Wade, then it complicates things further. It also would be a big chemistry and PR risk. That said, some sort of Knight for Lawson thing (fill in the other pieces) is the type of move that could take the Bucks to a 50-win level next season. And it would really energize the current team.

I'd try to add Sanders for McGee to the deal. Maybe a fresh start would be good for both of them.

Yeah Sanders to Colorado. I'm sure he would be all for that fresh start.

[Frank Nova]

Lawson should be added to the roster and Knight moved to SG, not swapped for 1 another. Lawson isn't the scorer Knight is and with Lawson, we still need to surround him with players that can capitalize on his court vision and willingness to get players the ball in scoring positions. Lawson would elevate the play of everyone around him, that includes Knight. We have the length and defensive scheme to compensate for a small back court like Lawson and Knight. I do see Lawson as the superior player to Knight although it's not as big of a gap as some may argue but swapping 1 for the other is much more a lateral move than anything else. I'll say this until I'm blue in the face but the best trade proposal for our current team is something around picks for Lawson. We need to add the needle mover to the current roster rather than worry about breaking up the chemistry our team has established together.

Something like; MKE 2015 1st (lotto protected), LAC 2017 1st, Larry Sanders and John O'Bryant III for Ty Lawson and JJ Hickson. Move Knight to SG, bring Khris off the bench for the rest of this season and go from there.

Worst case scenario we let Knight walk and bring Khris back at a reasonable price.

2015-16 Milwaukee starting lineup:

Lawson/Khris/Giannis/Parker/Zaza

That's a 50 win EC team.

[SkilesTheLimit]

Sorry to switch gears but I've had something on my mind regarding trades and J Kidd.

He's obviously got the power. He has hand picked Bayless, Martin and Gutierrez. He has favorites like Zaza on the team.

When a guy is bringing in his friends it worries me. He will never put these guys in a trade. Why would you dump off your buddy who chose to sign here?

This will prevent us from ever taking that next step and it concerns me.

[smauss]

I'm still drinking the Kanter Koolaide! I would love to see us work a deal for him. Dump the headcase and have Zaza & Henson as backup bigs. Don't get me wrong, I truly believe we need a facilitator at the 1 and Lawson would be a wonderful fit. Move anyone not named Giannis or Parker (I'm very tempted to add Middleton to those two as well) and get this done. As far as vets go, I have heard some interviews with Dudley lately and he certainly bring energy and appears to have a good understanding of this roster - I'm been impressed with him both on and off the floor. Never was before, but he seems to be growing on me.

[Fresh_Prince12]

At what point do we trade a 1st for a rookie/sophomore whos underperforming. if we can get nik or ben i say we make that move

[M-C-G]

What about something like this:

Bucks trade: ZaZa, Dudley
Bucks receive: Kanter, Kostas

Rockets trade: Pelicans pick, Kostas
Rockets receive: ZaZa

Jazz receive: Pelicans pick, trade exception
Jazz trade: Kanter

Frankly, I would rather try to make the deal larger with with the Rockets and get DMo plus that first and you could call it a day.

[M-C-G]

I would like to work off a Knight/DMO based trade, but Howards injury is screwing it up.

There are tons of options to get it done;

Trade 1: Bayless for Shved - some value to Houston (Shved can't be combined with a player for a trade)

Trade 2: Dudley, ZaZa, Knight for Pelicans pick, PaPa, DMo, Jason Terry

I'm a big fan of doing this type of deal, and letting Kidd "restock" the roster with next years version of Dudley, ZaZa, etc. Draft your PG or make another deal, and draft a center prospect with the other first.

Use your salary cap to maybe make a big splash, and resign Middleton, and this team could look pretty good next year.

[Chuck Diesel]

Knight, Ersan & JOB for Lawson & Darrell Arthur is the best/most realistic trade out there.

[Giannis Parker]

Another thing a lot of you need to understand is that Kidd's offensive system does not require a "Pass first distributing PG". His system is more like the Spurs where facilitating and ball movement are going to be a team effort.

I do not think Lawson fits that role, he is not a good catch and shoot player. Lawson is at his best as a field general watching players coming through screens and attacking the rim when the defense turns their head, with our offense that is not a strength.

[Baddy Chuck]

Lawson is at his best as a field general watching players coming through screens and attacking the rim when the defense turns their head, with our offense that is not a strength.

Probably isn't a strength because we don't have a player that can do that.

[Wisky4life]

If the Bucks do a trade it is a small one. There is no way Kidd blows up this team when he built it. Expect something small or nothing at all.