I am getting really, really scared the Lakers are going to sign Rondo. It seems to be all over the news. If we were to lose the pick and then sign Rondo, it may be the summer that ends the Lakers as we know them. This is a different NBA where the Lakers advantages are minimal. Rondo is so bad for this team it's unfathomable that we have interest. Our franchise seems to have a habit of living in the past. Trading away picks like they are worthless pogs. Signing a coach who is about as up to date with the current state of the NBA as Wilt Chamberlain. Offering Kobe a contract without even negotiating that makes about as much sense as Artest on quaaludes. This offseason could either be incredibly exciting or the most depressing in franchise history.
Ok. I've finally decided; get Rondo, Get Upshaw, acquire Lance through a trade; there's your sending away party, Kobe!!
Now, we're getting somewhere; Boogie, Rondo, Upshaw, and Lance in the same locker room. That's a core...
There's a few reasons I don't think the Bucks will match a big offer for Khris. Giannis is obviously the guy they're hanging their future on, followed by Parker. They knew they had a very solid player in Middleton, yet he was only getting 24 MPG until Jabari went down in December. As for the idea that they can all co-exist at SG, SF, PF, you have to scroll all the way down to their 11th most used 5 man unit to find a lineup with all 3 of them in it. None of them are PF's. Someone is going to end up coming off the bench, and it's definitely not going to be Giannis. That leaves them choosing between their #2 overall pick or a guy they just matched a max or near max contract on. That leads me to my next point. Cap space or no cap space, the Bucks are still a small market team. Giannis and Jabari still have 2 and 3 years left on their rookie deals, but that's 2 contracts that are likely to be even bigger than Middleton's due to the cap skyrocketing. That's a lot of money committed to 3 players, and all 3 players would likely give them the highest return on their investment if they started at SF. Henson and Plumlee each have 1 more season before they get extensions or hit restricted FA, 2 more seasons for MCW. Unless they see dramatic internal improvement, it seems obvious to me that the Bucks would be best served spending on upgrading their bigs and possibly PG. And there's no better time to do that than right now while they're an up and coming playoff team. They need to take full advantage of having something to sell players on right now. Saying that they have trouble recruiting premier FA's would be putting it lightly. The biggest name FA they've signed recently is Mayo, and they had to overpay to get him. If they wait they could easily end up having to choose between overpaying MCW and Henson or falling back out of the playoff picture.
they could also match middleton with the understanding that they'll have to move one of the three later. still don't see them just letting him walk for nothing.
Neither do I. We'll go after 'names' that aren't RFA's and probably make a more exerted effort and signing 2nd-tier players than we did last year...i.e. the value option if we strike out on the big names...
Right off the bat, this ignores that the Bucks have stated multiple times that they will match any offer for him. This also ignores that the Bucks are owned by hedge-fund billionaires. So they may be a small market team, but they have a new ownership group with big market money. I'm not banking on these guys not being willing to spend cash especially when they keep saying they will. Even assuming they were at one point planning to build around Giannis, Middleton has played far better than him in the playoffs and has emerged as the team's best player right now. I would be thrilled if we found a way to get Middleton. Honestly, I would. But he's a restricted free agent playing for a team owned by billionaires who repeatedly say they want to keep him. I've got no real reason to doubt them, at least not right now.
I think this is how it will play out as well. I think we will land either Love or Aldridge and at least one second tier guy. I'm not banking on us prying away any of the restricted free agents.
Love, Aldridge, Dragic, all the names that we've been linked, too. They'll be other names that we'll be associated with us as well. I only put stock in the Woj's, Stein's, my common sense, and what we've done in the most recent past when it comes to free agency. What I think will happen? of Every RFA gets re-signed, Love opts in for 1 more year waiting for the extra money to get in so he could get paid, Aldridge decides to take his talents to the SAS. RE: Lakers. We keep our pick; we trade it for an established player, go into free agency sign a couple of good free agents without the big 'name,' but we get solid additions to pair with Clarkson and Randle and we roll into next season. I'll predict we make the 8th seed. Then we go into 2016 with room with 2 more max spaces to add a 'transcendent' talent to take our team to the next level...
Sorry guys I hit submit early, rest of the post is edited in. I think the last bit sort of addresses the issue of letting him go for nothing. They wouldn't be letting him go for nothing in my eyes. They'd be letting him go so that they can throw 20M in cap space at upgrading their bigs or PG. For the first time since I started following the game, Milwaukee should be a legitimate contender to attract premier FA's. Maybe I'm wrong, but in my eyes it would be incredibly foolish to throw almost all of their cap space at retaining a player that should be starting at the same position as their next 2 best players who have 2 and 3 years remaining on their rookie deals.
They would have cap space and he is their best player right now. They can have all three guys and add someone else.
Lakers are in a weird spot as far as the 29 and-up crop of free agents go. They don't have a contending team to attract them to Los Angeles, and by the time Randle, Clarkson, and whoever they draft this year are ready to go for it guys like Dragic, Aldridge, Gasol, Rondo, etc will no longer be in their primes. Really, all of them are at the tail end of their prime this year. It just doesn't look like a good fit, although Rondo would probably sign because he has no other options. If we trade the pick for a more win-now piece, like say Eric Bledsoe or something, then maybe we look more attractive to the 29 and up club. All of the restricted forwards (Kawhi, Butler, Middleton, Harris, Green) would be fantastic, but I'm sure their teams aren't planning on just letting them leave. It's also risky to go after a restricted free agent and have cap space tied up only for the incumbent team to match. So if the older guys looking for one last big contract are out, and the restricted free agents are out, who is left? Well Greg Monroe is the best of the rest, but everyone will be after him. Doesn't mean the Lakers shouldn't pursue him, but they will have a lot of competition. Maybe Brook Lopez and Kevin Love opt out and deepen the talent pool, but the potential is there for the Lakers to be left out in the cold again. All that said, cap space means flexibility, and I think Jim and Mitch will get something done to improve the talent level of the team this summer, whether it be in free agency or by trade.
I could definitely see it playing out like that. I think Love is out of there next year but who knows.
I said something very similar regarding Aldridge and Gasol earlier in this thread (or maybe the draft thread). Neither of them work for us from an age perspective. They would neither want to waste what little prime they have left on a rebuild because Aldridge with nothing else added other than, let's say, Winslow would be 3 years away from contending, if Winslow, Randle AND Clarkson come through. Maybe if Aldridge and Durant were working behind the scenes he would come, but I have no reason to believe it.
I think the fact that they are owned by a hedge-fund only raises the possibility of the Bucks letting Middleton go. Hedge funds are only interested in earning returns for their investors. Their goal isn't to win a championship, like the Buss family or Mark Cuban who will often overspend for their own interest. It is very likely their ownership is temporary. They may let Middleton walk to stay as profitable as possible (small market means they can not recover $15 million worth of ticket sales) and sell the team immediately after the new NBA TV deal.
Well, I guess I will say I don't agree with any of that and let it be on this one. I don't see Middleton leaving absent some freak injury in the next few months.
Yeah, the chances of getting Middleton are still low, but I'm just saying...... that's what hedge funds do. They buy to sell. NBA teams are just another liquid asset to them.
You also have to take guys like Middleton and Tobias Harris with a grain of salt here. Okay, sure, they have had a nice season, but that doesn't mean you go out and overpay a guy who had a good contract year. Whereas you look at someone with a better track record like Butler, Leonard, Danny Green, and in some ways, Carroll, and put that into perspective.
