2020 End of Season / Playoffs

[planetmars]

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is slated to be a free agent after the 2020-21 season, could hold the league hostage this offseason if he were to decide a new destination is in order.

“It’s not happening. That’s not happening,” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports after the Bucks were eliminated in five games in the second round by the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.

“Some see a wall and go in [another direction]. I plow through it. We just have to get better as a team, individually and get right back at it next season.”

https://sports.yahoo.com/is-giannis-...032538892.html


Want him in Toronto, but it's pretty cool when a superstar wants to actually keep playing for their team, despite struggling in the playoffs. Although if I remember, KD said similar things about OKC before signing with GSW the first chance he got.

[planetmars]

With the Thunder now in full reset mode, maybe Schroeder and Adams are available as well. Gallinari won’t be back. Paul going to the Bucks?

That deconstruction could be interesting.

Getting Paul would be really tough. Just looking at their payroll.. if they want to keep Giannis and Middleton they would have to trade at least their next 3 highest paid players to get Paul (Lopez, Bledsoe and Hill).

Would be interesting to see how desperate Milwaukee becomes.

[MixxAOR]

I think Bucks missed their window. That's the ceiling of that group

[slaw]

Getting Paul would be really tough. Just looking at their payroll.. if they want to keep Giannis and Middleton they would have to trade at least their next 3 highest paid players to get Paul (Lopez, Bledsoe and Hill).

Would be interesting to see how desperate Milwaukee becomes.

It is really up to Giannis. If he says to ownership, get me another guy or I am leaving, they will do something. If they don’t then you go to Miami (or hopefully Toronto!) and you trust they will deal with those problems for you.

[G__Deane]

https://sports.yahoo.com/is-giannis-...032538892.html


Want him in Toronto, but it's pretty cool when a superstar wants to actually keep playing for their team, despite struggling in the playoffs. Although if I remember, KD said similar things about OKC before signing with GSW the first chance he got.

Giannis is not KD (or lebron or AD or PG), he has some integrity with his valid contract. That's why there's a decent chance he re-signs in Milwaukee, may come to Toronto but I doubt he goes where there's already a super team (LA or GS). Miami or Toronto?

[Rudy Bargnani]

Getting Paul would be really tough. Just looking at their payroll.. if they want to keep Giannis and Middleton they would have to trade at least their next 3 highest paid players to get Paul (Lopez, Bledsoe and Hill).

Would be interesting to see how desperate Milwaukee becomes.

Too bad they let Brogdon go would have helped having another salary to make a trade work.

[S.R.]

Too bad they let Brogdon go would have helped having another salary to make a trade work.

This is their problem now. Salaries aren't just about cap space and taxes, they're also about having movable assets so you've got roster flexibility. This is another thing Masai's amazing at, he's got a roster that can take a swing at a Kawhi situation when it comes up. The Bucks management is like Bud's gameplan - a nice efficient system with zero flexibility or ability to adapt & respond on the fly. Now they'd have to trade half their rotation players to get one higher level guy to help out Giannis and Middleton, then they'd be filling out the rotation with scrap heap pieces. Sorry but ring chasers aren't going to Milwaukee like they go to LA and Lebron (and are overrated anyway, imho). Plus the pieces Milwaukee can put together just aren't very enticing anyway. Contract length, talent, dollar value, nothing really great looking there.

[S.R.]

Philly has the ability to make real change if they want to. Still think they should trade one of the two stars but they'll give a new HC a season to take a run at it for a year or two first, probably. Watch them do something not helpful like Tobias Harris for Westbrook. Or Harris for DeRozan would actually help some, not with the outside shooting but giving them a high usage shot creator. They should really ship Horford but I don't know who wants him or his contract. Harris is also overpaid but had good impact on a more balanced roster that needed him in LAC, he could help a team. And is 28.

They need shooters and shooters who match Horford/Harris level salaries are franchise guys. Don't think you get a CJ or Beal when you're dangling Horford/Harris.

[MixxAOR]

Sixers should ship Ben Simmons.

[slaw]

Philly has the ability to make real change if they want to. Still think they should trade one of the two stars but they'll give a new HC a season to take a run at it for a year or two first, probably. Watch them do something not helpful like Tobias Harris for Westbrook. Or Harris for DeRozan would actually help some, not with the outside shooting but giving them a high usage shot creator. They should really ship Horford but I don't know who wants him or his contract. Harris is also overpaid but had good impact on a more balanced roster that needed him in LAC, he could help a team. And is 28.

They need shooters and shooters who match Horford/Harris level salaries are franchise guys. Don't think you get a CJ or Beal when you're dangling Horford/Harris.

I think Horford and Harris will be very difficult to unload without moving first round picks. Harris was vastly overrated based on a small stretch of play in LA and that contract is massive (that Harris hype year was one of the strangest things I have seen in NBA circles regarding a middling player). Horford is an aging big who has a very narrow set of skills and needs to be in a perfect situation to be effective, which wouldn't be so bad except for that huge contract.

Having said that, guys with untradeable deals get dealt all the time and the Sixers need to do something.

[planetmars]

If I had to take a wild guess, I actually see Paul going to Philly not Milwaukee. Philly will give up Harris (or Horford) and filler plus a whack of picks for him. Philly will double down on trying to get Embiid/Simmons another shot with a guy like Paul. I just don't think it will work though.

[Kagemusha]

If I had to take a wild guess, I actually see Paul going to Philly not Milwaukee. Philly will give up Harris (or Horford) and filler plus a whack of picks for him. Philly will double down on trying to get Embiid/Simmons another shot with a guy like Paul. I just don't think it will work though.

It has a chance if they get a better coach and some shooters.
CP3 will provide the leadership Ben and Joel severely needs.

[slaw]

It has a chance if they get a better coach and some shooters.
CP3 will provide the leadership Ben and Joel severely needs.

I wonder if Joel and Ben want to be led, though. Paul is a pretty abrasive guy and unlike in OKC where he was the elder statesman and best player, he won't be the best or even second-best player in Philly. Not sure that would work. Personally, and I know neither will happen, would love to see Paul go to Denver or Dallas.

[KeonClark]

If I had to take a wild guess, I actually see Paul going to Philly not Milwaukee. Philly will give up Harris (or Horford) and filler plus a whack of picks for him. Philly will double down on trying to get Embiid/Simmons another shot with a guy like Paul. I just don't think it will work though.

I could so see Philly adding Paul, another ball dominant, average 3 point shooter. It would be very on (elton) Brand.

[G__Deane]

Enough about Philly and Milwaukee, what can Toronto do next year to bring in another productive rotation player if Gasol and/or Serge or others are gone? I think FVV comes back but we'll need to get younger imo. Is Norm on the block?

As usual, not a fan of trotting it back out until we fall back to the middle of the pack, I think the East is better next year (Celtics are for good, young and improving, Miami is for real, Brooklyn will be better, Bucks aren't throwing in the towel) and the West is suddenly a lot deeper than the LA's