What is krack alackin fellow Thermo du clear a everst I am a Daniel is
coming at you win my certified fantabulous co host with your granted dude. We
are on to the Central Division to wrap up the Eastern Conference in our offseason
grades series. As a reminder before, we plead with you to subscribe to
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those pop up. Grant, how the heck are you doing? I'm getting
kind of hungry, Dan, but how are you doing? You were eating
when we started recording. That was like an hour and a half ago.
I gotta feed the machine that. Wow, okay, it's got like a
Jersey Shore reference. I'm pretty sure you feel good thing. I'll tell you
that. Do you want to I appreciate you being the one to lead us
through the transactions since I could barely talk at the moment. I'm still high,
he congested and not feeling great. Do you want to start us off
with the your Chicago Bulls? Why are they gonna be all right? I'll
take him, I'll I'll take the Chicago Bulls. So they did a lot.
They signed some basketball players, many of whom were already on the team,
the first of which, in terms of significance, Nikolavuvich is back three
years, sixty million dollars extension. Kobe White also back three years and thirty
six. I had just soon moved back three years and twenty one. UH
signed Javon Carter three years, nineteen point five million or cornering the market on
defense first guards with Alex Cruzer already on the team, got Tory Craig for
the minimum, lost another defense first guard and Patrick Beverley, so I had
to replace him and Javonte Green and Dirk Jones Junior. I think remains unsigned.
You can correct me if that is the case or is not the case.
Did I miss anything of consequence? Djj opted in. I believe he's
outside. You're right. Last year, you are correct. That's pretty much
it so a lot of action UH in terms of money spent and play is
acquired, slash routined. Are the skoggle bulls better? Doesn't matter? How
do you feel about what they did this offseason? Well, they're the perfect
team to talk about. How much do you penalize a team that's not acting
in a way that you would would you control them? It's not a matter
of what moves did they miss out on. It's a matter of the path
not yet traveled, which would be to tear it down because I think every
single move they made. The Foots deal, I still don't love it,
but it's like that's everyone just seemed to think that was a fine number.
I didn't see when he first reported. I thought, I said three years
an eighty million, and so my response to it was just so inflammatory.
I love the Javon Carter deal. I think that's a great fit. I
think they made Kobe White had a quietly a good season last year. I
owe to soon move. I can't believe no one else wanted to even take
a look at him. I thought they got good value there. One of
the things I'm questioning though I know nothing about him, so I didn't judge
this too harshly. But why was number thirty five Julian Phillips worth second rounders
in twenty six and twenty seven feels like a very you know Bull is really
gonna be that good? Then I felt like a little steeper price to pay.
I don't know what to give this team. Is there is there a
move that they made not that they didn't make because there are a move that
they made that you actively dislike. I'd say the Vuchevich deal comes the closest
to that, But that is going to tie into the like what's the bigger
plan here kind of line of criticism than the years and dollars for this particular
player, Like it's kind like he's probably worth that, right, Like in
a vacuum. I think he's actually, he's definitely worth that in a vacuum.
He's a good player, good offensive player. Somehow the Bulls have had
good defensive numbers, but that's probably because Alex Caruso is involved with Vouchevich out
there. So it's like, that's that's the closest I can get to,
Oh, that's just objectively a bad move, right, And I don't even
feel I don't even think I would, you know, if pressed would say
that, that's just, oh, that's bad, Like you probably can't trade
him for value at that number, So that isn't great, But it is
ties in more to the the first thing you lad with, which was like
how closely did the Bulls moves it here? To like what I would have
done if I were in charge of the team and in that sense, they're
way off, but a lot of that is just it's got to do with
like the team that they've built over the last three four years. It's just
you're they're in a situation that I wouldn't want to get into because they're just
in the middle and everything they did this year, I think you look at
all those signings and it's like, yeah, they might be better. They
could be better this year significantly even maybe, but it's still middle ish to
me, and so I'll just say it's a D plus. And that's with
saying that. If you go down the line, like itemize their transactions,
there's nothing that makes you say, oh my god, this is cats,
this is horrible, like they've they've ruined the It's just the team is going
to be roughly what it was last year and the year before, and that's
not a place I'm interested in being if I can get myself out of that.
I'm wanted to see Midas in part because not that they didn't tear it
down, but if you were going to go this route, you still didn't
address your biggest needs, which I guess their biggest need was we want to
avoid the tax, which they did. Congratulations and they but like you needed
shooting volume, maybe another point guard in here? Could you diversify your front
court rotation at all? They checked none of those boxes, just because I
think Javon Carter comes closest. But he's not extra ball handling. Really.
I mean he will give you some extra shooting, but like Tory Craig is
not that guy, and he doesn't. And again I like the signing,
but like you, they should have been a team and it couldn't been because
they weren't going to spend that money. They should have been in on like
the Max Strew sweepstakes. He would have done a lot of wonders for them.
And so if you want to be a team that's better, go ahead
and act like a team that's better. Stop penny pinching just to avoid the
tax. And so, yes, they made reasonable signings that we can all
like in a vacuum, but I don't know that they're much better and look
much better than a playing team. Is not something to write home about either.
And I think it's close to an average off season because nothing they did
was below average. But for them to decide that we're not going to start
over or more realistically, it'spore, rebuild and then not be aggressive and trying
to get better. It's just like that's a miss. Yeah, I agree.
I think if you start to think about the counterfactual, it's like,
well, if they're going to do what we want them to do, what
was the market for damar Derozen, what was the market for zach Lavine.
And it's possible that they could have traded those guys and we would be just
as critical because they didn't get enough for them in our opinions. But or
it could have been the Wizard's route of oh, we're excited that they finally
chose a direction outside of the sub middle. I think that's more likely.
Had they just gutted the team and got what they could get for their expensive
veterans, I think I probably would have had a higher grade almost, you
know, unless they just I'm trying to think of a situation where you trade
zach Lavine and just like get nothing, which that's not realistic because you get
something for him. You know, you end up getting at least three the
equivalent of three first round picks for zach Lavine. I would have felt better
had they done that. But you know, if you're interested in being five
hundred or maybe a little better than that, then this is the team for
you. Are the odds that they use their disabled player exception they got from
Blondzo lasted zero. I was gonna say, can I go like into negative
numbers? Is that allowed? No? I will take us to the Cleveland
Cavaliers. I assume their off season is going to be more upbeat. They
drafted Emity Bates and signed them to a two way contract. They signed Georgiang
to with three year, twenty five point five million dollars deal that declines in
salary. They acquired Max Struss on a four year, sixty four million dollars
deal. For the Lakers is twenty twenty six second round pick. They signed
Isaiah Mobley and Craig Porter Junior to two way contracts. They resigned Carras Lavert
to a two year, thirty two million dollars deal. They signed Tod Jerome
to a two year, five million dollars deal that's fully guaranteed. They traded
cash to Utah for Damien Jones. And there's another note here. Ricky Rubio
was taking time away from basketball to work on his mental health. It's not
clear whether he will be with the team when training camp opens. Do I
miss anything? Where do you land on this offseason? Grant? You got
everything that I had, plus Damien Jones a glossed over. Did you mention
some of the losses? Not? Not nothing huge, but Robin Lopez,
Dylan Windler, Danny Green or Lopez and Windler gone, Danny Green and Netto
remain unsigned? Not not needle movers. I love their offseason. I think
they did. You know, I guess, I guess. If you're gonna
be critical, it's well Max Struce, Like is he exactly what they needed?
Is he? Is he big enough? Is he good enough defensively to
fill that like glaring void at the three that just was such a piece of
why the Calves underwhelmed in the playoffs. I think he's about as good as
they could have done realistically. So like, if we're gonna try to be
fair about, you know, what did a team do relative to what it
was capable of doing? I think Struce is really like, is you know,
just barring like pie in the sky stuff. That's that's as good as
you're gonna do to fill that void. Not perfect, but you know,
hard to hard to quibble with that you aren't going to get someone who defends
like Isaaca Coro but shoots like shoots like Max Drews. Right, first of
all, that player wasn't on the market this summer anyway, but like you
weren't going to get that with having the tools you did to work with.
Yeah, and just thinking of comps, like there aren't even really any good
comps, but just in terms of like what guys got paid. You know
Cam Johnson, we talk all the time. He's not quite a three and
he but like he got you know, four years and ninety, like you
just that's you couldn't have gotten a guy like that for the with the tools
that the Cavs had. I don't love Lavert, but it's a short deal.
Two years, thirty two millions, fine, Like that's sixth seventh guy.
Maybe that can run the team if you know one of or both Garland
and Mitchell are out. Niang three for twenty five three twenty five seems a
little rich, but that's just more shooting. And if you're gonna play two
bigs and Evan Mobley doesn't develop a three point shot as quickly as someone prefer
like I think Niang is gonna bring real value, and the good backline defense
is going to mitigate some of his struggles to stay in front of guys on
the perimeter. So there's the theory of him on the team works. It's
just a little costly. So I have this down as a B plus,
but I think I need to go to an A minus. But I'm hesitant
because I have so many high grades in this division that I don't want to
do it. But to be fair to the Cavs, this feels more like
an A range grade than a B range grade. To me, I wouldn't
be plus just because the George and the anxiety makes me a little uncomfortable in
the sense that are we going to see him play some three and then he's
not someone who rebounds well enough to make the mobili at five units that much
better there, and I think he's look at okay, well, what else
were they supposed to do with that money? I just like, would you
be better off without George and Yang in general? So I don't. I
don't like. It's it's more shooting, like you said, and there's real
volume there. Both him and Max Hrews I think average about nine plus attempts
per thirty six minutes from deep. They totally needed that. I do think
Nyang is probably on someone who's in your playoff rotation at least not anywhere near
prominently. And so to give him three guarantee years for you know, quite
a bit like quite a bit of money, it's not you know, it's
it's not nothing in the grand scheme of the cap. But you're not paying
him nothing at this point. You gave him most of the non taxpayer at
Emily. So I that's I'm just trying to poke holes. And I don't
think there's anything out there that they necessarily could have done better. But you
probably could have gotten another like biggest type and just sort of plugged that hole
and move forward for cheaper. And so that's like the one to merit I
had for them. But B plus a very strong grade from I think Max
Drews is a fantastic fit. Yeah, let's see, do I have the
pistons or do you? As we move on, you have you have the
pistons, all right, Happy, happy Dan, really happy to have the
pistons. One of my favorite offseasons drafted the star Thompson number five, but
before that hired Money Williams. So the richest head coaching contract in NBA history.
That is a huge deal. I would love to know the mechanics.
I think there's been some reporting on it, but it's like, how do
you He was never going to say no to that that amount of money,
wasn't The report was basically he tried to say no and they made it that
he couldn't. But credit the Pistons for realize, like, there's not you
know, there's all these salary constraints, and all we've spent the last several
months talking about is how the CBA makes it harder to build a good team
and keep it together. It's like, you can spend whatever you want on
a coach, so do it, because especially for a team like the Pistons,
as a ton of young guys that wants to be good, that has
operated kind of weirdly at times, as a team that's like, well,
we're gonna keep Bullion Bogdanovitch and we're gonna extend him because he's valuable and he's
gonna make us be like this is the move. So so money, I
have no problem with paying Monty Williams as much as you possibly can. Brought
in Joe Harris, brought in Monte Morris with seconds attached to Harris, and
all it cost was a future second to get Morris signed Beef stew Isaiah Stewart
four years sixty million could go up to sixty four. I think there's a
team option on the last year of that, which is awesome. I just
I'll throw it to you. But I struggled to find fault with almost anything
that the Pistons did. Way they r J Hampton was unforgivable. So this
is not a real to bury it for me. But when they gave up
like kind of a lot to just get Marcus Sasser at what was that number?
It was just the number thirty one in two seconds, I guess it's
not like a huge deal. So I need to That's just something to monitor.
But you love I love everything they did. And anyone who says that
them wasting their turning their cap space basically into Joe Harris and Monte Morris as
a failure, it's not because who were they supposed to get if they wanted
Kim Johnson? Guess what the next we're letting him leave. So it's not
like they allowed the nest to keep Kim Johnson Kim Johnson will just never leave
in Brooklyn. That's how we're stricted. Free agency works. I like the
idea of rolling over their flexibility into next summer. I love ther Star Thompson
pick. I think you could argue, well, he was the only pick
on the board. It was when you look at the makeup of this team,
they might have decided, oh, do we trade down? Do we
go with someone who might provide a little bit more spacing right off the bat.
I'm a big believer in a star Thompson as a defender, and I
think I don't know what he's gonna be as a shooter, but I have
more faith and I've said it countless times on his jumper than I'm and Thompson's
jumper. I think that the speed is at least there. Can they make
some tweaks to the form and the release point. We'll have to wait and
see. But I loved everything about their off season and I think, look,
the Beast do extension is fine. He is not when you talk about
how sort of top seat Turvey they are up front, He's not really a
part of that because he comes closest to allowing them to make dual big lineups
work where it's oh, he can step out and take the occasional three and
four and sixty is just it sounds like a lot, but with the cap
going up, it's just a ten percent of the cap at one point is
what it's going to be. Whatever, And I think he's a hustle enough
player when you look at him on a defense specifically that I think it ends
up being good for you. I will say, I hope that you don't
go out and get Joe Harris, Monte Morris, keep Boyemodanovitch and Alec Burks.
If you don't intend on we're going to try and surround Kig Cunningham and
or Starr Thompson and or Jay Nivey with as much shooting as possible to where
one Joe throw the duel stuff out the window, and like we're gonna see
Boye mcdonovitch play the four, maybe Joe Harris play some four, and then
we're gonna see some staggered lineups where it's Hey, it's Jail and Duran and
it's Kate Cunningham and all shooting, or it's maybe it's Kate Cunningham Isaiah Stewart
and then still all shooting around them and then mix it match with our startops
in there where it's if you want to have Thompson and Ivy and Kate Cunningham,
you want two of them on the court at the same time, well
then you're big man's gonna be. We're gonna experiment with Isaiah Stewart at the
five and then a whole bunch of shooters. So I hope that's what this
spells. I know a lot of people are still assuming that they're just gonna
start. They were starting James Wiseman and Jail and during by the end of
the year. I hope that's not what we see. That has nothing to
do with their offseason, and it's you know, you could say, oh,
they should have traded Boyan mcdonovich. You get the same amount for him
leading into February as you would have gotten for him in July. So I
think they're a I think they're they're a they're a off season. Their offseason
wasn't A. I just struggle to go A plus because I don't know enough
about Mark as Sasser, but I haven't seen anything that makes me think,
oh, like this is that's that's a move that you definitely needed to make
it that you're you're like giggling. I just I just want to write down
remember to monitor Marcus Sasster because you made it a real No. I no,
Look, it's like that's what you have to do when you're looking for
reasons to criticize this off season for them. I didn't. I don't think
I gave any a pluses I gave. I gave the Pistons of flat A
probably would be my A plus if I if I were to give one right
they had did they have the I mean, we don't want to spoil the
Western Conference here, but did they have like the best off season of anybody
they might have? I think it's I mean, they're certainly in the conversation.
I haven't looked hard enough at the West yet to know, but I
think of the East, I mean, yeah, we probably shouldn't. I
mean, actually, the next team we're gonna talk about is kind of to
me like you could you could have a conversation about whether they they're they had
just as good of an off season, So maybe we should. Uh,
let's get to the Indiana Pacers. Are they a mine or so? Oh?
They're mine? So the Indiana Pacers traded number eight Bolot Coolabali to Washington
for number nine Jaris Walker and Sacramentos twenty thirty second rounder. They drafted Ben
Shephard at number twenty six. They were part of like the Dever Nuggets holes
Shenanigans. They traded a number twenty nine at number thirty two for number forty
seven cash and at twenty twenty four first it's gonna be the least favorable of
oka see the Clippers, Houston or Utah. They traded Krista Marte to the
Kigs for Dallas's twenty twenty eight second and Sacramento's twenty thirty second. That's how
they helped complete the Block Coolabali deal. And then they signed Bruce Brown to
a two year, forty five million dollar contracts with a team option on the
final season. And they traded two least favorable second round picks in twenty eight
and twenty nine to New York for Obie Topping. Other notes that are just
worth considering because it might show where they viewed themselves. They have been linked
to the Pascal Siakam trade sweepstakes. H Max Terris Haliburton. I don't know
if you mentioned that one not wo recall that was another one that was my
only only big item feel really good about this offseason. It's not quite as
like, you know, the hits don't just keep coming quite like they did
for Detroit before them. But like the big stuff, I think I like.
I think I probably like JAREDS. Walker a little more than you do
at least. Oh I mean, well, I know, I know you
don't like anyone more than Taylor Hendrix. So I feel like that's an unfair
comparison. Uh, yeah, that's that's fair. I guess if no,
I think I like the fit, I like jarss Walker. Again, don't
draft for fit. Don't draft for fit. And here I am like saying,
oh, it makes sense next to Miles Turner. So yeah, as
always, I don't ever know what I'm talking about. The Bruce Brown deal,
I mean, one of the best deals signed this offseason, just you
know, it seems like a lot of money up front, just on an
annual basis, but it's like you get the team option on that, and
it's just like if you need to make a trade, it's just like you
just have this monster expiring contract there. But I'm a player like in the
same vein and Buddy Hill, He's he's really useful universal appeal for like Bruce
Brown, there's I Find Me the team where they're like, I don't know
what we would do with Bruce Brown, like there it doesn't exist Atlanta definitely.
I just I don't know. Start him at the three. Figure it
out. Yeah, I think I think Toppin now you can't talk about fit
because he's not a rookie. I think Toppin makes a lot of sense with
just the style they want to play, like just run, just go,
get up and down the floor. And Tyrese Halibert's gonna find you. I
think you know this. This We've criticized a lot of teams for sort of
like what's the plant, Like what do you what's the plan here? Like
how do you want to play? What are your goals? Like? Standings
wise, the Pacers really feel like a team that understands what they are and
like how they want to play, what they want to do. So for
me, I gave him a name minus. I guess maybe maybe that's a
nod to Walker. Could have been somebody else, you know, could have
been Hendricks, But I mean it's it's so early. I don't know,
just getting Haliburton getting Browned to that deal. And if I'm not mistaking,
there was no player option on the Haliburton deal, right, I don't think
so even if there were, like I mean, yeah, it's just no.
I mean that's that's like a that's sign that contract no matter what.
But if ye Suppo tracks not showing a player option, So if you don't
get up, that's just that's a net plus where it's just like that you
give Thyry's Halbert and that deal regardless. But if there's no player option,
that's that's an even bigger win. Yeah. No, that's all I got
on them. I mean, they're up there with the Pistons, I think
certainly in this division. I gave them an aid by this because I really
do believe they missed on Taylor Hendricks and that'll be something that Okay, if
they didn't, they should have gotten an a or like you can quipple over
that. I just I and Caitlyn Cooper has done at least two fantastic breakdowns
on jareds Walker, one leading into the draft and then one that was during
summer league and the defensive pressure that he gives you, and then even just
malluability. I totally understand it. I don't know that Taylor Hendricks would have
given you much fewer options defensively, and it would have come with I think,
a cleaner offensive fit to where it's just like you now, you're continuously
having these other if you want to call them bigs or forwards next to Miles
Turner, where unless they're undersized, they're just not like Obi Toppin is not
a plus shooter right now, and if you want to play Jay and Smith,
that's not a plus shooter. If you even figure that Isaiah Jackson needs
a factor into this, that's not someone who's gonna be in that department.
So I really thought that. I also think that Hendricks, long term,
because of his rim projection, might be better equipped to play the five.
And that's just we don't know enough about them. People have followed those guys
for way longer than I have, so they can disagree there. That's just
why I went to an A minus. There's literally nothing else I might even
be glad to go with A because of the you don't have a player option
on Tyre like you can just have Tyrese Halbert now for the next six years,
which gives you for being honest five years before you would need to make
any sort of real decision on okay, where are we? And I think
what they also did was nice. Not only are they rolling over flexibility in
the next season, but like their timelines very open ended, where it's we
could be good and then maybe that's when we go and make the Pascal Siakham
trade if he's still available mid season, or make another trade, or like,
okay, this is another year, but there's a real, real theory
to what we're doing. Fans are still gonna tune in and maybe we'll be
fringe playing again and we're gonna have another high draft pick. They're just there's
a lot of different direction as they could travel. They did not limit themselves
in any way, shape or form with anything they did. They saw.
Yeah, I think they're interesting because, oh, it feels like they're a
young team, which is just I guess because of Haliburton's age, but like
Helburn's really good now. Haliburton is an all star player today and I you
know, Bennick Matherin has limitations, but like the things he does well,
he does well right now. And unless you think, oh, we're waiting
for him to become like a you know, an all fringe, all star
starter, like I don't. I don't think that's in the cards from mather
And I think Matherin is like a like stick of dynamite six man scorer and
he's that now. I mean you trail off, but like you get,
you get the point and turns. He's improves passing for sure. I think
you mentioned math Rooms makes me think of this. I applaud the Pacers or
they are, they were and they will continue to be very i'll say creative
or innovative with their lineups. But there's still absence of true sized wig players
here where it's okay, you're good as he Bruce Brown and Buddy Hell that
math like a lot of those guys play the three and ned hard defending fours.
It's just like, aside from Aaron E. Smith, who's the other
just wig on this team, it's not even is Ben Shephard that guy probably
Walker? You probably just have Walker guard everybody, right? Is that is
that the theory? Right? I guess, So that's a question. But
I don't know what, like you weren't going to get a better quote unquote
way that Bruce Brown on the free agent markets. It's just a question.
No, that's That's the point I'm making is like it seems like a young
team, so maybe like, well, what's Bruce Brown doing here? And
like does what do we what's the what do we bring veterans on? It's
like, no, No, the Pacers could just compete for a playoff spot
now and then when Bruce Brown is gone, when whether they trade them or
they keep them for the two years. You know, Terrs Haliburton is like
twenty five and a half years old by then and you're still just you're you're
ready to continue competing. So they certainly have a case for best offseason in
the NBA for sure. Yeah. The last team we have is the Milwaukee
Bucks in this division. Uh, start with the big stuff. Fired Mike
Budenholzer. Sort of controversial, I guess, but at the same time,
you know, we're this is this one of those where we say, like
it's Kevin Durant's shoe size determined, you know, bought Mike Budenholzer like two
more years. Like do you need to trot that out? I mean,
I wasn't a fan of the firing, but I don't know enough about Adrian
and you're gonna get through. They hired Adrian Griffin, right, we know
less about Adrian Griffin. So I mean that's the other that's the other issue.
But it's one of those things that kind of felt like, you get
it right. It felt like it was time. There'd been enough whispers and
you gotta you're gonna change something. You can't change the team, you gotta
change the coach. I get it. It's unfortunate. It may not be
an upgrade. We'll see. Brought back Chris Middleton three years ninety three with
a player option. Recent Brook Lopez two years forty eight seemed like boez.
He was he care to walk, He was brasing the fridges of the entire
NBA. He was coming. Didn't he side for the biannual when he went
to Milwaukee? Well, it was just like, I mean, go back
farther than that. I mean, just you know, the Lakers were kind
of like, yeah, we don't you know, usually basically yeah, and
then he's you know, is in the defensive player that you're running every year
after that and shoots three? Is in? Is great? Those are huge
deals. Will talk about them more, I'm sure, but like those were
not givens either, I don't think, especially in the case of Lopez,
who seems like he almost would argue that he was a medver of right right,
So this could have gone way worse. It didn't, So I don't
know how you factor that into a grade, but we'll do our best.
Jay Crowder, Mallie Beasley, Robin Lopez, and aj Green are all aboard
via minimums. Joe Ingle's gone, Javon Carter gone, West, Matthew's gone.
I think that's pretty much it. I didn't hit on any of the
draft stuff because Chris Livingston at number fifty eight, who interestingly they assigned to
a four year deal. That's kind of fun. We're seeing more of those
for second rounders. Andre Jackson comes aboard for a twenty thirty second round pick.
He was number thirty six, and shock of all shocks, the Nazis
Areta Cobo is back. He will he will return and not go sign with
a team that is trying to approachy on us in a couple of years.
I miss anything there, I don't think. So I still can't believe they
got both Jay Crowder and Malie Beasley on one year minimums that aren't even one
plus once, so they're one the team's gonna be reimbursed for like the offset
the difference of the salary, because when you add the player option, you
have to pay out the full boat of it, which is why Matt Ishpia
received so much credit for what he did at Vedix. So that's like,
that's a win from the team perspective, and you know the player option only
does the player or solid like it's not to be the team because if they're
good, they're gonna declinde it. Anyway, those are two players that could
really I would argue those are two players that could technically still be a part
of their closing five. I know people Pencil and Grayson Hallard. Maybe Pat
codditated to that spot. It probably could more likely to be I would say
mo League Beasley than a Jay Crowders is because Jay Crowder at the three is
a little is a little or at the two rather it's a little weird.
Yeah, but weight Beasley comes in that is pure three point volume. They're
clearly I don't know enough about Cliff Chris Levings did, but they're clearly very
high on him and I like what they did. Again, I wasn't a
fan of the Buddenholzer firing. But I like that they're very clearly on this
like two to three year timeline where Chris Middleton and Yannis come off the books
right now at the same time, or and Brook Lopez comes off the year
before, Drew Holliday comes off the year before he has that that player option,
Bobby Portis comes off the same year as Yannis and Chris Middleton Diddo for
Pat Cottton and so they're now it's not I don't want to say it's fluid,
but like they're everyone in place is on like this same timeline, and
so you use the information that you have from season by season to figure out
what you need to do. And I think some people will try and focus
on the absence of what he's eligible that Yannis won't sign an extension. It
just makes sense for him to wait so he can attack on more years as
we move forward. I thought, given what limited tools they had aside from
the coaching change, which I just don't think is a guaranteed to be a
home run, I think it helps that Jannis wanted him. This might be
in the running for not maybe not the best off season in the NBA,
but like, was it the most under the radar good off season in the
NBA. It feels like the biggest exhale, like the biggest relieved exhale offseason.
And for sure because again, like Lopez was was kind of gone and
then you're suddenly you just I mean it's a little bit hyperbolic, but like,
if you believe the Bucks are a top tier title threat, I think
without Brook Lopez they're just not so like that, just oh, thank god,
Like, so we got at least another year, probably two. I
mean, Lopez's age is a real factor, but like you got another year
or two where where we're right back up there. I would expect the Bucks
to win more games than anyone in the East in the regular season, just
like they did last year. And so I gave m a B plus.
I don't think I said that. And the only reason it's not an A
is because I really don't know about the coaching thing, and like we I
don't think I factored that in as heavily for a lot of other coaching changes.
But what we do know is that Budenholzer has coached a team to a
title and has presided over really exceptional regular seasons and has figured out how to
make this team work during the year so it can secure that high seed,
and then the playoff record is not just that's why he's not back, like
that's that's it. There's no guarantee Adrian Griffin is going to be any better
at that sort of stuff. So that's the only reason the stakes are so
high, because this is title or nothing for this team, and you've got
a guy that that may or may not be an upgrade and that uncertainty,
like I'm and then it's a little unfair because it's like, well, who
should they have brought in that would have definitely been an upgrade. I don't
know who that is, but I'm not sure that Popovitch would have done it.
Well, I don't know he slipped. Everyone likes to say, but
yeah, so it's a B plus. You could definitely talk me higher.
But but that's gonna try to I give an A. And that's well,
not having enough confident did the coaching change, because as I met it at
the top, going with the guy that yadis and Teta kopa Wads is valuable
and you at least know what you have at Buddenholzer And that was the only
way for you to meaningfully improve your team was to make the coaching change.
So the fact that you had I don't want to say the courage, but
the gall to do it. And then also I don't think Middleton's deal he's
making less. So it was a given that Lopez deal was not a given
for them to pay and they had to come over the top, right,
Presumably they had to just say, well, we were ready to spend X,
but now it's gonna have to be why. Let's Yeah, a lot
of people wouldn't do that right, and I won't applaud ownership for it,
but like you kept this cord together, you didn't. The other thing that
I think that's really important is aside from the coaching change, which again some
people would have made it after not not just this past off season, but
the one before that. So it was a move that other people would have
made. And I just we don't know enough about Adrian Griffin as a head
coach. That's the other thing. I'm not going to pretend to be a
whiz if it was someone who I firmly believe should have kept their job.
And Mike Budenholzer, the timing was awful by the way the way like it
trickled out that his brother had passed away. I hope the families doing okay.
That the optics on that were just absolutely terrible. Yeah, but so
you pay those contracts. But you also you didn't overreact to what happened against
the Heat, Jannis dealt with a back injury. Middleton was not himself defensively
for pretty much all of last year. He eventually turned a corner offensively,
and just like the Heat caught lightning at a bottle with some of their shooting,
so like it just felt like a singularity what happened. If Yannis doesn't
miss time in that series, and if he's fully healthy, I'm picking the
Bucks again without any regrets. So the fact that you kept this cord together
where it feel like zach Lois said this, and it feels on the money
of the really good, really great teams. Whenever something goes wrong in Milwaukee,
like something basic like an early playoff exit or an injury, it feels
like the sky is falling, or it doesn't always feel like that for everyone
else. And so the Bucks could have gone. I don't think they realistically
didn't have these other options, but they certainly could have looked at and said,
well, we need to make like an impulsive trade or we're certainly not
going to play pay Brook Lopez. And the fact that they didn't, and
the fact that they again Jay Crowder League Beasley two of the what five to
seven best minimum flyers I would think in the league, maybe two of the
best ten because Phoenix has a ship ton of him. I thought they had
a great offseason relative to the strictures which within which they were working. Yeah,
I think I would agree, And I think, like I'm gonna talk
this up like I had the higher grade for them, but you actually did,
like you talk about options, and they didn't have alternatives, Like they
had to get Middleton right, and they had to get Lopez right, and
they had to nail multiple minimum signings, and they just like because like if
Middleton leaves, he just leaves, and if Lopez leaves, he just leaves,
and you're just significantly worse in the most meaningful way because you go from
contender to not. So I think because they were kind of like walking the
tight rope with no net and managed to make it across. I think that
probably you know that the degree of difficulty or sort of the stakes of failure
were you know, very different for the Bucks and they weren't for a lot
of other teams. It will be interesting to see whether they are open to
putting their twenty twenty or twenty thirty first on the table for this group in
the middle, like if a bog Dot Boydanovitch becomes available, so like something
like that makes a lot of sense for them, or even a bow yacht
if they get to the to the salary number, because that's still what's sort
of unsettled here is like, Okay, you have this timeline, how much
you willing to get take you would vesting at it? Right? I think?
I mean it's still just Yannest. Yannest just is the timeline. So
I wonder if you could if you think he's gonna resign for the max and
just be around for five more years after this deal is done, like you
just keep you just keep punting on those draft picks, right, Like that's
the only the only way to do it. That's gonna do it, though,
I think for this division, do you have anything else to add or
should I take us out? Nope? Take us out? All right?
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Apologies to chair now m