Milwaukee Bucks Off-Season Winners

I have said it, any fan paying attention has said it, all Buck bloggers have said it, but it is still nice when the big boys at ESPN acknowledge it.  While there could still be some future problems of superteams forming if another trio can get together, teams like the Bucks need to continue to exist, tough defensive teams built the correct way that can compete.  ESPN likes to praise the best and most popular teams, especially in baseball and basketball.  Both sports have really long seasons so the mainstream teams move the meter and everybody else is left off their radar.  In an off-season that saw the birth of the potential Miami Heat dynasty I would not have been surprised if the Miami Heat were the only winners listed.  The Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trailblazers joined the Heat as off-season winners.

Corey Maggette:  Hollinger brought up Maggettes ability to get to the line as a major reason this move was justified.

The Bucks were the worst team in the league at drawing fouls last year. Not any more — human free throw machine Corey Maggette gives them the kind of shot-creating scorer that they desperately needed a year ago, and he cost them nothing. He has his faults, but fans overlook how effective a scorer he is because so many of his points come via the relatively uninteresting free throw.

Drew Gooden: Gooden was also labeled as a solid get, some have accused the Bucks have overpaying for Gooden but those accusers might not realize how much difficulty the Bucks have had finding a power forward for the past 30 years.

Drew Gooden was another solid get, providing a massive upgrade from the likes of Kurt Thomas and Dan Gadzuric a year ago. Ideally his deal would be a year or two shorter, but given what other teams paid for frontcourt talent, the Bucks still got a good price. Meanwhile, retaining Salmons was crucial, albeit unfortunately expensive in this market. Remember, teams over the cap have an incentive to overpay their own free agents since it’s impossible to replace them, so from that perspective Salmons’ price makes sense.

End of roster:  Adding guys like John Brockman, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Keyon Dooling rarely get a lot of mention but strengthening the bottom of your rotation is critical for teams that cannot just grab the headlining stars.

Milwaukee’s end-of-roster moves were just as strong. Jon Brockman was flat-out stolen from Sacramento for a second-round pick after leading the NBA in offensive rebound rate last year. Chris Douglas-Roberts also cost the Bucks a second-rounder, but fills a need by giving them another wing who can score. Keyon Dooling won’t replace what Luke Ridnour gave them a year ago, but that was the one sacrifice they had to make to pull off the other moves.It might seem like the Bucks spent a lot, but their cap situation going forward is still really strong and they’re two deep at every spot. Fear the Deer, folks — the Bucks could be a force this year.

 Packers 6th

As we approach football season I will add in more and more football articles, especially as the real seasons for College Football and the NFL start since that coincides with a quiet period for the NBA.

The Green Bay Packers were 6th in the poll comprised of numerous ESPN analysts.  The order is  1. Colts  2. Saints  3. Vikings  4. Cowboys  5. Ravens 6. Packers.  I have no complaints, I could see Green Bay ahead of the Ravens but not a big deal.  I was also happy to see the Jets at 7 behind Green Bay, I think the Jets will have a huge letdown.

As training camp hits for Green Bay I will likely have an article a week on Green Bay and/or Wisconsin.

The article is labeled “NBA Rookie Watch:  Who will be the best” which is obviously subjective at best but still annoying.  If you do not get Insider the rankings went like this.  1.  Curry  2.  Blake Griffin  3.  Ricky Rubio  4.  Tyreke Evans  5.  Jrue Holiday  6.  Brandon Jennings.

I have no problem with Curry being number one.  ESPN loves him from college which will never change and he does have an entertaining game.  I do think there is more of a ceiling to his game than ESPN is willing to admit due to a lack of athletic ability but I can live with Curry at one.

I also have no problem with Griffin at 2.  He was the best player coming out and an injury ended any chance at a rookie year. 

My problems start with Rubio.  Come on, Rubio ahead of Jennings and Evans!  Rubio is labeled as Jason Kidd without the athletic ability, that is supposed to be a compliment?  Jason Kidd is a great athlete with size, speed, strength and overall athleticism who also has the ability to create and find open guys.  If Rubio is admittedly not nearly as athletic how can they possibly project a great career?  We have not seen Rubio ever play in the NBA with NBA rules, lets see Rubio go up against the premier athletes in the world, than make projections which put him above two of the better rookies of the last few years, Evans and Jennings.

My next problem is Jrue Holiday ahead of Jennings.  Come on.  Jennings is better in every statistical area and IS LEADING HIS TEAM TO THE PLAYOFFS WITH LIKE TALENT!  Seriously, who has more talent outside of the PGs, Milwaukee or Philly.  Philly has Igoudala and Brand, the Bucks have Bogut and now Salmons.  The major difference between the teams has been Jennings, and Scott Skiles. 

Which leads into my next point, this is the first year Skiles has had with Jennings, since the Bucks look to be stabilizing the franchise we could have several years of Skiles and Jennings together which should only benefit the Young Buck.

My Ranking

1, 2, 3, 4 in any order  Curry, Evans, Griffin and Jennings.  Nobody else should intrude on these four due to what three of them have done this season and what Griffin likely will due.  Rubio and Holiday should never be ranked ahead of any of these four until they actually prove something, anything, even in a subjective ranking.  After the top four I think Beaubois from the Mavs has an argument along with Holiday and Dejuan Blair, then put up the mythical creature Ricky Rubio if you feel the need.

Colin Cowherd said best a few months ago when he labeled Rubio the Lock Ness Monster.  We hear about him, but never see him.  Does he actually exist?