Behind The Buck Daily Dimes: The Larry Sanders Factor

Every day, Behind the Buck Pass brings you the reading material you need before you leave the office. We bring you the day’s Daily Dimes — Milwaukee Bucks Links from across the web to get you ready for the day.

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday. Today is just like any other day for many NBA players and fans. We’re gathered here to feed our basketball hunger.

Like the Truth and dancing Noah — Everyday we’re scufflin’… scufflin’

Bucks fans have to wait one more day for the opening tip of the preseason, when they take on the Grizzlies at the Resch Center at 7 PM. We got some links though that might just hold you over.

Let’s start with the news of the afternoon. It’s official — Chris Wright has taken the money and ran off to Greece. You can’t blame him. A guaranteed deal on a really good Euroleague team.

The move pretty much solidifies the roster with 15 players under contract. It wouldn’t of been impossible for Wright to make the team, but with the addition of Jabari Parker and the emergence of Khris Middleton it would of been very hard to make the roster.

— Matt Velazquez also brings us a great piece on Larry Sanders’ desire to be a leader on this year’s team.

"“I remember the impact that the older guys had on me when I was coming in and how I was so afraid of everything,” Sanders said. “We had good guys like Keyon Dooling and Drew Gooden took me under their wings and showed me the ropes, so I’m just trying to return the favor and pay it forward.”"

— One thing that I’ve touched on a bit is how different of a team that Jason Kidd will be coaching this year. KL Chouinard at Bucksketball does a great job of explaining how this year’s Bucks squad is a new type of challenge for Kidd — a man that is used to being in the playoffs.

"He is, of course, correct — cliche or not. Per Basketball Reference, the Bucks yielded a league-worst 111.8 points per 100 possessions. If that stat remains unfixed, Milwaukee won’t even sniff the playoffs. There is much coaching for Kidd to do on that end, and his defense should play a much different style than Larry Drew‘s. Wednesday’s first preseason game should provide a glimpse into the approach he wants his Bucks to take.In Brooklyn, Kidd and the Nets thrived when they switched to a more ball-hawking approach on the perimeter. They finished third-best in the NBA in the rate of turnovers forced, but it didn’t happen right away. They started the season with a 10-21 record and over that span they created 13.7 turnovers per game."

— CBS and Hardwood Paroxysm mastermind Matt Moore took a closer look at top candidates for Rookie of the Year. Bovada has put 3-1 odds on Jabari Parker being named the top rookie this season.

"Parker is a pretty good return considering the advantage he has on the other teams. Parker is the one player who teams are wholly building around. Wiggins (we’ll get to in a minute) has a lot of good veterans on his team and other good young players. Noel has the opposite, a team with no talent at all. But Parker has good supporting talent, but nothing to take minutes or touches away from him. He’s going to be a huge part of the offense and has shown such a natural rebounding talent that his numbers on the boards could stick out. Parker was touted as the most NBA-ready prospect for a reason."

If Parker doesn’t have any growing pains, he has to be the favorite to win it. It’s so hard to project what a player will do in his first year, but Parker has all the tools at his disposal to play at a high caliber. He’ll also get all the opportunities in the world to improve.

— Despite being considered the top rookie this season by many, Avi Bahumanyam at Hoops Habit reminds us of the struggles of former 2nd overall picks.

"“There’s been a lot of second pick busts,” Parker said Saturday morning, at the grand opening of the redesigned Jordan space inside Nike Chicago. “I’m just trying not to be that bust. Everyday that I step on the court, I just remind myself that I have a long ways to go. If I want to be one of those guys in the first tier of the NBA, like a LeBron, like a Kobe, like a [Blake Griffin], then I have to have that mentality starting off from the ground, and work my way up.”"

Two for the Road

— There has been a lot of talk about the new NBA TV deal and how great it is for the players. Ridiculous Upside reminds us that it also affect the D-League, who will be part of the coverage on ESPN in two years.

— RealGM says that the Salary Cap could jump more next year, than it has over the last 10 years.

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