Milwaukee Bucks: Compete or Rebuild

[Jenneral]

I got the idea for this thread from Dash's on the Rockets. I feel like both teams are in similar situations right now.

 

Last year the Bucks went on a stunning 22-8 finish after they acquired John Salmons at the deadline. Finishing as one of the strongest teams in the league, they finished with a 46-36 record and the 6th seed in the playoffs. They managed to take the Atlanta Hawks to a full seven games without their star center, Andrew Bogut.

 

There was a lot of hype following the Bucks into the off season. Between the draft, trades, and free agency, the front office seemed to be dedicated to winning now and would do more than usual to try and accomplish that. Below are all of the off season additions for the Bucks.

 

John Salmons (Resigned)

Drew Gooden (FA)

Corey Maggette (Trade)

Larry Sanders (Draft)

Earl Boykins (FA)

Keyon Dooling (FA)

Chris Douglas-Roberts (Trade)

Jon Brockman (FA)

 

Despite losing Luke Ridnour via free agency, the roster still seemed to be full of upgrades. Maggette would provide us with instant offense and free throw ability, something we lacked last season. Gooden would give us a true player at the PF position. Dooling and Boykins were expected to have limited minutes behind Jennings so their role wasn't as important. Brockman, Sanders, and CDR were all young and expected to play limited minutes this season.

 

This is a team that coming into this season many thought were a lock for the playoffs and would be battling with the Bulls for the central division. So far, both have been far from true.

 

Through injuries and poor play, the Bucks haven't lived up to the expectations. Bogut, Jennings, Salmons, Delfino, Maggette, and Gooden have all missed extended periods of time this season. It's never good when most of your core players are missing games due to injury, especially when it's multiple players at once.

 

As of right now the Bucks sit at 15-24, third in their division. They have gone 3-7 over their last 10 games.

 

Even if everyone comes back healthy for the second half of the season, it's unlikely that they will have a finish like last years. This could very well mean that we fall short of the playoffs.

 

Now my question is, should the Milwaukee Bucks continue to try to compete with the core they have now, or should they start the rebuilding process in hopes of success in future seasons?

 

The Gooden and Salmons signings look to have been a mistake so far. If opting to rebuild, it would be essential to ship out both of their lengthy contracts. Maggette should arguably be moved as well. Following this season, the Bucks will have Michael Redd's $18 Million contract off their hands, allowing them to target solid free agents.

 

Keeping Jennings and Bogut would be the only "for sure" things the Bucks would do. Everyone else could become trade bait as we looked to upgrade our roster. I feel that those two, while not superstars by any means, would provide the Bucks young talent at two important positions for years to come. Players like Sanders and Mbah a Moute would also be nice to keep given their age, potential, and salary.

 

Should this team keep competing, they are a 7th or 8th seed team at best. For some, making the playoffs year after year in itself is an accomplishment. However, I think the Bucks really need to start making pushes past the first round to avoid being moved to a different city altogether. Their time window is certainly closing.

 

In my opinion, the Bucks should admit their mistakes in this one. Try to deal away as much as they can. Get back some young pieces and draft picks to build the future around. With the extra money we would be able to find veterans and other starter-worthy players through free agency. At this time I think it makes the most sense. Sanders has shown flashes that he could potentially become a starting PF next to Bogut, why not let him and some of the other young players finish out the season with extended playing time?

 

(sorry if this post seems unorganized and jumbled... just venting my thoughts and frustrations.)

[Pooh25]

This is how you rebuild from a Skiles team, I know from previous experience:

 

1) Fire Scott Skiles: He has burned out the team from his coaching and his screaming at the players. That "one goal, one focus" stuff only goes so far with limited talent that the Milwaukee Bucks have.

 

2) Trade Gooden & Maggete: It's going to be tough to trade these horrendous contracts, but they need to remove players who have never been winners and just chuckers. These guys don't play any defense at all as well to make matters worse.

[Check my Stats]

Reminds me of the Raps after their 47 win season that caught everyone off guard, the expectations were just too high for this team this year. To answer your question, yes, I think a rebuild would be a good idea, the Bucks are right in that treadmill area where they are good enough to be a playoff team as a low seed, or miss and not draft an impact player.

[Jenneral]

Reminds me of the Raps after their 47 win season that caught everyone off guard, the expectations were just too high for this team this year. To answer your question, yes, I think a rebuild would be a good idea, the Bucks are right in that treadmill area where they are good enough to be a playoff team as a low seed, or miss and not draft an impact player.

And this, in my opinion, is the worst position to be in. The chances of you going deep into the playoffs are slim due to your low seed. Whether you barely make or miss the playoffs your draft pick won't be at a level of someone who is capable of stepping in the next season and contributing. Right now the Bucks are basically trapped. They need to pick a side and go towards it 110%.

[Nitro]

I think they should try and compete, but for that to happen they need to shuffle up the roster a bit. The Bucks have a lot of good pieces, but the current makeup of the team won't win. So, they should look at some available trade options, and try to get an All-Star caliber player to put alongside Jennings/Bogut; a guy like Iguodala or S-Jax would be a nice fit. Bottom line is that this team has a lot of talent, they just need to use the depth and talent they have to make another move or two to have it all come together.

[*Swish*]

I don't think they should rebuild they have a nice core up there that could make noise in the playoffs but they're not healthy enough. It's obviously hurting them when they loose Brandon Jennings who is the heart of this franchise right now. Bucks have a really good team with Jennings and Bogut leading the way so I'd say COMPETE! Don't forget about Salmons, Corey, CDR.. these guys are all really good players

[Jenneral]

Also, without Jennings, Bogut is complete garbage. Take that for what it's worth.

[Erick Blasco]

They still need a versatile wing who can create his own shot more consistently than Salmons, and they need starting-level talent at more places on their roster. Jennings doesn't finish well so he's at the mercy of his jump shot and Bogut has regressed back to average status.

 

They have some assets, namely Redd's gargantuan expiring contract. They can get a piece back for him if they're willing to add salary for a year or two after this year---for example, maybe the Pistons want to flip one of their wings, Stephen Jackson could work, though I wonder how he'd deal with Skiles...there are deals the Bucks can make to improve their offense. They're going to be stuck with some bad contracts for awhile, might as well try to get to the second round over the next few years before rebuilding again.

Edited January 22, 2011 by Erick Blasco