Jabari to Milwaukee (#2 overall)

[hurleyfor3]

Discuss here.

[CDu]

Pretty much the best-case scenario for Parker. Gets to go to a team with lots of defense but lacking offense, and gets to play less than two hours from home.

[Newton_14]

Pretty much the best-case scenario for Parker. Gets to go to a team with lots of defense but lacking offense, and gets to play less than two hours from home.

Yep. Totally agree. I am happy for him. Nice to go number 1 but better to go to a team where you will be happy. Congrats to our guy. Go tear it up son!

[moonpie23]

never to be heard from until he leaves…………

good luck, jabari!!!

[WiJoe]

Dare I type ... DUKE north ... Wojo, CC, TT (pending), Jabari

[hurleyfor3]

Dare I type ... DUKE north ... Wojo, CC, TT (pending), Jabari

And me?

[-jk]

And me?

Oh? Do tell...

-jk

[hurleyfor3]

Oh? Do tell...

-jk

I presume CC was Chris Collins, so he was including Chicago as a suburb of Milwaukee.

[brevity]

Dare I type ... DUKE north ... Wojo, CC, TT (pending), Jabari


I presume CC was Chris Collins, so he was including Chicago as a suburb of Milwaukee.

That's geographically interesting. But in this case I'm assuming "CC" means Chris Carrawell.

[hurleyfor3]

That's geographically interesting. But in this case I'm assuming "CC" means Chris Carrawell.

Oh, duh. Irregardless, I-94 corridor reprazent.

[FerryFor50]

Someone on Facebook (not really someone that was very smart) tried to poke fun at Duke fans for Jabari going 2nd.

I asked him where McAdoo was going to be drafted...

[phaedrus]

Dare I type ... DUKE north ... Wojo, CC, TT (pending), Jabari

Former duke player bob bender (bb) is an assistant with the bucks.

[WiJoe]

Oh, duh. Irregardless, I-94 corridor reprazent.

That's OK, Hurleyfor3. My mistake. Should have thrown Milwaukee in there somewhere.

[kAzE]

The Bucks are planning to play him at the 4, which I think is going to be his best position. He's a 3 on offense, but defensively, he's going to have a ton of issues guarding NBA 3s. This allows them to play him alongside the Greek Freak at small forward.

[Henderson]

And his family can drive to his games and hang out with him when he's home. Nice.

[Des Esseintes]

The Bucks are planning to play him at the 4, which I think is going to be his best position. He's a 3 on offense, but defensively, he's going to have a ton of issues guarding NBA 3s. This allows them to play him alongside the Greek Freak at small forward.

Oh, man. First Duke spends a whole year forcing Parker to play the four instead of his natural NBA position. Now Milwaukee is repeating the same mistake. It's almost as though professional coaches don't read this board to learn where to play their players.

[phaedrus]

Like most everywhere, fans in Milwaukee tend to hate Duke.

But Mike Dunleavy and J.J. Redick were fan favorites on the Bucks, Milwaukee loved the Wojo hire and we love getting Parker even more.

I'm guessing this paradox exists in every NBA city (except maybe Charlotte).

[SupaDave]

So ummm, like WHO plays for the Bucks? It's not sounding like Jabari has to compete for a starting job. Him and then what?

[Newton_14]

Someone on Facebook (not really someone that was very smart) tried to poke fun at Duke fans for Jabari going 2nd.

I asked him where McAdoo was going to be drafted...

That's how they roll my good friend. I can testify to at least 44 years of that behavior around these here parts anyway. My God what an ignorant thing to take a stab at. "YOur boy went 2nd in the NBA draft, ha ha". What a terrible night for Duke fans eh?

[jimsumner]

That's how they roll my good friend. I can testify to at least 44 years of that behavior around these here parts anyway. My God what an ignorant thing to take a stab at. "YOur boy went 2nd in the NBA draft, ha ha". What a terrible night for Duke fans eh?

Imagine how bad we felt when Grant Hill went third in 1994.

[FerryFor50]

So ummm, like WHO plays for the Bucks? It's not sounding like Jabari has to compete for a starting job. Him and then what?

Well, Brandon Knight and OJ Mayo. That limits Jabari's touches...

They also have Larry Sanders, Giannis Antetokounmpo, John Henson, Ersan Ilyasova, Epke Udoh, Khris Middleton...

Then again they won 15 total games, so I assume he'll play. But I suspect there will be competition at his position.

[NSDukeFan]

Well, Brandon Knight and OJ Mayo. That limits Jabari's touches...

They also have Larry Sanders, Giannis Antetokounmpo, John Henson, Ersan Ilyasova, Epke Udoh, Khris Middleton...

Then again they won 15 total games, so I assume he'll play. But I suspect there will be competition at his position.

Who would you suspect the competition to come from?

[FerryFor50]

Who would you suspect the competition to come from?

Giannis, Ilyasova, Middleton, Henson all could eat into his minutes, especially if his defense is a huge liability. I suspect Pachulia and Sanders to man the 5. Parker will probably also play the 3 a little.

[NSDukeFan]

Giannis, Ilyasova, Middleton, Henson all could eat into his minutes, especially if his defense is a huge liability. I suspect Pachulia and Sanders to man the 5. Parker will probably also play the 3 a little.

I will be surprised if Parker doesn't get as many minutes as he can handle next year ( no offense to those guys who helped Milwaukee win 15 games in the Eastern conference).

[FerryFor50]

I will be surprised if Parker doesn't get as many minutes as he can handle next year ( no offense to those guys who helped Milwaukee win 15 games in the Eastern conference).

Depends on the strategy Milwaukee has. If it's "win now" and Jabari struggles, I could see them mixing up line ups. Remember, this is the Bucks. They don't always do smart and logical things. Hopefully they'll give him more of a shot than Cleveland gave Anthony Bennett. (Granted, Bennett was historically bad shooting his first month or so)

[kAzE]

So ummm, like WHO plays for the Bucks? It's not sounding like Jabari has to compete for a starting job. Him and then what?

They had the worst record in the league, but I blame injuries, youth, and the worst head coach in the NBA. They have some good pieces. Larry Sanders and Alphabet (or is it officially Greek Freak now? I like Alphabet more) will both develop into solid NBA starters, and both are going to be very good defensively. John Henson is also a good rotation big who is skilled defensively. Not sure how I feel about Brandon Knight yet, he's dynamic, but I'm just not sure he's a real point guard. He dominates the ball way too much, and that's obviously going to have to change now that Jabari is eating first. Nate Wolters and Khris MIddleton showed some promise as a serviceable rotation players last year. Wolters is a big guard, and he did pretty well as a rookie last year. Middleton shot 41% from 3 in his sophomore year.

So those are the young guys, but the veterans on this team have shown in the past that they can be very good players too. OJ Mayo obviously had a horrendous year last season, and was out shape all year. If he's motivated, he could easily go back to being a 20 ppg scorer. Ramon Sessions has always been a good PG off the bench, and Ilyasova has the potential to be an excellent player when he's right. Carlos Delfino was out the entire year with injuries, and he's a really good shooter.

C: Larry Sanders
PF: Jabari Parker
SF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
SG: OJ Mayo
PG: Brandon Knight

Bench:

SF Ersan Ilyasova
PF John Henson
SF Khris Middleton
PG Nate Wolters
PG Ramon Sessions
C Zaza Pachulia
SG Carlos Delfino

That's actually a pretty decent top 12. Obviously, they are super young, and will probably struggle to another lottery pick next year, but I actually love the core of Parker, Sanders, and Alphabet. That's a frontcourt that's going to be one of the best in the league in 3 to 4 years. One thing this team has that many teams really lack is quality rim protection. Between Sanders and Henson, these guys can block and alter shots with the best of them. Alphabet should become a pretty decent shot blocker too with his stretchy arms.

First of all, get rid of Larry Drew, he's terrible. Get a real coach, trade some of those other assets or draft a real PG, and this becomes a pretty good playoff team. It would be a really serious stretch to predict that they will become contenders at some point, since they will NEVER attract a star free agent to Milwaukee, but who knows, maybe they get lucky in the draft next year, pick up Tyus Jones or Emmanuel Mudiay next year, and OKC 2.0 happens.

[Turk]

Nice writeup! You should've been mock GM of the Bucks!

[ice-9]

I am actually happy Jabari went second, even though I would have loved to see him play with Kyrie. There is just so much more attention placed on who went first. Everybody remembers that Anthony Bennet, but I struggle to remember who went second. Wiggins' every success and failure will be scrutinized, while Jabari will have less of a spotlight to figure things out. No matter how NBA ready people say these guys are, there WILL be an adjustment period. Even LeBron needed time to become the dominant player he is today.

[Newton_14]

They had the worst record in the league, but I blame injuries, youth, and the worst head coach in the NBA. They have some good pieces. Larry Sanders and Alphabet (or is it officially Greek Freak now? I like Alphabet more) will both develop into solid NBA starters, and both are going to be very good defensively. John Henson is also a good rotation big who is skilled defensively. Not sure how I feel about Brandon Knight yet, he's dynamic, but I'm just not sure he's a real point guard. He dominates the ball way too much, and that's obviously going to have to change now that Jabari is eating first. Nate Wolters and Khris MIddleton showed some promise as a serviceable rotation players last year. Wolters is a big guard, and he did pretty well as a rookie last year. Middleton shot 41% from 3 in his sophomore year.

So those are the young guys, but the veterans on this team have shown in the past that they can be very good players too. OJ Mayo obviously had a horrendous year last season, and was out shape all year. If he's motivated, he could easily go back to being a 20 ppg scorer. Ramon Sessions has always been a good PG off the bench, and Ilyasova has the potential to be an excellent player when he's right. Carlos Delfino was out the entire year with injuries, and he's a really good shooter.

C: Larry Sanders
PF: Jabari Parker
SF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
SG: OJ Mayo
PG: Brandon Knight

Bench:

SF Ersan Ilyasova
PF John Henson
SF Khris Middleton
PG Nate Wolters
PG Ramon Sessions
C Zaza Pachulia
SG Carlos Delfino

That's actually a pretty decent top 12. Obviously, they are super young, and will probably struggle to another lottery pick next year, but I actually love the core of Parker, Sanders, and Alphabet. That's a frontcourt that's going to be one of the best in the league in 3 to 4 years. One thing this team has that many teams really lack is quality rim protection. Between Sanders and Henson, these guys can block and alter shots with the best of them. Alphabet should become a pretty decent shot blocker too with his stretchy arms.

First of all, get rid of Larry Drew, he's terrible. Get a real coach, trade some of those other assets or draft a real PG, and this becomes a pretty good playoff team. It would be a really serious stretch to predict that they will become contenders at some point, since they will NEVER attract a star free agent to Milwaukee, but who knows, maybe they get lucky in the draft next year, pick up Tyus Jones or Emmanuel Mudiay next year, and OKC 2.0 happens.


Agree with Turk, but don't see Tyus Jones being a NBA guy after just one season in College. I think he is going to be a really good College PG from the get go, but he does not have a NBA body and very likely won't after just one year in college. I think Tyus is going to need 2 to 3 years to become NBA ready. Just my personal opinion.

Great write up otherwise.

[kAzE]

Agree with Turk, but don't see Tyus Jones being a NBA guy after just one season in College. I think he is going to be a really good College PG from the get go, but he does not have a NBA body and very likely won't after just one year in college. I think Tyus is going to need 2 to 3 years to become NBA ready. Just my personal opinion.

Great write up otherwise.

That's exactly what I thought about Mike Conley when he came out of OSU after 1 year. Physically, they are very similar, and Conley struggled a little bit out of the gate, and only in the past couple of years came into his own. I agree, Tyus might not be ready physically, but teams are going to see his potential, and he's probably going to be projected fairly high, like top 10. He's the best pure point guard to come along since Chris Paul. All these point guards like Kyrie, Lillard, Curry, Westbrook, they aren't really point guards, they're just scorers who happen to be really good ball handlers and in some cases, passers. But none of those guys are thinking "pass first". Tyus Jones is a serious point guard. Look at Ennis, he's not ready . . . and Tyus is way better than him.

[Des Esseintes]

That's actually a pretty decent top 12. Obviously, they are super young, and will probably struggle to another lottery pick next year, but I actually love the core of Parker, Sanders, and Alphabet. That's a frontcourt that's going to be one of the best in the league in 3 to 4 years. One thing this team has that many teams really lack is quality rim protection. Between Sanders and Henson, these guys can block and alter shots with the best of them. Alphabet should become a pretty decent shot blocker too with his stretchy arms.

First of all, get rid of Larry Drew, he's terrible. Get a real coach, trade some of those other assets or draft a real PG, and this becomes a pretty good playoff team. It would be a really serious stretch to predict that they will become contenders at some point, since they will NEVER attract a star free agent to Milwaukee, but who knows, maybe they get lucky in the draft next year, pick up Tyus Jones or Emmanuel Mudiay next year, and OKC 2.0 happens.

This statement depends immensely on what becomes of Larry Sanders. Last season went about as badly as any first-year-after-signing-a-big-money-contract has ever gone. On-court regression (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sandela01.html), injuries, incident (http://www.jsonline.com/sports/bucks/larry-sanders-cited-in-january-for-keeping-dogs-out-in-the-cold-b99140898z1-231642171.html) after (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10732646/larry-sanders-milwaukee-bucks-advocates-marijuana-ban) incident (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/12/4/5176010/larry-sanders-bar-fight-video-bucks) off (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/05/bucks-larry-sanders-gary-neal-argue-in-locker-room-following-loss-to-suns/) court (http://www.thescore.com/news/485758). Sure, he could return to being one of the game's most ferocious defensive big men, but at this point caution from outside observers is extremely warranted. That contract has looked disastrous thus far.

[kAzE]

This statement depends immensely on what becomes of Larry Sanders. Last season went about as badly as any first-year-after-signing-a-big-money-contract has ever gone. On-court regression (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sandela01.html), injuries, incident (http://www.jsonline.com/sports/bucks/larry-sanders-cited-in-january-for-keeping-dogs-out-in-the-cold-b99140898z1-231642171.html) after (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10732646/larry-sanders-milwaukee-bucks-advocates-marijuana-ban) incident (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/12/4/5176010/larry-sanders-bar-fight-video-bucks) off (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/05/bucks-larry-sanders-gary-neal-argue-in-locker-room-following-loss-to-suns/) court (http://www.thescore.com/news/485758). Sure, he could return to being one of the game's most ferocious defensive big men, but at this point caution from outside observers is extremely warranted. That contract has looked disastrous thus far.

Eh, I'm honestly not that worried about him. For one, as I stated before, his coach flat-out sucks. I don't know how guys like that continually find jobs in the NBA. What has he ever accomplished? Anyways, secondly, he's a young guy, and he played on a team with the worst record in the league. He's not exactly motivated.

His teammates were also very young and inexperienced. I mean, for Christ sakes, they played a 19 year old Greek dude in the starting lineup for half the season. Alphabet wasn't ready to play in the NBA . . . but he'll be better this year because he did play a lot. Third, these guys have no leader. Their coach is inept, and there's no one rally around. I believe Jabari at least partially solves this problem. I think he steps in immediately and this becomes Jabari's team.

Sanders has shown he can be a dominant post presence in the league before, and he's only 25. His injuries last year were dumb, non-career affecting injuries, and he should be 100% healthy now. He also had a baby during the season last year, and I believe he said that he was losing quite a bit of sleep as a result. (I unfortunately owned him in fantasy, that's how I know all this crap)

For the 1000th time though, they gotta get a better coach. I'm just offended that Jabari's going from Coach K to Larry Drew.

[Des Esseintes]

Eh, I'm honestly not that worried about him. For one, as I stated before, his coach flat-out sucks. I don't know how guys like that continually find jobs in the NBA. What has he ever accomplished? Anyways, secondly, he's a young guy, and he played on a team with the worst record in the league. He's not exactly motivated.

His teammates were also very young and inexperienced. I mean, for Christ sakes, they played a 19 year old Greek dude in the starting lineup for half the season. Alphabet wasn't ready to play in the NBA . . . but he'll be better this year because he did play a lot. Third, these guys have no leader. Their coach is inept, and there's no one rally around. I believe Jabari at least partially solves this problem. I think he steps in immediately and this becomes Jabari's team.

Sanders has shown he can be a dominant post presence in the league before, and he's only 25. His injuries last year were dumb, non-career affecting injuries, and he should be 100% healthy now. He also had a baby during the season last year, and I believe he said that he was losing quite a bit of sleep as a result. (I unfortunately owned him in fantasy, that's how I know all this crap)

For the 1000th time though, they gotta get a better coach. I'm just offended that Jabari's going from Coach K to Larry Drew.

Sanders got into a barfight three games into the season. He injured his thumb in the barfight breaking bottles over the heads of two other dudes. He lied to the team about the injury before being forced to fess up because, uh, there was video of him hurting himself breaking bottles over dudes' heads. Three games into the season. The thumb injury kept him out five weeks. He was back five games before he got into a fight with teammate Gary Neal. Five (5). Then, in January--we aren't even halfway through the season!--he was cited for leaving his dogs outside midwinter without food, water, or shelter. That's Milwaukee in January, to be clear.

But yeah, Larry Drew's fault. Where was Drew when Larry Sanders's German shepherds were hungry and freezing? I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't Leadershipville. Totally no reason for Bucks management to be alarmed about a 4-year, $44 million contract to a guy who thought it made sense to announce publicly "I believe in marijuana." (Like a lot of people, I have no problem with marijuana usage. I just, well, the problem here is pretty straightforward, right? Nobody wants a franchise cornerstone saying, "I believe in Wild Turkey.")

[Turk]

So ummm, like WHO plays for the Bucks? It's not sounding like Jabari has to compete for a starting job. Him and then what?

As mock GM of the Bucks, here is my take on the Bucks (condensed from the Mock Draft thread).

Of the current roster heading into 2014-15 (such as it is), center Larry Sanders converted one breakout year into a big contract, and then started getting into bar fights without any of the wit and charm of Charles Barkley, plus failing drug tests as an added bonus. Because of his excellent advanced metrics as a center, Grantland’s Zach Lowe often gleefully referred to him as LARRY SANDERS!, but he is now just overpaid injury-prone Sanders with a toxic $44M left on his contract. No one knows if Sanders has his head screwed on straight after last year’s lost season. If he transforms back to LARRY SANDERS! heis a legitimate NBA center that can provide defense and shotblocking to support Jabari.

At Jabari's position, the incumbent is Ersan Ilyasova, who is only 26 and averaged 17 ppg / 11 reb with good percentages just two years ago, when the Bucks were surprisingly frisky and made the playoffs (albeit with a sub .500 record and a 4-0 sweep by the Heat). They made some dumb trades and went into full-blown "Sorry for Jabari" mode last year. I suspect Ilyasova will still get significant minutes in the rotation, and with 3 years and $24M on his contract, it's not clear what the Bucks could get in a trade. Also, John Henson provided a bit of shot-blocking and rebounding off the bench as C/PF.

At small forward, the two players on top of Milwaukee's current depth chart are Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, neither of whom are NBA starter quality right now. At 6'9" and 19 years old, “The Greek Freak” displayed infrequent flashes of athletic ability while averaging a sparkling 6.8 PPG in 25 minutes per game last season, and it's not clear whether he'll fit best at the 3 or the 2. In any case, Giannis is still a project a couple of years away, and Middleton looks more like a rotation player providing 3-point shooting off the bench at an economy price.

Milwaukee finished the season with Ramon Sessions as the starting 2 guard, whose picture is found in the NBA dictionary next to the word "journeyman". Sessions does not have a contract for 2014-15 and is expendable. O.J. Mayo is also on the roster, displaying a talent for overeating, indifference, bad basketball, and contractually mandated money-stealing not seen since the twilight years of Rasheed Wallace. The Bucks have $8 million reasons (and 2 seasons - ugh!) to find out if Mayo still wants to be an NBA player. Personally, I have never been a fan going back to his early years as a walking NCAA violation, and last year's 11.7 ppg isn't helping his cause. As the late great Chuck Noll used to say, it might be time for Mayo "to get on with his life's work."

Brandon Knight is not a pure point guard, and is undersized as a 2 guard. He's in the last year of his rookie deal, so the Bucks can cut him loose if the right opportunity presents itself. On paper, here is how I would line them up:

Starters: C: Larry Sanders, PF: Jabari Parker, SF: Khris Middleton, SG: OJ Mayo, PG: Brandon Knight

Rotation players: C John Henson, PF Ersan Ilyasova, SF Giannis "Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo, PG Nate Wolters

Deep bench: C Zaza Pachulia, PF Johnny O'Bryant, SF Damien Inglis, SG Carlos Delfino

I see the Bucks as solid in the frontcourt, depending on how Sanders plays. I don't understand why they took O'Bryant in the 2nd round instead of the best available guard like Clarkson, Dinwiddie, or Harris. I don't like any of the current guards on the Bucks' roster, and I don't think they will share the ball well, nor avoid turnovers. They'll be back in the lottery again next year, and it would be an interesting prop bet whether the Bucks or the Sixers will have a better record next year. (I'll take the Bucks this year given the current rosters, but it looks like the Sixers are doing a better job long-range). And yeah, Larry Drew probably isn't the right coach, either.

[kAzE]

Sanders got into a barfight three games into the season. He injured his thumb in the barfight breaking bottles over the heads of two other dudes. He lied to the team about the injury before being forced to fess up because, uh, there was video of him hurting himself breaking bottles over dudes' heads. Three games into the season. The thumb injury kept him out five weeks. He was back five games before he got into a fight with teammate Gary Neal. Five (5). Then, in January--we aren't even halfway through the season!--he was cited for leaving his dogs outside midwinter without food, water, or shelter. That's Milwaukee in January, to be clear.

But yeah, Larry Drew's fault. Where was Drew when Larry Sanders's German shepherds were hungry and freezing? I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't Leadershipville. Totally no reason for Bucks management to be alarmed about a 4-year, $44 million contract to a guy who thought it made sense to announce publicly "I believe in marijuana." (Like a lot of people, I have no problem with marijuana usage. I just, well, the problem here is pretty straightforward, right? Nobody wants a franchise cornerstone saying, "I believe in Wild Turkey.")

Okaaay . . . all very valid points. I actually didn't know about the dog situation, (I dropped him to waivers about a week after the bar fight situation, and he was my 3rd round pick) and from your description, that sounds pretty bad. I definitely don't condone that type of treatment of animals. But like I said, he's a young guy with a ton of money, in a city where there's not much to do, and no veteran leadership. Young guys make mistakes sometimes, a lot of people can relate. He's at the point in his life now where he can get back on the right track, given the proper motivation and some good teammates.

The Bucks need more than just a coach, though. They need to acquire veteran presence in that locker room who can set dudes straight when they are acting up. All the Bucks' veterans are either lazy, injured and not playing, or just lack leadership ability. I hope Jabari is the type of guy who can turn around the culture there, but he's just a kid. He can't turn Larry Sanders' career around. Someone older and wiser needs to get through to him. Sanders has a ton of potential. Clearly, he just needs to grow up.

[Kedsy]

Third, these guys have no leader. ... I believe Jabari at least partially solves this problem. I think he steps in immediately and this becomes Jabari's team.

We thought that at Duke, too, but Jabari never really grabbed the leadership mantle. I think you're asking a bit too much of him as a rookie.

[kAzE]

We thought that at Duke, too, but Jabari never really grabbed the leadership mantle. I think you're asking a bit too much of him as a rookie.

I thought Jabari kind of was the leader on the team towards the end of the year . . . he was always the one who was bringing Cook and Sulaimon into huddles after emotional plays and calming guys down when things got hectic. Thornton was the vocal leader, but he wasn't always on the floor, and Hood was just too quiet. From my point of view, it was Jabari's team, especially in late February and March

But I don't disagree with you. That's why I said he could only partially fill that hole. He's just a rookie, but it's clear that Milwaukee is going to be building this team around Jabari, which essentially makes it his team. He will need to earn respect, but once he starts putting up 20 a game, that respect will come. However, they will still need a strong head coach and veteran leadership to fully plug that hole.

[Henderson]

I thought Jabari kind of was the leader on the team towards the end of the year . . . he was always the one who was bringing Cook and Sulaimon into huddles after emotional plays and calming guys down when things got hectic.

Is that the evidence of Jabari's assumption of leadership? Or did you have something more in mind? Because I thought Kedsy had it right regarding Jabari's leadership. Jabari wasn't asked or expected to be a team leader, and he tended to be a pretty quiet guy all in all. Calling guys into huddles and being a calming influence are leadership traits, but there's a lot more to it than that.

[kAzE]

Is that the evidence of Jabari's assumption of leadership? Or did you have something more in mind? Because I thought Kedsy had it right regarding Jabari's leadership. He wasn't asked or expected to be a team leader, and he tended to be a pretty quiet guy all in all.

I disagree, when you're the team's best player, and one of the best in the country, you're absolutely expected to be a leader. Not necessarily vocally, but leading by example, both through his play and his demeanor on the court, and his work ethic off the court. Of course he's not going to be coaching and mentoring teammates as a 18 year old fresh out of high school. That will come when he gets older, but there's plenty of other ways to be a leader. Jabari is one of a handful of the most talented players to ever play at Duke, of course he was expected to lead the team. I absolutely expected him to be a leader, and I thought he did a really good job for the most part. Toward the end of the year, he talked as much as anyone in huddles, and I thought he was one of the most mature guys on the floor despite his age. I don't know what else you want from him . . . he did everything he could to lead that team.

If he had come back, I believe he would have been guaranteed captaincy in his sophomore year. Coach K thinks pretty highly of his leadership qualities as well. Just because a guy is young and has a quiet personality doesn't mean he can't lead.

IIRC, another quiet guy from Chicago by the name of D. Rose came out of school after 1 year and was the unquestioned leader of a NBA conference finals team as one of the youngest guys on the roster. I don't expect Jabari to be that, but he's certainly capable of it.

[Henderson]

I disagree, when you're the team's best player, and one of the best in the country, you're absolutely expected to be a leader.

Not if you are a freshman. Not if you are not naturally that way. Not the way K operates. K didn't expect him to be a leader. He just expected him to be himself. It's not that he didn't fulfill expectations. It just wasn't his role.

[kAzE]

Not if you are a freshman. Not if you are not naturally that way. Not the way K operates. K didn't expect him to be a leader. He just expected him to be himself. It's not that he didn't fulfill expectations. It just wasn't his role.

Of course Coach K wouldn't expect him to do that, it's not the coach's job to designate who leads. He can decide on captains, but the players follow whoever takes the lead. It's still his responsibility as the best player to do so. You think Carmelo and Kevin Durant weren't leaders on their teams as freshmen in college? They were absolutely the alpha dog on the court. Jabari is every bit the alpha dog those guys were.

[Henderson]

Of course Coach K wouldn't expect him to do that, it's not the coach's job to designate who leads. He can decide on captains, but the players follow whoever takes the lead. It's still his responsibility as the best player to do so. You think Carmelo and Kevin Durant weren't leaders on their teams as freshmen in college? They were absolutely the alpha dog on the court. Jabari is every bit the alpha dog those guys were.

I agree that a freshman can be a team leader if he's wired that way and if the team needs him to play that role. And I think I'll just leave it there.

[kAzE]

I agree that a freshman can be a team leader if he's wired that way and if the team needs him to play that role. And I think I'll just leave it there.

I totally agree that Jabari wasn't NEEDED to be a team leader. We had plenty of upperclassmen, which was not necessarily a luxury with those other guys, especially Melo. The problem is that our veterans last year either weren't the best players on the team (Thornton, Hairston) or didn't necessarily have the best personalities to lead (Hood, Cook, Sulaimon). Jabari deferred to those guys for a long time, actually. I would say until the Virginia game at Cameron, he was very deferential, and his play started to slip because teams began defending him differently. He started to take control of the team in the middle of conference play, and I thought he finished the year pretty strong. He played extremely well in the loss to Virginia.

Surely, I'm not the only one who thinks this . . . At least I hope I didn't just IMAGINE Jabari leading the team for about a 6 week stretch at the end of the year.

[coldriver10]

I apologize if this has been posted elsewhere and I missed it. He's such a great kid...he's going to represent Duke very well throughout what I hope will be a long, productive career.

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2014/story/_/id/11144850/jabari-parker-soaks-news-no-2-draft-pick


As Jabari Parker accepted his Milwaukee Bucks cap from NBA commissioner Adam Silver and exited the stage, he had to face love in the form of congratulations and questions shaped around his future.

Then, once he turned the corner -- once he got away from his family, friends, supporters, the lights, cameras, handlers and media that have been a part of his life since he was 8 years old -- it hit him.

The tears flowed beautifully and uncontrollably.

...

"Pure happiness, Scoop. Pure happiness."

And then he was gone.

[kAzE]

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/11151207/jason-kidd-granted-permission-speak-milwaukee-bucks-being-denied-promotion-brooklyn-nets

So, apparently, Jason Kidd tried to get more say in personnel decisions, got denied, and now he's trying to go to Milwaukee, where he's friends with one of the Bucks' owners. Could this be the move to get rid of Larry Drew? I'm not sure how I feel about this yet, but Kidd has gotta be better than Drew, right?

[NashvilleDevil]

Jabari threw out the first pitch at the Brewers games yesterday and it cracks me up to watch basketball players throw. They're some of the best athletes in the world and throwing a ball is tough for them.

[duke74]

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/11151207/jason-kidd-granted-permission-speak-milwaukee-bucks-being-denied-promotion-brooklyn-nets

So, apparently, Jason Kidd tried to get more say in personnel decisions, got denied, and now he's trying to go to Milwaukee, where he's friends with one of the Bucks' owners. Could this be the move to get rid of Larry Drew? I'm not sure how I feel about this yet, but Kidd has gotta be better than Drew, right?

Good riddance. At least he's not driving drunk to beat up his wife...a squirrelly guy his entire career off the court.

[Des Esseintes]

Good riddance. At least he's not driving drunk to beat up his wife...a squirrelly guy his entire career off the court.

Seriously. Not in love with the idea that Jabari dodged the Dan Gilbert bullet only to get stuck with a president of basketball operations whose entire coaching and front office career consists of one lone season and yet who feels entitled enough to be "intrigued with the higher-paying, lower-workload life of an top executive (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jason-kidd-in-talks-to-run-bucks--basketball-operations-after-failed-power-play-with-nets-072327526.html)." If Bucks owner Lasry ends up giving this tool what he wants, Milwaukee is a laughingstock. The idea that your stated reason for wanting a promotion is to work less...mind-boggling.

[flyingdutchdevil]

What do you do with the other players? They have two other crucial pieces: the Greek Freak and Larry Sanders. The Greek Freak is, IMO, the perfect 3. Tall enough to guard an SF and PF, fast enough to guard an SG and SF. He is an insane 6'11" and plays like a really tall Gerald Henderson. Larry Sanders is, in my mind, the perfect defensive 4. He is big, mobile, and surprisingly fast for his size. He can play the 5, but you can see that he's much more comfortable as a 4.

The jury is still out on what position Jabari will play. Clearly, Jabari has the offensive chops to play either the 3 or the 4 (although I like him as an NBA 4 better, especially with his ability to handle and shoot). Do you play 1) Brandon Knight, 2) Greek Freak, 3) Parker, 4) Henson/Sanders, 5) Sanders/Ersan Iyosova on offense, and then place Jabari on the worst offensive player on defense?

The Bucks are in a really good position, especially given the young talent (Greek Freak and Jabari are 19, Sanders is 25). They absolutely need a PG, a legit C, and more moving parts, but it's a nice core. They will probably go to the lottery in 2015, get that PG, and hopefully be set for the next 5-6 years.

[Gthoma2a]

I totally agree that Jabari wasn't NEEDED to be a team leader. We had plenty of upperclassmen, which was not necessarily a luxury with those other guys, especially Melo. The problem is that our veterans last year either weren't the best players on the team (Thornton, Hairston) or didn't necessarily have the best personalities to lead (Hood, Cook, Sulaimon). Jabari deferred to those guys for a long time, actually. I would say until the Virginia game at Cameron, he was very deferential, and his play started to slip because teams began defending him differently. He started to take control of the team in the middle of conference play, and I thought he finished the year pretty strong. He played extremely well in the loss to Virginia.

Surely, I'm not the only one who thinks this . . . At least I hope I didn't just IMAGINE Jabari leading the team for about a 6 week stretch at the end of the year.

In spots, he may have led. I wouldn't exactly call him a leader, though. A leader wouldn't be so out of it on D that his coach benches him in the NCAA tournament. I don't think Jabari will be a leader. He will be a player who plays well on offense and claps his hands to try to get others to play with energy on D. That is what I have seen so far. When you are that good on offense, people will still consider you one of the best in the league, even if you only focus on one end and don't lead, though (I'm looking at Melo).

[kAzE]

What do you do with the other players? They have two other crucial pieces: the Greek Freak and Larry Sanders. The Greek Freak is, IMO, the perfect 3. Tall enough to guard an SF and PF, fast enough to guard an SG and SF. He is an insane 6'11" and plays like a really tall Gerald Henderson. Larry Sanders is, in my mind, the perfect defensive 4. He is big, mobile, and surprisingly fast for his size. He can play the 5, but you can see that he's much more comfortable as a 4.

The jury is still out on what position Jabari will play. Clearly, Jabari has the offensive chops to play either the 3 or the 4 (although I like him as an NBA 4 better, especially with his ability to handle and shoot). Do you play 1) Brandon Knight, 2) Greek Freak, 3) Parker, 4) Henson/Sanders, 5) Sanders/Ersan Iyosova on offense, and then place Jabari on the worst offensive player on defense?

The Bucks are in a really good position, especially given the young talent (Greek Freak and Jabari are 19, Sanders is 25). They absolutely need a PG, a legit C, and more moving parts, but it's a nice core. They will probably go to the lottery in 2015, get that PG, and hopefully be set for the next 5-6 years.

Giannis is just such an interesting palyer. He may have the largest gap between his floor and ceiling of anyone in the league right now. Clearly, at the moment, he's a below average player, but he actually grew more than an inch in his rookie year!! He was 6'9" at the 2013 NBA draft combine, and he's now 6'10" and 1/4! Despite his height, the Greek Freak was MUCH more effective at the 2 than the 3 in his rookie year. It was a night and day difference, and I attribute that to lack of strength and conditioning. I'm in agreement that his best position long term is the 3, due to his incredible versatility and athleticism. He's also a bad shooter as of right now, so it would difficult to play him at the 2 full time. But at least it does open the possibility of playing a HUGE perimeter lineup with him at the 2 and Ilyasova at the 3.

Sanders is definitely undersized to play center, but I believe he's a center. He's capable of being one of the most dominant rebounders and shot blockers in the league even with his size disadvantage down low. To me, nothing about his game would suggest that he could be effective as a 4. The only way he could work out as a 4 would be to have a center who is a knock down shooter from 15+ feet. Otherwise, good luck finding any room to operate in the paint.

Their biggest need going forward is at the point. I would be actively shopping all my assets to at least see what's out there. Kyle Lowry is a free agent, and the Bucks are about 12-14 million under cap (depending on the rookie contracts they sign), and I kind of doubt Lowry would choose to join a rebuilding team given better options. Still, you never know, he might be one of those guys who is looking for the biggest paycheck possible, and I don't think he could get more than 14 mil. But I think they should just wait. There's going to be 2 outstanding point guards in the draft next year, and the bucks are going to be bad again. Keep that cap room and see if you can land high enough to snag one of them. Mudiay would be the dream scenario, but don't sleep on Tyus Jones, I wholeheartedly believe Tyus will be one of the best point guards in the NBA someday. And until I hear otherwise from his own mouth, I believe he will be one and done. (I don't want him to leave after 1 year, but he's going to be projected in the lottery, and I think he'll go).

[Kedsy]

There's going to be 2 outstanding point guards in the draft next year, and the bucks are going to be bad again. Keep that cap room and see if you can land high enough to snag one of them. Mudiay would be the dream scenario, but don't sleep on Tyus Jones, I wholeheartedly believe Tyus will be one of the best point guards in the NBA someday. And until I hear otherwise from his own mouth, I believe he will be one and done. (I don't want him to leave after 1 year, but he's going to be projected in the lottery, and I think he'll go).

It's possible Tyus Jones is a 2015 lottery pick, but if so it'd probably be late lottery (I just looked at a bunch of 2015 mocks and the best position Tyus got was 12th). It's really unlikely he'd be a top 5 pick. He's 6'1" with shoes, and that matters to NBA types (especially if you don't have Chris Paul quickness). Tyler Ennis (6'2.5" with shoes) only went 18th in this year's draft. Unless some PG breaks out this year, the only PG worth drafting with a pick as good as Milwaukee is likely to have will be Mudiay. If they miss out on him, they'll probably have to grab a big guy.

[kAzE]

It's possible Tyus Jones is a 2015 lottery pick, but if so it'd probably be late lottery (I just looked at a bunch of 2015 mocks and the best position Tyus got was 12th). It's really unlikely he'd be a top 5 pick. He's 6'1" with shoes, and that matters to NBA types (especially if you don't have Chris Paul quickness). Tyler Ennis (6'2.5" with shoes) only went 18th in this year's draft. Unless some PG breaks out this year, the only PG worth drafting with a pick as good as Milwaukee is likely to have will be Mudiay. If they miss out on him, they'll probably have to grab a big guy.

You could easily be right, this is all guessing. But I've always had a pretty good eye for talent (I called Kyrie going #1 before his first game at Duke . . . humble brag :p), and I think Tyus is going to impress a LOT of people next year, and I think his stock will rise. He's not as good as Kyrie, but he's MUCH better than Ennis. Yes, he's very undersized, and no, he won't even be close to ready to play PG in the NBA, but very few guys have the type of feel for the game that Tyus Jones has. You'll see what I mean next year, this kid is special.

[Kedsy]

You could easily be right, this is all guessing. But I've always had a pretty good eye for talent (I called Kyrie going #1 before his first game at Duke . . . humble brag :p), and I think Tyus is going to impress a LOT of people next year, and I think his stock will rise. He's not as good as Kyrie, but he's MUCH better than Ennis. Yes, he's very undersized, and no, he won't even be close to ready to play PG in the NBA, but very few guys have the type of feel for the game that Tyus Jones has. You'll see what I mean next year, this kid is special.

I'm not saying he won't be a great player. I'm saying he probably won't be a top five draft pick after his freshman year.

[kAzE]

I'm not saying he won't be a great player. I'm saying he probably won't be a top five draft pick after his freshman year.

Maybe not top 5 but top 10 I think.

However, I just remembered . . . Shaun Livingston is a free agent. He would be PERFECT for this team.