Jabari Parker

[mufan2003]

Matt Velazquez on Parker's work with assistant coach Frank Johnson. No change on an expected return in February.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2017/11/30/bucks-forward-jabari-parker-progressing-help-assistant-coach-frank-johnson/910384001/

[mufansince72]

Bucks obviously are not going to re-sign him for the Max when he is eligible. I would consider packaging him along with Henson for DeAndre Jordan.

[mufan2003]

The deadline was this past October for an extension. Bucks obviously did the right thing. He will be a restricted free agent this summer and can let the market determine his value. I want to see what he can do with this team when he returns in February (maybe earlier?). He is reportedly ahead of schedule and looking good. Giannis, Middleton and Parker have barely had the chance to play with each other. Particularly since Giannis became a Top 10 player in the NBA. It might not work, but I would like to see it play out this season.

[mufansince72]

I hate the Bucks center situation. I just don't think they can do much with Henson and Maker in the middle. You would think there would be someone out there they can get. I know Sixers are now only looking for a second round pick for Okafor. He would not help much rebounding or for defense, but his offensive game is better than Henson or Makers. I don't think the Bucks can afford DeAndre, but how about trying to get a guy like Tyson Chandler or Al Jefferson. How about Valencuinias? I just think the Bucks will not end this season with Henson and Maker.

[Goose85]

I hate the Bucks center situation. I just don't think they can do much with Henson and Maker in the middle. You would think there would be someone out there they can get. I know Sixers are now only looking for a second round pick for Okafor. He would not help much rebounding or for defense, but his offensive game is better than Henson or Makers. I don't think the Bucks can afford DeAndre, but how about trying to get a guy like Tyson Chandler or Al Jefferson. How about Valencuinias? I just think the Bucks will not end this season with Henson and Maker.

Agree, there has to be somebody on a bench somewhere that we could use. I too was thinking about Tyson Chandler. With Monroe there I'm not sue they need both. Henson or some type of salary for salary trade where we throw in a young guy and a second round pick.
I've thought about Okafor as he would be pretty cheap, but not sure he gives us the type of big guy we need, especially for a half season rental.
I'm not really for DeAndre, who can't hit a free throw, as I wouldn't want to give up much for him. Thinking future, there may be a FA on the market that can help us next year.

[mufansince72]

Agree, there has to be somebody on a bench somewhere that we could use. I too was thinking about Tyson Chandler. With Monroe there I'm not sue they need both. Henson or some type of salary for salary trade where we throw in a young guy and a second round pick.
I've thought about Okafor as he would be pretty cheap, but not sure he gives us the type of big guy we need, especially for a half season rental.
I'm not really for DeAndre, who can't hit a free throw, as I wouldn't want to give up much for him. Thinking future, there may be a FA on the market that can help us next year.

Okafor just got traded to the Nets along with Stauskus for Trevor Booker.

[mufan2003]

I hate the Bucks center situation. I just don't think they can do much with Henson and Maker in the middle. You would think there would be someone out there they can get. I know Sixers are now only looking for a second round pick for Okafor. He would not help much rebounding or for defense, but his offensive game is better than Henson or Makers. I don't think the Bucks can afford DeAndre, but how about trying to get a guy like Tyson Chandler or Al Jefferson. How about Valencuinias? I just think the Bucks will not end this season with Henson and Maker.

DeAndre Jordan just hired Jeff Schwartz (current agent of Middleton and Teletovic, former agent of Jason Kidd). Bucks are considered to have interest. I would not want to give up Giannis, Bledsoe, Middleton, Brogdon, Parker or Snell. Snell is certainly not a star, but his 3-point shooting and defense are a very good fit with Giannis and Bledsoe. Optimal situation for the Bucks would be trading Maker or Henson along with other players/future draft pick. The center position does not seem to be as important as it once was.

http://hoopshype.com/2017/12/08/deandre-jordan-would-help-the-bucks-who-struggle-rebounding/

[mufan2003]

Kidd said tonight that Parker is scheduled to return the week before the All-Star break.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2018/01/10/jabari-parker-expected-back-before-all-star-break/1018896001/

[Goose85]

Kidd said tonight that Parker is scheduled to return the week before the All-Star break.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2018/01/10/jabari-parker-expected-back-before-all-star-break/1018896001/

I look forward to seeing what this team can do with Parker and Middleton healthy at the same time. Giannis wasn't at the level he is now two years ago when they were both active, and we didn't have Bledsoe, Brogdan or Maker then either.

[mufansince72]

I look forward to seeing what this team can do with Parker and Middleton healthy at the same time. Giannis wasn't at the level he is now two years ago when they were both active, and we didn't have Bledsoe, Brogdan or Maker then either.

Early reports are that Parker has improved his outside shooting. That is something this team needs. I still think they need to go out and find a journeyman center who can play 12 - 15 minutes a game and get rebounds and protect the rim. Henson and Maker don't do it for me.

[mufan2003]

Early reports are that Parker has improved his outside shooting. That is something this team needs. I still think they need to go out and find a journeyman center who can play 12 - 15 minutes a game and get rebounds and protect the rim. Henson and Maker don't do it for me.

Hope so. He went from 26% in 15-16 to shooting 37% last season from 3 (before getting injured in February). IMO, you have to surround Giannis with shooters. Middleton and Snell check that box, but Bledsoe is a career 33% shooter from 3 and is shooting only 32% from 3 this season. Bledsoe offers a lot of other positives, so not necessarily knocking him, but the 3 ball is so important in today's NBA. With the amount of time Giannis spends with the ball in his hands, an improved outside shot from Parker would be very helpful.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parkeja01.html

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bledser01.html

[mufan2003]

Exciting to hear that Jabari will return this Friday against the Knicks. I am sure there will be rust, but this sure sounds encouraging.

“He progressed really quickly in the early phases of his rehab, which is really nice," Bucks director of performance Troy Flanagan told the Journal Sentinel. "In the first ACL rehab, he had a fair bit of patellar tendinitis which slowed the whole thing down a little bit even though he did come back reasonably early. We saw a great progression early in this rehab that allowed us to really capitalize on his fitness.

"He’s faster than he’s ever been, he’s stronger than he’s ever been and he’s leaner than he’s ever been. I’m really happy with how he’s come back and his fitness levels. He’ll still need a little bit more game fitness, but we spent the past six weeks trying to give him as much game play as we possibly could. He’ll progress up in minutes fairly quickly.”

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2018/01/29/bucks-forward-jabari-parker-make-season-debut-friday-home-against-knicks/1077125001/

[mufansince72]

Jabari is costing himself $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ with every minute he spends on the floor. His lack of hustle, defense and just poor attitude on the floor and bench shows.

[shaquilvaine]

Jabari is costing himself $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ with every minute he spends on the floor. His lack of hustle, defense and just poor attitude on the floor and bench shows.

Agree completely. He was dominant the last few games of the season. What the heck happened?

[Goose85]

Agree completely. He was dominant the last few games of the season. What the heck happened?

Not a good time for him to play with exhibition game type effort. I thought he could be a difference maker in this series. Step up and show you deserve the money.

It only takes one, but not sure which team out there will be ready to give him multi years at big bucks.

[mufansince72]

Jabari has turned it around the last 4 games. Good to see.

[mufansince72]

So do the Bucks match, try to do a sign and trade, or let him walk for nothing.

[IWB]

I want them to keep Jabari. I know he may not be as good as advertised, especially after the two injuries, but he has something that no one else in the NBA has...

The desire to play in Milwaukee. The Bucks have a history of over paying free agents just to get them to come to Milwaukee. He wants to be here. He is converting an abandoned company into his home. He stays here in the off season and wants to continue to live and play here.

Anyone you replace him with, anyone, will really truly want to be elsewhere.

Jabari wants to be here.

[Goose85]

I want them to keep Jabari. I know he may not be as good as advertised, especially after the two injuries, but he has something that no one else in the NBA has...

The desire to play in Milwaukee. The Bucks have a history of over paying free agents just to get them to come to Milwaukee. He wants to be here. He is converting an abandoned company into his home. He stays here in the off season and wants to continue to live and play here.

Anyone you replace him with, anyone, will really truly want to be elsewhere.

Jabari wants to be here.

Everything will come down to money. If someone offers him more than Giannis and for 4 years, hard to match that kind of contract.
I'd like to see him stay if his attitude is right and he can move forward, but at the right price.

[mufan2003]

I would like to see Jabari stay in Milwaukee, but at a fair price. The Bucks have Parker's "Bird Rights," so they can exceed the cap to sign him. I worry a bit about the chemistry with Giannis in the starting lineup. The Bucks need to add more shooting/scoring around Giannis this offseason. The Bucks' lack of offense against a set defense was exposed in the series against Boston.

[Goose85]

I would like to see Jabari stay in Milwaukee, but at a fair price. The Bucks have Parker's "Bird Rights," so they can exceed the cap to sign him. I worry a bit about the chemistry with Giannis in the starting lineup. The Bucks need to add more shooting/scoring around Giannis this offseason. The Bucks' lack of offense against a set defense was exposed in the series against Boston.

Agree, to win in the NBA you need to have multiple guys that can hit the 3 with relative consistency, and then provide something on the defensive end. I thought Teletovic would be able to at least come off the bench and provide some 3's and some rebounding. Snell with 3's and some solid defense.
I think Giannis and Brogdan will improve their 3 point shooting, but we need another guy that can hit.

Hope they figure out the coaching thing soon, so they can then proceed to figure out what on the roster makes sense.

[mufansince72]

I like the Sporting News article I saw today on this topic. The gist of it was that there most likely will not be a huge demand for Jabari in the offseason, and if he gets an offer the Bucks probably should not match. The best solution for both sides is probably a 1 year qualifying offer of about 7.4 million. That would be good for the Bucks because they don't have to offer a huge amount of dollars. It would be good for Jabari because hopefully he can have an injury free year, with another year of recovery, improve on defense, and could go into unrestricted free agency with a full injury free year under his belt.

Personally, I want the sign and trade route. I don't think Jabari is very good, and the Bucks record when he has been healthy has not been stellar. I would hope to sign him for cheap and flip him for for a 3 and D guard or rim protector. I just think he would be better off elsewhere, and the Bucks would be better moving in a different direction. What I don't want is to lose him for nothing, seeing that the Bucks are not real good at drafting lately. Two of their last four picks are absolute garbage in Vaughn and Wilson.

[IWB]

I had heard that no matter what is offered in free agency, the Bucks are not going to match.

[mufan2003]

Possibly headed to Chicago. It will be interesting to see what he is offered.

http://www.nba.com/article/2018/07/13/reports-jabari-parker-verge-signing-offer-sheet-hometown-chicago-bulls

[mufansince72]

Possibly headed to Chicago. It will be interesting to see what he is offered.

http://www.nba.com/article/2018/07/13/reports-jabari-parker-verge-signing-offer-sheet-hometown-chicago-bulls

As good as he was in the community, I didn't want him back either except on a team friendly contract. Just not a good fit and I think he had attitude problems. With that said, once again the Bucks got nothing and got played in the process. This ownership group is no better than Herb Kohl when it comes to building a team.

[mufan2003]

http://www.nba.com/article/2018/07/14/chicago-bulls-agree-two-year-deal-jabari-parker

This really works out well for the Bulls. No risk, basically a 1-year deal with a team option for year 2. Jim was right, the Bucks were clearly more interested in future cap space/flexibility.

[MU/Panther]

http://www.nba.com/article/2018/07/14/chicago-bulls-agree-two-year-deal-jabari-parker

This really works out well for the Bulls. No risk, basically a 1-year deal with a team option for year 2. Jim was right, the Bucks were clearly more interested in future cap space/flexibility.

Not worth the money as he is injury prone.

P.S. Check your mailbox.

[mufan2003]

Not worth the money as he is injury prone.

P.S. Check your mailbox.

Just saw it and responded MU/Panther. Thanks.

[Goose85]

No Jabari salary, and next year no Bledsoe and Teletovic salary so that opens things up cap wise. If the Bucks could move Delly or Henson, that would really open things up.

Of the top free agents next year, Jimmy Butler would be a nice add. Of course Middleton is a free agent too.

[mufansince72]

No Jabari salary, and next year no Bledsoe and Teletovic salary so that opens things up cap wise. If the Bucks could move Delly or Henson, that would really open things up.

Of the top free agents next year, Jimmy Butler would be a nice add. Of course Middleton is a free agent too.

Middleton will be a free agent, because he can opt out after next year, but actually has two years left on the contract. Bucks will not have a lot of salary cap to work with, even if they don't resign Middleton and Bledsoe. They will have a lot of cap space in two years when Delly and Henson come off the books. Giannis may come of the books then as well. Scary thought. This ownership group sucks just as bad as Herb Kohl.

[MUfan12]

Unless they get their sh*t together and hire an actual GM, we're rapidly approaching "do we have to trade Giannis?" territory.

I can easily see a scenario where in the last year of his contract, the Bucks haven't progressed, and they have to make a decision.

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

Ill be honest, I really like what the Bucks did this offseason, they had limited cap space so it wasnt like they were going to go out and make a splashy signing, but Lopez and Ersan are solid contributors that shoot well for their positions. Letting Jabari walk was a very smart idea because even when he is healthy he isn't a winning type player, he doesn't play defense, and doesn't even really seem to care to try. I think the Bucks can realistically win 50+ games this season (assuming no major injuries to Giannis).

I firmly believe they are on the right track, unfortunately you have to have realistic expectations, if your expectation is to be a title contender then 29 other teams may as well trade their stars too. Unfortunately the NBA is going to be a foregone conclusion with Golden State until that gets broken up. however right now they are lining up to have cap space in a few years and potentially make a run at another star to pair with Giannis (this won't be easy). To me as long as they communicate the plan to Giannis and he is on board I think Giannis will stay and give them some time.

I also think that Budenholzer was a great signing and will make a bigger difference than people think.

[mufan2003]

I thought the Bucks bungled the GM situation a year ago. I would have extended Hammond (kept Horst in his position at the time). That being said, I am willing to give Horst the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. He has been on the job for one year. I am very happy with the hiring of Budenholzer. I wanted him from the beginning of the search process. IMO, easily the best coach since George Karl.

For me, as it relates to Giannis, July of 2020 is when my worrying would begin (if at all). At that time, the Bucks will be able to offer a contract extension to Giannis. If he declines (like Jimmy Butler did this summer) and wants to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2021, then the worrying begins.

With a diluted Eastern Conference, the Bucks could be due for a strong upcoming season. That being said, the focus should be on bringing in another marquee free agent in 2019 (preferably) or 2020. If it were me, I would target Jimmy Butler. Sign him first, and then you can exceed the cap (Bird Rights) to re-sign Middleton and Brogdon. I would look to deal Bledsoe before the trade deadline of the upcoming season.

[Goose85]

I thought the Bucks bungled the GM situation a year ago. I would have extended Hammond (kept Horst in his position at the time). That being said, I am willing to give Horst the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. He has been on the job for one year. I am very happy with the hiring of Budenholzer. I wanted him from the beginning of the search process. IMO, easily the best coach since George Karl.

For me, as it relates to Giannis, July of 2020 is when my worrying would begin (if at all). At that time, the Bucks will be able to offer a contract extension to Giannis. If he declines (like Jimmy Butler did this summer) and wants to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2021, then the worrying begins.

With a diluted Eastern Conference, the Bucks could be due for a strong upcoming season. That being said, the focus should be on bringing in another marquee free agent in 2019 (preferably) or 2020. If it were me, I would target Jimmy Butler. Sign him first, and then you can exceed the cap (Bird Rights) to re-sign Middleton and Brogdon. I would look to deal Bledsoe before the trade deadline of the upcoming season.

I'm with you on getting a deal with Butler. I'd think he might be open to it as well.

Brogdan, Butler, Middleton, and Giannis is a pretty good core group of four players. That group is also four players that can play both O and D which is really important come playoff time.

[mufan2003]

Here's an early look at the potential group of 2019 Free Agents:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2785787-a-way-too-soon-look-at-2019s-top-nba-free-agents#slide0

[Goose85]

Here's an early look at the potential group of 2019 Free Agents:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2785787-a-way-too-soon-look-at-2019s-top-nba-free-agents#slide0

Looking at that group, Jimmy Butler is one player that I think we might have a shot at landing. If the Celtics don't want Horford back, he too would be nice but I'm not sure we would have money for anyone other than a guy like Butler, and then resign Middleton.

[mufansince72]

I thought the Bucks bungled the GM situation a year ago. I would have extended Hammond (kept Horst in his position at the time). That being said, I am willing to give Horst the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. He has been on the job for one year. I am very happy with the hiring of Budenholzer. I wanted him from the beginning of the search process. IMO, easily the best coach since George Karl.

For me, as it relates to Giannis, July of 2020 is when my worrying would begin (if at all). At that time, the Bucks will be able to offer a contract extension to Giannis. If he declines (like Jimmy Butler did this summer) and wants to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2021, then the worrying begins.

With a diluted Eastern Conference, the Bucks could be due for a strong upcoming season. That being said, the focus should be on bringing in another marquee free agent in 2019 (preferably) or 2020. If it were me, I would target Jimmy Butler. Sign him first, and then you can exceed the cap (Bird Rights) to re-sign Middleton and Brogdon. I would look to deal Bledsoe before the trade deadline of the upcoming season.

I also am willing to give Horst the benefit of the doubt. If you really think about it, what did Hammond do other than draft Giannis. You could make a case that every one of his draft picks outside of Giannis was a bust. He signed a bunch of bad deals with guys like Henson, Delly and Plumlee. He traded for MCW. I will say that I think the worst coach in the history of the NBA, Jason Kidd, had a lot to do with some of those moves.

[Goose85]

I also am willing to give Horst the benefit of the doubt. If you really think about it, what did Hammond do other than draft Giannis. You could make a case that every one of his draft picks outside of Giannis was a bust. He signed a bunch of bad deals with guys like Henson, Delly and Plumlee. He traded for MCW. I will say that I think the worst coach in the history of the NBA, Jason Kidd, had a lot to do with some of those moves.

Jason Kidd, and he being the pick of the owners didn't help Hammond much.
Parker was a good pick, it's not like he came in with chronic knee injuries. Giannis, Brodgdan, Maker, trade for Middleton. I thought Hammond did a pretty decent job at setting this team up.
Signed Delly when they needed a pack up point (before Brogdan). Teletovic was the outside shooter we needed. Picked up MCW for Kidd, then was able to get Snell for him.

Overall I think Hammond did a good job (mostly because I think Kidd and the owners meddled more than Kohl).