Let the transition (not a rebuild) begin

[mgtr81]

The 2034-35 CSL season was one of the most disappointing in recent history for the Milwaukee Bucks. Back in October, all pieces were in place to contend for the title. Fast forward to April and the Bucks were back in the lottery for the first time in years. In the meantime some injuries, a questionable mid-season trade and a head coach change. Actually, saying goodbye to Erik Spoelstra and promoting Okaro White was already a move for the future. The Front Office has made clear that a rebuild is not on the cards. However, a smooth transition into the Bucks of the future is in the making.

Insiders report that the first official move of the offseason will have CSL fans wondering what is going on. It is reported that the Bucks have agreed to send their 11th selection in this draft, Markelle Fultz and Isaiah Roby to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Anthony Edwards and the Knicks second round selection. The trade is still in the works as the Houston Rockets are also participating.



The Bucks already tried to acquire Edwards from the Orlando Magic before the trade deadline, but they were not able to reach a deal. At age 26 next season, the Bucks believe Edwards can become the leader of the team moving forward. There is work to do, but he has all the tools that have not been put together yet. As Troy Brown took the leadership from Brandon Ingram a few seasons ago, it is now time that Brown mentors Edwards into being a leader. Edwards age, size, handles, defense and shooting make him a favorite within the Front Office, and may be able to help the Bucks to win a title in the coming years, which is the ultimate goal of the franchise.

And the team plans to do so while still competing. With Brown, Daniel Gafford and Nassir Little still in their primes, next season should be a good one. And Edwards can also work with his future role players in Enzo Shahrvin, Miles McBride or the young and promising Kaleb Wesson.

[blackice]

This team is always a tough matchup for us, mgtr81 has my favourite (and Former CSL Raptor) Nassir Little and what I really want to see is him being slotted at point guard full-time if possible. His defensive tenacity is very much reminiscent of the recently retired Dikembe Dixson, but with elite passing and rebounding. I believe he is the key to unlocking the full potential of this Bucks team. I am interested to see if Troy Brown plays his whole career in MIL as he is one of the better two way wings we have. At 30 he is in his prime, but for this team to ascend in a tough division it will depend primarily on two things. #1 would be post play and rebounding and #2 would be caproom. Signing Marques Bolden to a below market/appropriate contract (given his player personality) would open up a nice opportunity to snag a key role player or two to your already strong roster in free agency.


You have a lot on your plate, but if all is well and you continue to explore the trade market this will be a great season for you. Curious to see how it all unfolds.

[hardenwithnod]

Good luck with ANT. I pretty much done fixing his preference work, I think he’s 2 more instructions and 1 weight loss away from being fully optimized. I’m a big fan of him, and he played well for us once I got instructions in. I’m sure he will do well for you.

[emplep7]

I used to be a big Edwards fan but he never seemed to live up to his potential. Similar things were said of Troy Brown before you got him though so if anyone is able to get it out of him it’s going to be you.

[Flaming Homer]

I love it, never shy to swing for the fences. I like Edwards as a score first combo guard and would have kept him in our mid-season trade if not a skilled big men was our biggest need back then ... or so I thought.

That will be very interesting to see him and Brown together. The defense was there last season and maybe some additional scoring punch can give the team a lift.

[WillyJakkz]

I missed Edwards after trading him honestly

[cb4raptorscb4]

Edwards is an interesting player. Not the most efficient, but he can get some turnovers.

We'll have to see how DDS likes the combination of some low TS% in Brown, Little and Edwards in the backcourt.

[GreenBear]

Love the defense that's shaping up in Milwaukee. Should dominate the TO battle most games

[mgtr81]

Thanks to all for the comments. Some answers below.

@BI: I don't see Little at PG. His handles are borderline PG for my standards, and Brown dominates more at PG than at SG. With the addition of Edwards, who should excel more at PG than at SG, there are no minutes for Little there. Side note here, APG is probably the most overrated metric in DDS. No correlation with wins. The two APG leaders, Giddey and Sochan, do not make their respective teams good.

@Gary: It depends on what role you have in mind for him. I won't make him lose weight, at least not for now.

@Jon: He has untapped ways of being a difference maker.

@Andre: That's interesting. Was it Tillman?

@Willy: I guess my offer arrived too late.

@Ryan: I think Edwards has room for improvement on offense, and so has his TS%.

@Doug: This trade is the consequence of the Williams / Fultz swap, where your Blazers came up as clear winners.

[GreenBear]

@Doug: This trade is the consequence of the Williams / Fultz swap, where your Blazers came up as clear winners.

Williams did fit in pretty well and was productive for us. I'm not sure I'd call us a clear winner though. We gave up a good bit of future salary flexibility to try to help in the short-term put up a fight in the playoffs against the Kings. And unfortunately as we all saw, that was a spectacular disaster anyway.

[Tulogit2Quit]

Our battles this season were alway ugly defensive slugfests, excited to see the transition and to do battle with you again next season

[Flaming Homer]

@Andre: That's interesting. Was it Tillman?

Yeah, I was open to try out Edwards but we really needed another capable big alongside Perry. I decided to send him to Gary and take a shot with Tillman but lost an additional 1st this way.

Tillman did ok for us, especially right after the trade, but it was not enough in the playoffs.

[Jestor]

You'll find a way to get the most out of Ant, I'm sure.

[Ramcus]

I wonder if/when Milwaukee is going to rebuild. They've been competitive for the better half of the last decade, but Troy Brown and Daniel Gafford aren't getting any younger.

I do like the Edwards acquisition, but I wonder how effective he can be. But I also know that mgtr81 can be trusted to make the most of his team.

[rh0xxy]

Ant is a player I'd definitely love to have, he is perfect for my setup but haven't had the luck to get him. This is a great move for Manu, that upcoming combo of Ant and Troy should be a hell of a tandem especially defensively and they wouldn't lose much of possessions because of their elite ball handling so no way to counter it I think. I recall the time back in the NLL when I used to have this kind of combo in Danny Green and I forgot the other lol