26-27 Milwaukee Bucks Pre-Season Presser

[IamQuailman]

GM Quailmen: Boom goes the dynamite. Sure we will circle back and recap last season and this off-season, but that trade from late Friday evening was the shot heard around the world. We put the league on notice because the Bucks are BACK, baby!

Quailmen: We'll catch back up to that trade, but first a quick recap. Last season we had a lot of steps forward. We weren't expecting anything like playoff berth; we knew what we were looking at... a developmental year where we got to evaluate some talent on our team and see what would be good going forward. Some positives: Jaron Jackson won Rookie of the Year after blowing away the competition. His development is much further ahead than we expected. Clifford Paugh continued to take strides towards becoming a rising star guard in the NBA. Ernie Acuna also showed us a little something too. In the end, we finished #6 post-lotto and selected Cam Reddish, a prospect that we think could really develop into a nice rotational wing for us. We also managed to get the Hispanic Jesus himself, Christian Concepcion, with pick #18.

Quailmen: After the draft, we also managed to clear some cap to allow for some max cap space in UFA. We had targeted some of the top PGs, but unfortunately were unable to secure any of them. Instead of using that money on a max, we ended up spreading the wealth and bringing in some new and old faces for depth. Jonathan Constantino was happy to come back and join us as he seems poised for the starting PF spot. We also brought back Aubrey Broomfield, who was a Buck for a couple seasons during our last rebuild. Other notable additions are Alec Sargeant, Joe Oday, Bonnifaz Wenniger, and Andre Betts.

Quailmen: Training Camp went much better than expected. Cliff, De'Aaron, Jaron, RJ, and Jarrett all showed massive improvements; although of those 5, RJ's development was the one that was the most concern to us. With Jaron, De'Aaron, and Cliff all poised to contribute immediately, RJ continued to grow slower than expected. As much as we love the idea and potential of Barrett with this team, we were presented the opportunity to bring in a hungry veteran leader at a position that is proving to have quite the deficit these days... point guard. All of you know by now, if there's one archetype player that I love, it's a 2-way, pure passing PG. Joffrey Baratheon is just that. We packaged Barrett with Lino (for salary) to bring in Joffrey's league leading assist numbers and elite scoring ability. And we can't be more excited. With this trade, we are looking to shift from the "rebuild" identity and more to the compete now identity. So with that I'll close with how I opened... BUCKS ARE BACK! TIME TO FEAR THE DEER!

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Where do you think the Joffrey Baratheon trade lands you in terms of divisional position. Do you think your team is deep enough to outdo Anthony Davis and the Pistons?

[IamQuailman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Where do you think the Joffrey Baratheon trade lands you in terms of divisional position. Do you think your team is deep enough to outdo Anthony Davis and the Pistons?

It's all pretty pre-mature, but I'm going to shoot for #3 in the division. After the Pistons @ #1, it's hard to really know how the central will shake out, and historically, we won't really know until January... the Pacers and Cavs tend to be fast starters and we've always come out a little sluggish in the past. That could be the case this year since we have so many pieces and we need to figure out rotations. But I'm hoping we can catch stride by the all-star break and make a playoff push.

[IamQuailman]

Anyother questions? *chirp*

[digiskunk]

Your team drastically improved over the offseason, and the acquisition of Joffrey Baratheon just made your squad even better. Is it safe to say that the Bucks are anticipating a breakout season this year?

[Wombataholic]

Why did the team lose faith in Barrett?

[IamQuailman]

Your team drastically improved over the offseason, and the acquisition of Joffrey Baratheon just made your squad even better. Is it safe to say that the Bucks are anticipating a breakout season this year?

That's the hope. We saw enough improvement with Jaron and Clifford and are REALLY excited about De'Aaron Fox. With Joffrey and the other vets around him, I think we could definitely make a push for the playoffs.

[IamQuailman]

Why did the team lose faith in Barrett?

The sky is the limit with him... but the problem is the rest of the team is looking more poised to compete sooner rather than later. Barrett wasn't growing fast enough for our liking, and unfortunately, with that purple potential, we aren't able to put him through our special off-season training programs. We wish him the best, and think he will be a great fit along Bjorn for years to come.

[Soundwave]

Chocolate, Pistacchio, Vanilla or Deez Nutz?

[IamQuailman]

Chocolate, Pistacchio, Vanilla or Deez Nutz?

Deez Nuts, all day every day

[drkavarga]

So you admit to liking nuts?