if we strike out on bosh,

[Fred]

Shakes wrote:

You can't normally trade wings for bigs and keep the same level of talent. Maybe we can get a SG for Deng though. Skiles is a Deng fan, maybe swap him for Redd is a possibility? Although again, Redd is an expiring and the Bucks may feel they can do better.

Where have you read/heard that Skiles is a Deng fan? Are you getting his training camp comments about Gordon mixed mixed up with Deng:

"You could make a case, I may not be sitting here if it wasn't for Ben Gordon. His rookie year, he single-handedly won so many games. I'm a huge, huge Ben Gordon fan." - Scott Skiles, 10.7.2009.

I've never heard/read him say anything about being a Deng fan since he was fired. Now that they have Salmons, the Bucks wouldn't go after Deng and his contract in a million years.

 

[Shakes]

The Bucks don't have Salmons unless they give him a new contract, he's opting out. Redd is an expiring, I assume they'll try to use him as such (although as I said, they'll probably aim higher than Deng).

That Skiles quote is classic. Skiles was such a fan of Ben Gordon he benched him for Eric Piatkowski. He was such a fan he played Chris Duhon more minutes. Meanwhile Deng made his way into the starting lineup, and before his injury was on track to play the second most minutes on the team.

Come on Fred, you normally have little patience for media BS. You know damn well Skiles was not actually a Ben Gordon fan and he's just engaging in some revisionist history.

 

[Kush77]

Shakes wrote:

The Bucks don't have Salmons unless they give him a new contract, he's opting out. Redd is an expiring, I assume they'll try to use him as such (although as I said, they'll probably aim higher than Deng).

That Skiles quote is classic. Skiles was such a fan of Ben Gordon he benched him for Eric Piatkowski. He was such a fan he played Chris Duhon more minutes. Meanwhile Deng made his way into the starting lineup, and before his injury was on track to play the second most minutes on the team.

Come on Fred, you normally have little patience for media BS. You know damn well Skiles was not actually a Ben Gordon fan and he's just engaging in some revisionist history.

Eric Piatkowski :laugh:

when was BG benched for him? I don't remember. Was that just for 1 game or something? Did BG miss the team bus? I don't remember.

 

[TheStig]

Uh Duhon got 2mpg more than BG in his rookie year, other than that, BG played more minutes every other year. So I wouldn't say Duhon played more than BG under Skilies.

And really Pike? Was that a game or two so he didn't have to change the rotation around?

 

[Shakes]

It was 04-05 in Gordon & Deng's rookie season, after giving Gordon a whole 3 games to prove himself he benched him for Pike. Everyone remembers Duhon taking Gordon's starting spot, but that actually happened later (and it wasn't until several starting lineups later when Skiles had benched Noc and Chandler for Deng and Davis that the team got rolling).

I'm as big a fan of Skiles as a coach as anyone, but I would have thought if there was one thing Fred and I would agree on, it's that Skiles risk aversion caused him to overplay low mistake players like Duhon over more talented players like Gordon. That's why I thought it was ridiculous that he quoted Skiles, a guy who at the time Gordon fans loathed. I tend to believe Skiles actions when it comes to his feelings on Gordon, not some pithy words after the fact.

 

[Diddy1122]

Shakes wrote:

It was 04-05 in Gordon & Deng's rookie season, after giving Gordon a whole 3 games to prove himself he benched him for Pike. Everyone remembers Duhon taking Gordon's starting spot, but that actually happened later (and it wasn't until several starting lineups later when Skiles had benched Noc and Chandler for Deng and Davis that the team got rolling).

I'm as big a fan of Skiles as a coach as anyone, but I would have thought if there was one thing Fred and I would agree on, it's that Skiles risk aversion caused him to overplay low mistake players like Duhon over more talented players like Gordon. That's why I thought it was ridiculous that he quoted Skiles, a guy who at the time Gordon fans loathed. I tend to believe Skiles actions when it comes to his feelings on Gordon, not some pithy words after the fact.

BG was benched due to his turnovers & overall stamina his rookie season. He didn't seem in good shape from the start (he even talked about that after the season), which got him in Skiles doghouse early. It wasn't til about mid-December that he started turning things around, as did the rest of the team. But the most important factor is he played when it mattered most: the 4th quarter. 21 double-digit 4th qtr performances, that's pretty much speaks for itself. Skiles is not stupid. He knew then & knows now that without BG's incredible offensive outbursts that year, the Bulls would not have been in the playoffs. No matter how many points anyone can bring up to say it was defense, team effort, blah blah blah, nothing trumps the fact that BG carried this team for stretches offensively & single handedly won over 10 games with his 4th qtr scoring. No BG, starting or not, on the Bulls that year & there would've been no playoffs.