The Bucks are made the knockout rounds of the NBA Cup again, but how do you feel about it all?
We’re in year two of the NBA’s great experiment with their In-Season Tournament, now known as the [insert sponsor here] NBA Cup, and Milwaukee will partake in its knockout stage again. Last year, under Adrian Griffin, the Bucks took out the Knicks in the quarters before heading to Vegas and falling in the semis to their (former?) rivals, the Pacers. Their draw may include New York again this year regardless of tonight’s results: they will either face the winner of tomorrow’s Hawks/Knicks quarterfinal tilt at MSG on Saturday in Sin City, or the loser of that matchup on Sunday or Monday, perhaps at that team’s home arena.
We went on record last year about ways this whole thing could be improved beyond its current state, which merely awards players with a bonus that amounts to a drop in the bucket for some. Count me as remaining in the camp that in order for the NBA Cup to last, there will have to be some real motivation for fans to care beyond a meaningless piece of hardware and more dough for their favorite players. Imagine how much more an added cap exception or an added, tradeable draft pick (say, at the very end of the first round) as the prize would mean to the Bucks, in particular, as a second apron team who can’t trade any of their first round picks until 2032.
In this week’s Tuesday Tracker, I thought we’d rehash some of the same questions we asked last year this time in the aftermath of the NBA Cup’s first edition. We’ll also add in a Khris Middleton question, for good measure.
As always, this poll will be open until midnight Central on Friday, and we’ll post the results later that day. Thanks for voting!