Re: Payton-Allen trade - who got the best of it?
 

I agree that signing Payton to a multi-year would be the best situation for the Bucks. We'll see if it's what Payton wants, though... I have my doubts.

Regardless, it will still be a year or so before we really know who came out well in this deal (unless Payton leads them to the Finals this year, which is a longshot). I trust that Grunfeld has a long-term plan in place, along with contingency plans. Who knows what's going on inside that dude's head sometimes...

As for Mason, I've heard nothing but good things about the guy; I'm glad we've got him. But he's still a work in progress, and only time will tell what he is capable of in the long-run.

Re: Payton-Allen trade - who got the best of it?
 

Karl's quote yesterday, regarding the deal:

"[A]fter the season there's a future with personnel, a future with trades, a future signing Gary or not signing Gary. There's all types of adventures and opportunities we didn't have before. Before we were a (luxury) tax team that had personnel that was not together, not fitting. I think Ernie and Herb (Bucks owner, Sen. Herb Kohl) have done a great job of opening up our opportunities."

Does that sound like a team that made the deal fully intending to re-sign Payton? Looks to me like they'll make a vague effort - if he resigns at the right price, great, if not, they still would have made the deal.

Re: Payton-Allen trade - who got the best of it?
 

"Does that sound like a team that made the deal fully intending to re-sign Payton? Looks to me like they'll make a vague effort - if he resigns at the right price, great, if not, they still would have made the deal."

--You may be right. The interesting thing about this quote is that it comes from Karl and not Grunfeld. If it were coming from Grunfeld, I wouldn't read a word into it, as he has a long history of feeding red herrings to the local media... From Karl, though, I could buy it a little bit.

Regardless, the Bucks should have a VERY interesting offseason this year. I'm just hoping they don't blow their future in the process.