How thick should the front baffle of speakers be?

I have to agree with jsautter with respect to lossy cabinets. It’s an attempt to make the cabinets sounds “add” to the drivers output in a perceived pleasurable manner. My (admittedly) personal preference is a design that minimizes the cabinet’s -specifically the baffle influence on the overall output.

To the OP, how do mere moving pieces of moving paper cause the your pant legs to flap? The answer is it’s a sum total of the amp, speaker membrane, voice coil, magnet, cabinet and room interaction.