Where are the Bucks Going?

The Milwaukee Bucks, for as long as I've lived in Wisconsin, have been the black sheep of the local sports scene. Granted, there's good reason for that. They haven't done anything of note since taking the 76ers to Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001.

The last seven years have tested the patience of Bucks fans. The signing of Anthony Mason crippled the franchise. The Ray Allen trade may have allowed Michael Redd to become one of the NBA's leading scorers, but Gary Payton was never a fit, never wanted to be here, and never connected with the fan base.

George Karl was let go and replaced by a series of guys who had little or no track record. Terry Porter was okay, but as soon as the owner, Senator Herb Kohl, thought he could upgrade (Doug Collins), he let Porter go. He never got Collins, so he went with Terry Stotts for nearly two seasons, followed by Larry Krystkowiak, who was a nice guy but ill suited to be a head coach in the NBA.

It was predictable that the Bucks went from being one of the best teams under Karl and then GM Eernie Grunfeld to being one of the worst under GM Larry Harris and the many coaches he wound up employing. With a disgruntled fan base that had stopped showing up to the Bradley Center, Senator Kohl cleaned house.

Out went Harris and the coaching carousel, in came John Hammond as GM, fresh off a stint as Joe Dumars' right hand man in Detroit. Hammond hired former Bulls coach Scott Skiles, and somehow got Richard Jefferson in a Bucks uniform while getting New Jersey to accept a project in Yi Jianlian and an overpaid underachiever in Bobby Simmons.

Still, after all that plus the drafting of Joe Alexander, there was little buzz in Milwaukee for the new look Bucks. In fact, as we speak, the Bucks are having difficulty selling games out. The Suns come into town tonight with Milwaukee's former coach (Porter - a Milwaukee native), Hall of Famers in Shaq and Steve Nash, and one of the best young big men in the league in Amare Stoudemire. The Bucks are offering tickets that would normally cost between $25 and $30 for $10.

One of the reasons for that is because no one really knows what kind of team these new Bucks are. Heck, I don't know what kind of team this is. They are 3-3, but the teams they have beaten include the 0-4 Wizards, the 1-4 Thunder, and the Knicks, who certainly don't resemble a contender.

The teams the Bucks have lost to are teams that you'd think will be going to the playoffs in Boston, Toronto, and Chicago (ok maybe the Bulls are a reach but they are vastly improved from what they were a season ago thanks to Derrick Rose).

I can't get a handle on these Bucks. Are they better than they were a year ago? Yes. There's no doubt about that. It would be tough to be much worse than the 26-56 crap we saw last season.

But, the injury bug has already hit (Michael Redd and his bad ankle), and there are still enough question marks on this team that cause me to believe it will be another long season here in Wisconsin. The Bucks will win more than the 26 games they won a season ago. But, for anyone to think they can sneak into the playoffs - well, that's a reach.

They still have to prove they can play defense on a consistent basis (they can't). They still have question marks in the backcourt (is Ramon Sessions the better point guard than off-season acquisition Luke Ridnour?). They still have to figure out who their starting power forward is (signs point to Charlie Villanueva). They still have plenty of young guys (Alexander) who have yet to get out of the Scott Skiles doghouse.

Signs are pointing up, but this is not going to be a quick fix, and I wonder if Bucks fans will have the patience to stick it out. And, if they don't, considering the arena problems the organization is having, I wonder if the Bucks are in it for the long term in Milwaukee.