While the Brewers find themselves in a fight for the NL Central, the Bucks are flying under the radar. While the Packers are trying to implement the new 3-4 defense at OTA's, Bucks GM John Hammond has some decisions to make. And they won't be easy ones.
The Bucks didn't make the playoffs, but they did improve from 26 to 34 wins in Hammonds' first year on the job. The Bucks did it with new coach Scott Skiles demanding defense and accountability (something no Bucks coach had done in a long time). The team made progress despite the fact that Michael Redd missed 49 games and center Andrew Bogut missed 46 games. The Bucks managed to give the fan base hope for the future.
That's because some of the young guys stepped up. Charlie Villanueva had some rocky moments, but put up the best numbers of his four year NBA career (16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds). Ramon Sessions proved a lot of people who said he couldn't be a starter in this league wrong by putting up 12.4 points and 5.7 assists a game. Not bad, considering he spent most of his rookie season in the D-League after being drafted in the second round out of Nevada.
Then there was Richard Jefferson, who had to become the team's go to guy in the wake of all the injuries. Jefferson accepted the challenge and performed well in his first year in Milwaukee.
So, things are looking up for the Bucks, right?
Well, I don't want to be an alarmist, but the league could throw a few wrinkles into the plan. There are rumblings that the league is going to lower the luxury tax threshold. I've heard that the number could be as low as $68M. The Bucks, who are scheduled to pay almost $47M to Redd, Jefferson, Bogut, and Dan Gadzuric, are going to have to make some difficult decisions.
What do they do with Jefferson, Villanueva, and Sessions?
There was speculation around the league that the Bucks tried to deal Jefferson right before the trade deadline. However, no move was ever made. And, if you believe Hammond, there are no plans to move Jefferson as of now.
"No, we're still not talking about trading Richard," Hammond told Hoops World last week. Part of me liked hearing that, because I've always been a Jefferson fan, going back to his days at Arizona. However, a lot of things could change between now and draft day.
If the Bucks are going to keep Jefferson - and I believe that it's still up in the air (you never know what team will offer come draft day), then that pretty much means both Villanueva and Sessions are going to wind up leaving as free agents.
The Bucks may be preparing for that as we speak. Mock drafts have the Bucks targeting point guards such as Jonny Flynn from Syracuse and UCLA's Jrue Holiday. Word is the team may bring Ersan Ilyasova back after a couple of years in Europe as part of their plan to replace Villanueva. That plan would also include Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who showed a lot of promise during his rookie season.
No matter what happens, fans are going to question every move. Jefferson brings a lot to the table, but does it make more sense to move him and try to keep Sessions and Villanueva? Sessions opened a lot of eyes around here these past two seasons. Is it smart to let him walk and finish his development somewhere else?. And after the best season of his career - a year in which he finally started to deliver on his vast potential - is the right move to let Charlie V. just go somewhere else without even getting a qualifying offer?
There are just some of the questions that Hammond is going to have to deal with over the next few months. The answers he comes up with are going to be critical to the team's short and long term success.
I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now.
The Bucks didn't make the playoffs, but they did improve from 26 to 34 wins in Hammonds' first year on the job. The Bucks did it with new coach Scott Skiles demanding defense and accountability (something no Bucks coach had done in a long time). The team made progress despite the fact that Michael Redd missed 49 games and center Andrew Bogut missed 46 games. The Bucks managed to give the fan base hope for the future.
That's because some of the young guys stepped up. Charlie Villanueva had some rocky moments, but put up the best numbers of his four year NBA career (16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds). Ramon Sessions proved a lot of people who said he couldn't be a starter in this league wrong by putting up 12.4 points and 5.7 assists a game. Not bad, considering he spent most of his rookie season in the D-League after being drafted in the second round out of Nevada.
Then there was Richard Jefferson, who had to become the team's go to guy in the wake of all the injuries. Jefferson accepted the challenge and performed well in his first year in Milwaukee.
So, things are looking up for the Bucks, right?
Well, I don't want to be an alarmist, but the league could throw a few wrinkles into the plan. There are rumblings that the league is going to lower the luxury tax threshold. I've heard that the number could be as low as $68M. The Bucks, who are scheduled to pay almost $47M to Redd, Jefferson, Bogut, and Dan Gadzuric, are going to have to make some difficult decisions.
What do they do with Jefferson, Villanueva, and Sessions?
There was speculation around the league that the Bucks tried to deal Jefferson right before the trade deadline. However, no move was ever made. And, if you believe Hammond, there are no plans to move Jefferson as of now.
"No, we're still not talking about trading Richard," Hammond told Hoops World last week. Part of me liked hearing that, because I've always been a Jefferson fan, going back to his days at Arizona. However, a lot of things could change between now and draft day.
If the Bucks are going to keep Jefferson - and I believe that it's still up in the air (you never know what team will offer come draft day), then that pretty much means both Villanueva and Sessions are going to wind up leaving as free agents.
The Bucks may be preparing for that as we speak. Mock drafts have the Bucks targeting point guards such as Jonny Flynn from Syracuse and UCLA's Jrue Holiday. Word is the team may bring Ersan Ilyasova back after a couple of years in Europe as part of their plan to replace Villanueva. That plan would also include Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who showed a lot of promise during his rookie season.
No matter what happens, fans are going to question every move. Jefferson brings a lot to the table, but does it make more sense to move him and try to keep Sessions and Villanueva? Sessions opened a lot of eyes around here these past two seasons. Is it smart to let him walk and finish his development somewhere else?. And after the best season of his career - a year in which he finally started to deliver on his vast potential - is the right move to let Charlie V. just go somewhere else without even getting a qualifying offer?
There are just some of the questions that Hammond is going to have to deal with over the next few months. The answers he comes up with are going to be critical to the team's short and long term success.
I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now.
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