• Brew Hoop takes a detailed look at the Bucks cap situation and how it will affect the rest of the off-season and what it will look like next year when the cap is lowered.  Frank has put together a terrific looking chart, it’s a must-see for Bucks fans.
• In a somewhat surprising move, Amir Johnson will be playing on the Bucks summer league team in Vegas.  Johnson originally intended to practice with the team and not make the trip according to the article from JSOnline, but coach Scott Skiles apparently wanted him to play.  It’s always good to see guys accepting some summer league time if they are eligible.  If nothing else, it shows that they are going to be doing something with their summer.  Also in the article is mention that Dominic James will not be making the trip after injuring his knee.  Tough luck for him.  He wouldn’t have made the team anyway, but it’s sad to see him not be able to show his wares for other teams out there.  Hopefully he’ll be able to land a good deal in Europe.
• Robbie Collum of Racine will be making the trip though and is hoping to play it into a deal somewhere writes Gary Woelfel.  One of my favorite things about summer league is the hometown guy who gets a shot.  Who doesn’t like seeing a Wisconsinite suit up for the Bucks, even if it’s only temporarily?
• Jodie Meeks signed a three-year deal Wednesday.  It should be a pretty similar deal to the one Luc Richard Mbah a Moute received last year.  If Meeks gives them good minutes as a backup to the backup at shooting guard and is playing consistent minutes by year two or three it will be a terrific value.
• Michael Hunt writes that the Bucks are looking to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the NBA’s salary cap.  He’s buying into the acquisition of assets and so am I.
• Remember Marcus Haislip?  Well he’s signed with the Spurs.  Yes, those Spurs.  The last we’d heard from him was his was working on his right cross in Europe.  But apparently he was working on his basketball playing abilities too.  Zach Harper of Hardwood Paroxysm reintroduces him to the league.
• No news yet on the Josh Childress front, but the Hawks have resigned Zaza Pachulia and Mike Bibby.  That likely limits the Bucks options with regard to a sign-and-trade to Bruce Bowen.  John Hollinger mentioned in a chat earlier today that Bowen was the most likely candidate.  I had been hoping they didn’t bring back Bibby and Luke Ridnour might come into play, but it doesn’t look like that will be the case.  In any case something will be happening soon, as Childress has until July 15 to decide whether or not he wants to return to the NBA.
• Chad Ford ranks the moves of each NBA team in the off-season (Insider).  The Bucks do not rank in the top 27.  Inactivity remains unsexy I guess.  The Pistons are ranked third, I’m sure they are well on the way to a championship after this terrific summer.

With each passing day I see yet another free agent come off the market or another sign and trade deal get done and I can’t help but feel a little bit jealous.  Who doesn’t like to see their team get out there and make some moves, right?  That’s how teams get better, isn’t it?  Aren’t the Mavericks much better off with Marcin Gortat and Shawn Marion?  Look at the Raptors and their $50 million man.  Sure he’s an old looking 30, but he was on a championship finalist last year.  I ask myself, “When are the Bucks going to get out here and be a little more proactive in the free agent market?!”

Then I start to think logically.  I remember Bobby Simmons.  It doesn’t take much during some of the bizarre bidding wars each summer to remind me of the Bucks most recent free agent disaster.  Simmons was not unlike Trevor Ariza or the aforementioned Gortat.  He was young and filled with promise.  He even had come off the most improved player award.  Bill Simmons was saying all kinds of nice things about him and his versatility and defense were exactly what the Bucks needed.  Everyone agreed immediately that the Bucks overpaid him, but it was Milwaukee so that’s just the kind of thing they had to do to get players.  With him and Des Mason there was a move to be made that would result in another talented player coming on and the Bucks would be in the thick of the playoff hunt.

We all know how that turned out though.

It’s not just other teams free agents that can cause near irreparable damage.  I’ll dip back a few years before Simmons and remind everyone of the celebrations that occurred when Ernie Grunfeld and George Karl were able to lock up Tim Thomas.   The Journal-Sentinel ran a headline I’ll never forget for the occasion, “THE NOTORIOUS T.I.M.”  There was a huge crowd at the press conference at Whitefish Bay High School to announce the deal.  In a year or two he would take over for the defenseless Glenn Robinson and blossom into the Bucks next big star.  Oh, he become notorious all right.  The Bucks would not be the first franchised tricked by his sporadic bursts of terrific play, but they would be the team that regretted it the most.  The thing about signing your own guys to huge deals is that you’re likely to make excuses for them.  An example?

“When Glenn was in the game, Tim had a tendency to kind of disappear or fade into the shadows,” Allen says. “As big as he is, and as talented as he is, we can’t have that.”

The Bucks season preview in SI for the 2002-2003 was all Tim Thomas all the time.  There was talk of his offensive prowess, his defense and even a quote from George Karl regarding the inconsistencies in Glenn Robinson’s game and how Tim Thomas will be the answer to that.  Yes, at the time it was okay to think Tim Thomas would be the answer to an inconsistency problem.  But as long as he was focused and giving effort he’d be a missing piece for the Bucks right?  (Anyone else thinking about Charlie V. after reading about Thomas?)

We all know how that one turned out though.

Before this off-season all we heard about this free agent class was, well, nothing.  2010 has been shoved down our throats for almost two years now.  2009 was the summer where people were hoping Carlos Boozer would opt out.  How attractive does that sound?  I’ll admit though, I’d still like to see something get done with Josh Childress.  Childress is the rare young player who has actually accomplished something with some sort of consistency in the league.  He’s proven he can be a defensive player in the league with the offensive ability of a fourth option on a playoff team.  He’s not going to command franchise crippling money either.  I know if the Bucks are able to acquire him I won’t have to defend their signing with the idea that they’ll be able to trade him later like I’ve been seeing about the Villanueva and Ben Gordon signings in Detroit.  How confident can you be in guys when one of the upsides to their signings is that you should be able to move them without too much of a problem.  Sounds like a real free agent prize.

So when 20 or so teams began making moves and throwing around money I was initially jealous, before I realized who they were throwing money at.  It’s important to not over value free agents, whether they are other teams or your own expiring contracts.  Us Milwaukee fans have learned the hard way that sometimes it’s better to avoid the free agent bonanza all together.

The July 4 edition could also be titled the Ramon Sessions edition.

• The way things play out with Hedo Turkoglu and Allen Iverson may have direct impact on whether or not the Bucks will be able to resign Sessions.  Portland was active in trying to snag Sessions last year at the trade deadline but looked to have tied up all their free agent money in Hedo Turkoglu.  Not anymore.  Turkoglu pulled a Carlos Boozer and signed with Toronto after suffering a change of heart at the last minute.  The Blazers may opt to now refocus their efforts on Sessions or possibly David Lee.
• Memphis, if you recall, was another potential suitor for Sessions.  Stories had them prying Sessions along with Joe Alexander before the trade deadline last year.  As always, they have money to spend but look to have some interest in Allen Iverson.  If he was willing to come off the bench behind youngsters Mike Conley and OJ Mayo, he may have a new home soon.  He appears to have some interest according to Yahoo.
• Charles F. Gardner reports on the Bucks meeting with Josh Childress.  I’m fairly certain if this J-Chill thing is going to go down it needs to go down as a sign and trade.  I don’t think the Bucks are going to make him a priority over Ramon Sessions and they cannot simply sign both of them.  They have their mid-level exception available and would not be able to match an offer for Sessions if they use that on Childress.  As Frank pointed out at Brew Hoop, the Bucks would not be able to deal recently acquired players like Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas as part of any deal.  Per the CBA those players can only be traded individually.

For two months after receiving the player in trade or claiming him off waivers, if the player is being traded in combination with other players. However, the team is free to trade the player by himself (not packaged with other players) immediately. This restriction applies only to teams over the salary cap. (Also see question number 72 for a special case where players can be traded together in less than two months.)

• So it’s more realistic that the Bucks swap either Luke Ridnour or as Frank suggests, Joe Alexander.  If the Bucks are getting a talented swing-man like Childress, they may be more willing to give up on Alexander.  Considering the Hawks lack of depth up front, they may even be willing to take on Dan Gadzuric, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  What is fairly certain though, is that Childress has little interest in ever returning to Atlanta.  He was not happy with the way they handled themselves last year with regard to his free agency and seems to have taken it as a slap in the face.  When he entered restricted free agency they took the position of waiting until he got an offer to judge his value.  I don’t think they were into the whole, call him at midnight thing.  Not making a gesture like that will probably result in him never suiting up for them again.  That makes me feel a little better about the way the Bucks are handling Ramon Sessions.  If the Bucks are able to part with a Ridnour or Gadzuric and end up with both Sessions and Childress, this off-season will have turned out better than I could ever imagine.  But if they’re unable to pull off a trade, they’ll have to settle for one or the other.

Finally, I want to wish everyone a very joyous 4th of July weekend.  Take time to be with family and friends and make sure you stay safe.

• The Bucks announced their summer league roster yesterday.  Guys who could stick around into training camp?  Aside from obviously the draft picks, I’d keep my eye on Juan Palacios from Loserville (Louisville) and Chris Richard who was the fifth wheel on the national championship teams at Florida.
• In one of the more surprising stories of free agency, the Bucks have persuaded Josh Childress to come and visit Milwaukee, writes Gary Woelfel.  Childress if you remember, was unhappy with the Hawks pursuit of him last year and decided he’d be better off bolting to Europe for a year.  He’s still property of the Hawks and may be visiting as a negotiating ploy, but it’s something to watch.  He fits right in with the players the Bucks have acquired as of late.  He can move between the two and the three and get up and down the court.  He’s a very good defender and can shoot and slash.  I’m getting way too excited just thinking about this.
• According to Sekou Smith, the aim may be to work out a sign-and-trade.  Could this be the deal that ships out Luke Ridnour?  The Hawks need a point guard if Mike Bibby doesn’t return.  Just saying.
• We might want to hide this info from Josh Childress.  The Bucks don’t stack up well in the Ultimate Standings.
• John Hammond was one of the first to call Ramon Sessions in the annual ritual of midnight calls to players on the first day of free agency Wednesday.  That may sound silly, but it means a lot to players when teams do little things like that to show they want them.
• Kudos to Rob Mahoney over at Hardwood Paroxysm for having a firm grasp on what the Milwaukee Bucks are trying to do.

Dear fans of Deeeee-troit Baaaaaaasketballll,

So I see the always active Joe Dumars has snatched away one of the most talked about free agents of the year in Charlie Villanueva.  In Charlie V. you’re getting a terrific guy.  One of the Twitter veterans, Charlie V. is as connected to his fan base as you could ever ask of an NBA player.  He’s an engaging speaker and carries himself very professionally.  A good character guy and a bit of comedian to boot.  He did a fake MTV Cribs on Fox Sports Net back in January or February that was pretty good.  Genuinely a fun guy to follow.  I’ve spent the last three years of my basketball watching life with Mr. Villanueva so I thought I’d let you guys know what you’re about to get into on the court.

And I don’t mean to sound negative when I say that.  You will have a lot of fun times with Charlie V.  He will take you on some wild rides with his incredible offensive skills.  I’ve seen Charlie V. effortlessly put up 26 points in a half.  Plenty of times I’ve seen Charlie V. trailing on a break and planting himself at the top of the key for a momentum shifting three pointer that rocked the crowd.  When I say that, it actually makes me think of ex-Piston Rasheed Wallace.  In that way, they are not uncommon.

It’s not all three-point shots for Charlie V though.  He’s shown ability to get past other power forwards with his quickness and slash to the hoop.  He’s particularly fond of his little floater move when he finds open space inside.  He can power it home though, he was second on the Bucks last year with 48 dunks, which was almost double what Wallace and Antonio McDyess combined for.

Charlie V. can rebound a little bit too.  He had 14 double doubles last year and only started 47 games.  His rebound rate was 14.7.  As a comparison, Chris Bosh averaged eight rebounds a game two years ago with a rate of 14.2.  It’s not unlikely that with more playing time, let’s say 36 minutes a game, Charlie V. could grab around eight boards.

In coming to Detroit, Villanueva will be able to finally be confident that he is the number one option at power forward and there is no question about it.  In Milwaukee he had to battle Yi Jianlian, Ersan Illyasova, Brian Skinner (really?) and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute for minutes.  It took the anemic offense following injuries to Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut this last season to get him a consistent role in the lineup.  And when he got that role he immediately blossomed, averaging just under 20 points per game in about 30 minutes in January.  He shot over 44 percent on threes and 86 percent on free throws.  The man was a force.  He put up similar numbers in February and helped the Bucks cling to the eight seed in the East.

But then things changed.

I wrote near the end of January that Villanueva scared me more than any other player we had, and he showed me why in March.  The old Charlie returned from behind the arc.  I thought it was too good to be true when I was watching him rain threes from the Bradley Center rafters, and it was.  He returned to form with a whopping 26 percent on his threes in March.  This is a guy who needs to be hitting his shots to be effective.  Remember when I mentioned him and Rasheed Wallace in the same sentence earlier?  I did that because as fun as it may have been to can the occasional three, I’m sure it was frustrating for a lot of you that he would so often settle for those with all that talent he had.  Well imagine having a player with more offensive talent (not compared to Sheed at 25, but Sheed at 300 or whatever he is) do the same thing and shoot an even worse percentage on threes.  That is what you’re in for.  Oh, and the comparison also had nothing to do with their defense.

This is where Pistons fans are really in for something.  Bucks coaches have been fond over the years of saying they like to bring Villanueva in off the bench to “provide a spark” or “give us instant offense.”  That is NBA code for he is a terrible defender.  It doesn’t even really make sense.  He seems to try most of the time and he has pretty good athletic ability, but I’ve seen him get abused time and time again by numerous power forwards.  His poor positioning and timing on defense usually lead to quick fouls and erratic performances when he’s lifted early in the game.

When he gets early fouls it takes away from his aggressiveness and his rebounding suffers too.  It’s one thing when this is happening in Milwaukee where no one notices or cares, but how is this going to play out in Detroit people?  This is where I worry for you.  You’ve become accustomed to blue collar lunch pail guys at the four.  Now you’re getting a guy who doesn’t really do the dirty work and likes to shoot threes and play little defense.  And behind him will sit Jason Maxiell, a guy who I feel like epitomizes Deeee-trrooiiitt Baaaaaassskkkeeeettballl, doesn’t he?  Admittedly I don’t watch a ton of Pistons games.  Maybe there is a reason Maxiell wasn’t playing more.  But I’m worried for you Pistons fans, I really am.

Because I know a lot of people are going to buy into this.  A lot of people are going to say, “Well Villanueva is only 25 and Ben Gordon is going to add all kinds of scoring punch.  We’re right back in this thing.”  But you’re not.  You’ve just added two mediocre players that don’t play defense.  The consolation is that they don’t have cap crippling contracts.  Congratulations, and have fun with the Charlie Villanueva Offensive Roller Coaster.

Yours Truly,

Bucksketball