Amir Johnson’s short lived stint as a Milwaukee Buck was probably done in by two things:
1. Hakim Warrick becoming an unrestricted free agent.
When the Bucks made the move to acquire Johnson, there was no way to predict the Grizzlies would suddenly free up the restricted free agent Warrick. They had already extended a qualifying offer. Johnson was a valuable asset with an expiring contract and athleticism to spare. Suddenly, a month after acquiring Johnson, Warrick was out there for the taking. When he signed I actually sent a text to a friend of mine saying how odd I thought the signing was.
“What kind of message are they sending to Amir Johnson? Didn’t they just make a big deal about how he wouldn’t have to play center here? Isn’t Warrick’s signing going to create tension for minutes?”
I got over it pretty quickly and reasoned that they were supposedly going to try and get Warrick some minutes at small forward. It was possible they’d trot out some uber-athletic team with both Johnson and Warrick on the court at the same time. It’d be like a halftime show, only during the game and without trampolines. The problem with that idea is that Warrick really isn’t a small forward. He’s a power forward in a small forwardish body. He’s the offensive version of Amir Johnson. He’s not a great rebounder and is a mediocre shot blocker, but is light years beyond Johnson on the other side of the ball. Ultimately that appears to have won out. The power forward rotation now consists of Warrick/Ersan Ilyasova/Kurt Thomas. Much more concise. Read more…
One of my favorite things about life is how often I’m able to be inside structures and not have them collapse one me. I know, it’s crazy. I’m just saying, usually when I’m doing things I’m not properly appreciating the fact that when I’m in a building it’s not caving in on me and that the walls continue to support it. I don’t think I’d ever be able to write anything if I was constantly dealing with debris falling on my head from the roof of my home. Or even if the fear of such a thing happening hovered over me. We can probably all agree that stability is an important part of any structure. Even if it is a little strange to think about.
But when did it become so unimportant in the NBA? Read more…
As all three sports properties struggle for dollars, the Milwaukee Bucks, far more experienced and established at reaching out to corporate clients, are finding a challenging environment, said John Steinmiller, the basketball franchise’s vice president for business operations.
“We are working our way through it,” he said. “Even though we’re focusing a tremendous amount of time on renewals, we are looking for new business. We’re focused on providing added value.”
At Miller Park, the Milwaukee Brewers seem to be bucking economic trends. Sponsors have stuck with the baseball team and business is good, said Rick Schlesinger, the team’s executive vice president for business operations.
The difference between the Brewers and the Bucks? Two important W’s: wins and weather. It’s a lot easier to spend money if you’re going to leave the building satisfied and grill out for an hour or two before the game with your closest friends. The Bucks are at a natural disadvantage there, but the wins fall squarely on their shoulders. The inclination over the past decade or so has been to go for a quick fix and sign a couple guys to try and turn things around. John Hammond’s plan is drastically different, but has a much higher ceiling. It’ll never be nice from December to March, but they can always turn things around to bring everyone back. Wins are the ultimate bail out for sports franchises.
