Comments on: Hammond Focused On Foundation

By: Milwaukee_Buck

Milwaukee_Buck — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:19:17 +0000

John Hammond lead Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Wallace, and Wallace to the NBA Finals…none of which were major names upon their acquisition in Detroit.

Even trying to catch the first tier (Kevin Durant, Lebron) and second tier (Al Horford, Rudy Gay, Joe Johnson) guys in the 2011 free agency class will be rediculous for Milwaukee. These guys are going to have 15 teams bidding on their future and a small market team trying to place a bid for those guys has to OVERPAY BIG TIME.

The a realistically good scenario in MKE this offseason is resigning Ridnour to a reasonable contract and drafting a good talent pool at the 2 position and, especially at, the 4 position with their 3 draft picks. Otherwise securing the talent pool that the Bucks already have and chasing slightly more realistic guys like Carl Landry and Caron Butler in the upcoming free agency markets.

I THINK, the Bucks marquee names will remain Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut tho (I say that, with an NBA draft execption), and as an Bucks fan I’m happy with that.

By: Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:03:38 +0000

I will third the “cautious optimism” sentiment. Beyond the no-nonsense brand of basketball that’s being played, I’m especially happy that the team seems to be generally devoid (at least momentarily) of significant head-case issues.

I liked the initial posting, but I’m officially worn out by discussions of what NBA teams are going to do somewhere down the road when they clear salaries under the cap. Yes, it’s a legitimate discussion, but it’s getting to be like the never-ending discussion of the NFL draft on ESPN….

By: Milwaukee_Buck

Milwaukee_Buck — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:53:58 +0000

You have to have a good guard/big man combo tho.

Jordan/Pippen/Grant (5-6 Centers)
Jordan/Pippen/Rodman (Harper)
Billups/Wallace (Hamilton/Prince)
Drexler/Olajuwan (Smith/Horry/Thorpe)
Kobe/Shaq (Fisher/Harper/Rice)
Parker/Duncan (Ginoboli)
Wade/Shaq (Payton, Mourning)
Allen/Pierce/Garnett (Rondo/Perkins)
Kobe/Gasol (Fisher/Odom/Bynum)

Basically, thats whats keeping the Mavs from winning. Dirk is not the muscle, rebounding machine these other big men have been. He just scores points and is best fit probably at the SF position. Haywood will finally give them some size and MAYBE push them over the edge.

By: Buck 'em Up

Buck 'em Up — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:42:16 +0000

While this article was a good read and does make us fans feel better, I think Bizzucks is right in saying “cautiously excited.” I guess I’ll believe the big free agent draw of Milwaukee when I see it.

By: curak

curak — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:24:29 +0000

While I’m also pretty high on the Hammond era right now, the most notable thing you have to give him credit for is admitting mistakes and cutting them off. He may prove to have moved too soon on Alexander and Meeks, but maybe not. He’s looking pretty smart on Sessions and Villanueva right now, though, ain’t he?

A nitpick: the whole pg/center thing is sometimes true, sometimes not. The Jordan Bulls teams obviously never had either, and the Mavs might have just gotten their first center in years who’s better than just ok. And Kidd is 63, I think….

By: Bizzucks

Bizzucks — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:32:40 +0000

I for one am excited for the future, cautiously excited anyways. Something always seems to go wrong, but lately they’ve been good.

By: kevsui

kevsui — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:16:18 +0000

Great article!

I think Hammond has demonstrated a keen understanding of a player’s true market value in the NBA. He continues to ship out bad contracts and aquire players that are valuable to the Bucks as well as the rest of the league. At the trading deadline, several teams called interested in the Bucks “assets” because they are great values in the NBA. I predict that Hammond will trade Redd or Dan G at next years trade deadline and add another critical piece to the roster. The Bucks are only going to get better!

Hammond’s best move though, was hiring Scott Skiles. I hope Skiles stays in Milwaukee a long time, because he represents everything good about a basketball team!

GO BUCKS!!!