Without ever having been in one, it’s difficult for me to know just how NBA teams’ war room’s operate. I do have my ideas though. I imagine piles of data everywhere, organized by player, with a dry erase board full of player’s names (probably on magnets) and ranked by position, overall and where they will likely be drafted. When one team reaches further down that board than other organizations expected, I envision a mass panic ensuing, resulting in the shuffling of the mock draft that’s been set up and a call to action to figure out why things have happened the way they have.

And while it seems a safe bet to assume that this room is being run by a general manager (or owner if he’s very hands on), it’s difficult to peg just how much input everyone else in the room has.

With that being said, I’m not sure how much stock to put in John Hammond’s drafts as a member of the Detroit Pistons front office. Sure, we now have two years worth of data about Hammond’s first picks as the Bucks general manager, and a season of statistics about his second draft in Milwaukee, but we potentially have tons more information about the thoughts and ideas that shape John Hammond’s draft philosophy from his days in Detroit. Even if Hammond didn’t have lots of direct input on who would be the pick, it’s likely he’s shaped his philosophies based on his time in that front office. Read more…

Winning organizations don’t last in the NBA. Professional sports leagues are copycat clubs, and the NBA is no different. The Bucks dove into Detroit’s annual conference champion organization to get general manager John Hammond. Successful organizations lose key members all of the time, it’s the price they pay for their success.

So perhaps Milwaukee should see it as a compliment that rumors have placed Kelvin Sampson in both Cleveland and Los Angeles.

From Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo! Sports:

As the Cleveland Cavaliers sift potential coaching candidates, general manager Danny Ferry has made calls checking on Milwaukee Bucks assistant Kelvin Sampson, sources tell Yahoo! Sports.

and

The Clippers are also showing an interest in Bucks assistant Kelvin Sampson, sources tell Y! Sampson has relationship with Blake Griffin.

At this stage, it’s not clear how sincere or how high up on the Cavaliers and Clippers lists Sampson may be, but it was only a matter of time before the Bucks assistant coaches started getting feelers. With the exception of Adrian Griffin, every assistant on the Bucks staff has been a head coach at some level (Joe Wolf was a D-League head coach, Sampson college and Jim Boylan in the NBA). Sampson’s work with Brandon Jennings in particular seemed to garner him much notoriety, starting with Jennings’ surprisingly effective summer league performance under Sampson’s tutelage as head coach. But if Sampson were to get his first NBA head honcho gig of his career, I’d expect it to be Cleveland before the Clippers.

His relationship with Blake Griffin in cited by Wojnarowski on Twitter, but his connections in Cleveland run deeper.

After his dismissal at Indiana, Sampson worked as an adviser to the San Antonio Spurs, getting his feet wet in the NBA and bracing himself for a career after college. There are few betters ways to rehabilitate one’s career than with the San Antonio Spurs and their uber-respected organization. In fact, where did Cleveland’s last coach, Mike Brown, spend time as an assistant before his head job with Cleveland? You guessed it, San Antonio. General manager Danny Ferry spent the last three years of his playing career in San Antonio before working in their front office prior to taking the job as Cleveland’s general manager.

The roots are there for this deal to go down.

But the catch would be that Sampson may not be the big name coach Cleveland is looking to bring in to appease Lebron James. Sampson’s experience at multiple levels and impressive pedigree could be enough to persuade James that he can get the job done. This one bears watching as it develops.

Upside downside inside and outside
Hittin you from every angle there’s no doubt
I am, the one and only Method Man

Method Man – Method Man

How could I even begin to talk about upside without the finest rap song addressing upside that there is?

“a guy whose skeleton is infused with upside, making his ceiling impossible to project and upside irresistible to talent scouts and general managers.”

Upside is everyone’s favorite word on draft day. Which players can improve the most? Who’ll be the league’s next future superstar? Is this player too limited because he can’t chew gum and walk at the same time? Is a player’s ability to turn on his television without using a remote or getting out of bed because of his long arms more important than the fact that he is only in his third year of organized basketball?

Decisions, decisions.

Some players jump off the page (screen I guess actually) come draft night though. They measure too well to be passed on and visions of former greats dance in the heads of fan bases and front offices alike. This draft is no different in its amount of players who’ve bathed in the sea of potential.

Xavier Henry addresses upside and other questions regarding the draft process. Read more…

“a player that played pretty well in college, but we’re not sure how he’ll translate to the pros, everyone better hold their breath and hope he does though.”

This is where we take a look at a few guys that translate to role players with a little more safety. Here’s the thing about these three. Few people think any of them will be stars, but most think they are a safe bet to land on rosters and hang around for a long time. In every draft, there are loads of guys who will be out of the league within three to four years. Drafting a guy like that is a certifiable disaster if a team is in the lottery and probably expected half the time if a team is not. At 15, if Milwaukee can get a player they want to give a second contract to, that’s a success. These three seem like second contract type players, though maybe not stars.

But who knows, maybe they’ll surprise.

Paul Imig from Bucks Beat at JSOnline is down at the combine and has some video of interviews with a few players. Here’s his Gordon Hayward video.

Read more…

Bucks.com has the goods on the likeliest candidate at number 15 to workout Monday.

On what he would bring to the Bucks…
“Just another guard that can kind of handle some pressure and take it off of Brandon Jennings a little bit in the backcourt. Just be another shooter and get out and defend. I think I can bring a lot to the Bucks.”

The Bucks could always use more defensive players and absolutely could use some more shooters. George has the potential to excel in both areas. But there’s always some questions that go along with prospects. Chad Ford tackles those in his scouting report on George from May 11th.

Scouts have had questions about his consistency and toughness. They’ve also worried about his love affair with the 3-pointer. But it was also clear that he was rarely pushed at Fresno State.

If consistency and toughness are some of the main issues with George, it’s a little troubling to see some of the comments he had Monday.

On what type of NBA player he would compare himself to…
“Somebody like a Josh Howard, Rudy Gay, Joe Johnson type of player; pretty big shooting guards. I want to transition later in my career to someone like a Tracy McGrady.”

Far be it from me to read too much into two or three sentences from a player after he’s finished a workout that could potentially factor heavily into his future. He was tired, he thought of a few popular names and tossed them out there. All of them are good players and anyone would be thrilled to see Paul George evolve into one of the players he mentioned.

But with that being said, Howard, Gay and McGrady aren’t exactly a who’s who of players with great motors and toughness. Given his athleticism and shooting range, George certainly has the skills to wow in these workouts, but already after just a week or so of digging in, I’m feeling a little nervous about him. Players with this specific skill set can really only get the most out of it if they’re going hard every play, the way Joe Johnson does (or once did, the playoffs weren’t such a great example of this). In Ford’s assessment of George, he does cut the youngster some slack, citing a lack of push from the coaches at Fresno State that he certainly won’t encounter in the league. But self-motivation is what makes stars.

I don’t expect to get a star with the 15th pick, but certain players skill sets translate better to becoming role players. I’m not sold that George has the kind of skill set that will translate with success. And I don’t think a Paul George pick is one that indicates swinging for the fences either. He’s trapped in some sort of nether in my mind. I’m already interested in steering clear of George. But I’ve been wrong before and will be wrong again.