Remember the ball movement, 3-point shooting and balanced scoring that thrilled home crowds at the Bradley Center last season?

It may remain just a memory if things play out a certain way in the coming days.

First, Lance Stephenson is reportedly in the mix at the 15th pick for the Bucks and would be even more realistic if the Bucks were to trade for a lower pick (that’s what I call trading down if I haven’t been clear on that) in the first round. Stephenson, um, wasn’t a great passer in his one season at Cincinnati. In fact, he wasn’t much of a passer at all, finishing 11th in the conference in shot percentage and possession percentage. That wouldn’t be all that striking, if not for the fact that Stephenson was a largely average offensive player last season, finishing 75th in the Big East in offensive rating and turning the ball over on nearly 20% of his possessions.

But Stephenson has been one of the most sought after prospect in the United States since he was a 15-year-old. Attitude and criminal concerns have been real problems for him and leave him staring the life of a second round pick in the eye. In the NBA though, talent generally wins out over everything. It’s possible that the Bucks have become enamored enough with Stephenson that they’d be willing to take a chance on an incredibly talented prospect. Chad Ford has this to say in his most recent mock draft:

It’s a long shot but Cincinnati’s Lance Stephenson has impressed in workouts and the Bucks have had their eye on him for a while. It seems like that’s a bit of a reach at 15, but John Hammond rolled the dice on a former high school phenom with a bad rep last year and it paid off. Will he do it again this year?

And now, from one suspected future jacker to a certifiable shot machine, the Bucks have reportedly been kicking the tires on Corey Maggette says Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. The deal that the Bucks would reportedly like to offer would include Dan Gadzuric and Charlie Bell for Maggette. Here’s the quick salary breakdowns of the three:

Maggette’s strengths? Getting to the free throw line and looking mean come to mind. Maggette’s averaged 7.1 free throws to 11.2 shots per game in his career. He’s one of the league’s best a finishing with contact and annually has a true shooting percentage hovering around or above 58%. Maggette would give the Bucks a lot of what they’d be missing if John Salmons does not return and does it for only $15 million more dollars over the next three seasons than it’s costing Milwaukee to keep Gadzuric and Bell. Maggette’s age, he turns 31 in November, is a concern, but as I’ve earlier said about Salmons, three years seems a reasonable commitment for a player of that age.

But with strengths come weaknesses. Maggette’s primary weakness being his inability to operate much without the ball. Maggette, a player who’s only been on one playoff team and has never made an all-star team, is 51st in the HISTORY of the NBA in usage percentage. Maggette will be shooting or he will be getting to the line, there’s a high probability those things will happen. Milwaukee has to think hard about whether or not they can live with that kind of player at the three. There’s no question he can score effectively, but at what price? Will he alienate teammates with his constant shooting? Even if the other players accept his offensive outputs, will is cause them to unintentionally lose interest on defense if they aren’t involved enough on offense? Maggette is the kind of player that can drive a wedge into a team without even being a locker room problem. Offenses are generally best when teams have a number of productive players that can score and move the ball. The Bucks had players that could move the ball last season, but lacked players who could score.

They may be sacrificing the latter to get the former if these two moves go down and that could just result in a sideways step for a team that seemed on the right track last season.

With the draft just two days away, the Bucks have reportedly received word about their key free agent this off-season. From the Twitter of Sam Amick at AOL Fanhouse:

Free Agency 2010 sleeper alert: John Salmons has notified Milwaukee that he will be opting out, according to a source close to him. Salmons and Bucks had extension talks, but – as previously reported – it was never likely he would go that route.

While this theoretically hurts the Bucks chances of resigning Salmons, it also probably helps the Bucks chances of avoiding a mistake. The reports were that the Bucks were offering Salmons a three year extension tacked onto the one year at $5.8 million Salmons had left for next season. Salmons turns 31 in December. This would have made Salmons a moderately highly paid Bucks player through his 34th birthday, when his production would likely be quite out of line with his salary.

Of course, Milwaukee wasn’t said to be throwing any crazy numbers out there at Salmons, we’re not talking $10 million a year or anything like that, but with the limited funds Milwaukee has available it’s important for them to be efficient with money. Longer contracts must be reserved for those in their early to late twenties.

Now that Salmons has opted out, there’s no guarantee Salmons will be able to score a fourth year. He’s no Trevor Ariza or Ron Artest, two players who scored long term deals last summer. Salmons isn’t young enough or skilled enough in one area to position himself on the market as especially desirable. His strong finish to last season with Milwaukee aside, Salmons has always been more of a role playing scorer. He’s now had two extended stretches in his career where he’s been a featured option on a team, the 2008-09 season and the second half of last season. Thinking that a 30-year-old John Salmons will be able to carry a significant load for a team for the next four years may be misguided.

Rumors have already flown around that the Hawks would be interested in Salmons as a Joe Johnson replacement if/when he leaves the nest and his versatility is somewhat reminiscent of a less talented version of Johnson, making that more feasible. But that may be a significantly misguided attempt at saving face by the Hawks. Salmons success in Milwaukee had a lot to do with the fit he was in the Bucks system and the freedom he appeared to be allowed offensively.

Whether Salmons receives an offer that knocks his socks off or now forces the Bucks to re-commit to a fourth year and more money will only be known in time. But if the Bucks decide to rescind the fourth year from their offer and thank John Salmons for the memories, he could have proved to done Milwaukee a big favor by turning down their extension.

The Milwaukee Bucks want a power forward. That much appears clear, two days from the NBA draft. But sometimes, the best laid plans do not come to fruition.

Each of the power forwards that the Bucks may be most interested in come draft day, Patrick Patterson, Ed Davis and Ekpe Udoh could be off the board, at least according to the TrueHoop Network Mock Draft. But the Bucks seem to have themselves well prepared for that possibility. In working out swingmen, Paul George, Gordon Hayward, Luke Babbitt and Xavier Henry the Bucks have been knee deep in guard/forwards for weeks. And in a fairly even and moderately deep pool of prospects that will be available to them at the 15th pick something will need to stand out.

That something appears as likely to be the vast skill set of Gordon Hayward as it is anything else. Hayward is rumored to go as high as number eight to the Los Angeles Clippers, but in our mock draft, he’s fallen here to the Bucks who are reportedly very high on him.

Hayward has good size for a two guard if the Bucks eventually feel that is his position, but he’s probably more likely to be an averaged sized small forward. On the plus side, Hayward was a very good rebounder from the three and four in college and rebounding historically translates well. When I spoke with Rob Jeter last week, he was very high on Hayward’s ability off the ball, something not always associated with number one scoring options in college. But something else may help separate Hayward from his peers in the eyes of Milwaukee.

Hayward’s abilities as a ball-handler and decision maker seem a perfect fit for the small forward position in Milwaukee. Bucks fans are fresh off a season in which Carlos Delfino played the bulk of the small forward minutes for Milwaukee and enjoyed his finest season in the NBA. It was Delfino’s defense and versatility that earned him the heavy minutes he was enjoying by season’s end. While he was often the definition of inconsistent, Delfino’s ability to step out and hit a three in one instant and drive to the basket for a reverse layup in another was what made him such a good fit for Milwaukee. Bucks wing players are relied heavily upon to handle the ball and make decisions.

Gordon Hayward’s entire draft stock rests largely on his ability to make basketball decisions and from what information has been made available, the Bucks appear to be sold that he’s as strong as anyone in this draft class in that area.

For the next pick in the mock draft, check out A Wolf Among Wolves.

Chad Ford shares some updates on possible trade developments for the Milwaukee Bucks in Thursday’s draft.

The Kings, Pacers, Hornets and Bucks would like to trade down, while the Pistons, Grizzlies, Raptors, Rockets, Spurs, Thunder, Blazers and Nuggets would like to move up.  In what order will they go? It’s way too early to say. If I were to handicap it right now, the Clippers are slightly leaning toward Hayward. The Jazz prefer Babbitt, while the Pacers and Grizzlies like George and the Hornets and Bucks favor Hayward.

Arising from this news out of Ford, is the question of who the Bucks would be interested in were they to trade down. In sifting through workouts the Bucks have had with later round prospects, a few names pop out.

Larry Sanders doesn’t just stand out, he practically jumps off the page.Word got out that Sanders supposedly had a promise with the Bucks, something they refuted publicly and immediately. But Sanders is a power forward, he has the athleticism and length the Bucks have spoken about leading up to this draft (though that’s often something teams just say for the sake of saying it) and of players likely to be available later in the first round, has as much upside as anyone. Sanders will very likely be in the picture if the Bucks are trading down.

Recent workoutee Kevin Seraphin of France is an intriguing prospect with very good size and reputed physicality. He could be one of the more talented power forwards in this class when it’s all said and done, but he’s still very raw. Seraphin’s stock may be even higher had he not suffered an injury not long before teams were working prospects out and the cherry on top of the Kevin Seraphin ice cream is his ability to stay in France longer to further develop his skills and prepare himself for the NBA.

Tiny Gallon is still someone that could end up in a Bucks uniform. Recently he received the support of Brandon Jennings at the 15th spot, a reach for Gallon, but something worth noting. Jennings quickly formed chemistry with all of his teammates last season, so I’m not sure how significant the head start in knowing Jennings would give Gallon, but it can’t hurt to have a team’s franchise cornerstone in your corner if your Gallon.

Terrico White may be in the picture depending on where the Bucks trade down to if they do. If the Grizzlies were able to swing a deal to land Milwaukee’s 15th pick while surrendering the 28th pick, White would likely be in play. After playing point guard in college, White will likely have to shift to the two guard spot on the next level as he was something of a ball-hogging turnover machine, but he is a very good athlete and has ball-handling skills. I’m certain the Bucks prefer two guards that can handle the ball and create for others over twos that simply serve as spot-up shooters.

Jordan Crawford shouldn’t be ruled out either. Crawford worked out with the Bucks twice and is a noted scoring machine. Crawford is a potential fit in the John Salmons role if the Bucks are looking for insurance for Salmons bolting.

I love DraftExpress.com. They do great work and I encourage you to visit them often for terrific scouting reports and interviews with players. But sometimes, it’s nice to have opinions from others who have up close and personal experience with the guys in the draft. I was fortunate enough recently to have an opportunity to chat with UWM Head Coach, Rob Jeter. Coach Jeter has a unique perspective on a few of the guys the Bucks are considering with their three choices in the draft, as he was an assistant on the 2009 USA Basketball Men’s World University Games team. The team trained in Colorado with the U-19 team, which included Gordon Hayward who Coach Jeter has even more experience with from his time at Butler.

(My questions are in bold and Coach Jeter’s responses follow each.)

After working out with the U-19 team last summer in Colorado in preparation for the World’s Championships team you were an assistant on you said Gordon Hayward would end up a lottery pick. That’s a prediction many were still unsure of by the time the Final Four rolled around. What did you see in him last summer that had you feeling so confident in his skills?

I was really impressed with Hayward. He’s got a terrific skill set for his size. He’s 6′7″, 6′8″, whatever he is and he’s a basketball player. He can pass, he can shoot, he can defend, he has a great feel for the game of basketball. He’s got a great basketball IQ. He’s really the whole package. The main thing he has to do, is get a little stronger. Coming into high school he was 6’1-6’3. And he’s grown to his 6’8 now.

People have questions about his athleticism and have compared him to NCAA star and NBA flop Adam Morrison. Where do you see a difference?

I think they’re different. The difference between the two is that Gordon Hayward can affect a basketball game without scoring. Morrison was a scorer, he put the ball in the basket. I think Gordon Hayward can play just as well without the ball as he can with it in his hands. In our league he was guarding players from the two to the five. I think he’ll be able to contribute at the next level. Read more…