Kohl arrives at owners meetings before the lockout (Photo: AP/LM Otero).

Chris Paul is going to the Los Angeles Lakers. And then he isn’t. And then Dwight Howard is. And then Howard is going to the New Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn) Nets. And then Paul is going to the Los Angeles Clippers. And big markets across the NBA are all salivating over an all-you-can-afford buffet of small market stars.

That’s been the NBA this past week. At least that’s the scene that’s been unfolding before the eyes of the small market NBA fan.

So maybe competitive balance wasn’t achieved with one fell swoop. But, maybe it can’t work like that. Maybe it isn’t a system issue that can be solved with one lockout and a few rule changes. Maybe the impetus is on franchises to make smart decisions, over and over and accept that there is less room for error in a small market.

Maybe I should let someone more qualified to discuss the matter discuss it.

“Because your resources are not unlimited, for every dollar you spend you need to get value,” Herb Kohl said at media day Saturday. “And that depends on expertise  and the value you get has to be able to get out there and play well together.”

“It is true, the day after we signed you had the situation down in New Orleans, the situation down in Orlando so you might say, well, the more things change, the more things stay the same,” Kohl said of competitive balance. “So there is an issue and a problem in the NBA that maybe baseball and football don’t share to the same extent.”

He wouldn’t accept that there was nothing the owners could do on a systematical level that could nudge the league a bit closer to that competitive balance the owners have been seeking though.

“The players if given their options tend to migrate to the big markets, the more glamourous markets,” Kohl went on.  ”And this (the lockout) addressed it partially. Because there are clear advantages to the team that has the rights to a player to offer him a better contract than what another team in a big market can offer.”

But those advantages, more money and longer contracts can be offered to free agents by the team that has their rights, have quickly proven to hardly be the barrier the owners hoped they would be. Demanding trades has been all the rage this week. Howard, reportedly fed up with his lack of input on organizational decisions, and Paul, tired of missing or getting bounced from the playoffs early on a team that hasn’t surrounded him with much talent, have shown that demanding a trade can be just as effective as the old sign and trade methods.

That’s why Kohl saw fit to push for stronger methods. A long time representation of Wisconsin, Kohl was a fierce fighter for the small markets and more control over the futures of players.

“And I’ll say, some of us lobbied heavily for a franchise designation,” Kohl said. “We didn’t get there, but we got partially there. You have to look at the thing in the sweep of it and not try and micromanage it, every line, every dot and tittle in the agreement there are things to like more, there are things to like less.”

Beyond the franchise tag, Kohl was disappointed that a hard cap was not implemented, but happy that a harder cap was.

“We tightened it up,” said Kohl. “We made it harder for teams to exceed the salary cap, we made it more expensive when teams get into the luxury tax area. Made it much more difficult for them to exceed the luxury tax cap.”

If competitive balance is still a work in progress, or possibly a dream never destined to become reality in the NBA because of the structure of the game of basketball itself, what good was the lockout for the Milwaukee Bucks, for small market teams in general?

The Senator acknowledged that under the new revenue sharing system, the Bucks would receive somewhere between $15 and $17 million. Revenue sharing, the saving grace of Milwaukee sports will be more aggressive than ever in professional basketball. And not a moment too soon, according to Senator Kohl. Kohl said the larger market owners understood that if the league was going to move forward for all 30 teams, there would have to be a more aggressive revenue sharing model. One that includes sharing local revenue.

“It’s been a, obviously an existential issue for the Milwaukee Bucks,” he said. “I wasn’t alone, there were many smaller market teams that were involved along with myself. And there was a willingness on the part of the league and the larger market teams to entertain the prospect of robust revenue sharing and I think we’re now moving in that direction and I’m very happy about it.”

Even if a lockout wasn’t needed for the revenue sharing situation to be figured out, Kohl said losing 16 games isn’t “the be all end all” to have gained traction on what he saw as competitive balance issues. He and the other owners were willing to give on the competitive balance issues to achieve what they wanted in terms of revenue sharing.

“Because without the revenue sharing, we weren’t, maybe too far away from some teams just not being able to hack it anymore,” he said. “Most important thing was to get the businesses, all 30 of the businesses on a sound business basis, on a sound financial basis. And I believe it’s fair to say, going forward, without events unforeseen, that every team will have a chance to make a decent profit.”

“I feel good about where we are and where we’re going,” he said. “We’ve come through a tough period financially in terms of the imbalance that had developed in the league between the large markets and the small markets may have been addressed, not perfectly, but considerably. So I feel good about where we’re going and I feel good about Milwaukee’s future in the NBA.”

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Mbah a Moute has averaged 6.7 points and 5.6 rebounds in three seasons for the Bucks after being a second round pick out of UCLA in 2009.

At media day, Andrew Bogut mentioned that he loved playing with Mbah a Moute.

“I love playing with Luc,” Bogut said. “People always question his offensive liabilities, but the guy still averaged six or seven points and five rebounds a game. Most importantly, he’s on their best player every game. I read last night online he’s the best on ball defender, not just me saying it, but statistically someone did a stat and he’s the best on ball defender in the league.”

Bogut went on.

“I think it’s a no-brainer in Scott Skiles system that we should resign him. Obviously, the x-factor is how much he signs for, what the offer sheet is that we have to match, obviously we have salary cap restrictions and I just hope it works out.”

Coach Skiles was quiet on the topic of Mbah a Moute’s contract situation at media day, only saying that the team loved Luc and and was working to get him back. General Manager John Hammond had been outspoken on the topic of Mbah a Moute’s free agency in recent weeks. He recently spoke with NBA.com’s David Aldridge about the topic:

“We think Luc is more valued here playing under Scott Skiles and his system than he would be anywhere else in the league. We know the value of that, and we plan to have him here as a member of the organization”

Mbah a Moute’s value at times can be his undoing. His versatility has allowed him to start 166 of 234 games over his three years with the Bucks, but it has seemed to be something that’s allowed the Bucks to shuffle him around between the two, three and four. Some players can defend threes and fours, but Mbah a Moute at one point last season spent time on Roy Hibbert and later in the season guarded Chris Paul. It’s not just that he’s done that, as Coach Skiles has noted before, it’s that he excels at this.

And it looks like he’ll be doing it for the Bucks for a while.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Stephen Jackson is hoping to replicate his success with the Warriors this season.

If you’re not talking about an NBA title, don’t come and talk to Stephen Jackson.

The most colorful character the Miwaukee Bucks have had in some time held court with the media on Saturday and, as always, failed to disappoint. Here’s a collection of Jackson quotables provided without questions asked or referenced, because they are more hilarious that way:

“If guys come in here not focused on a championship, just making the playoffs, we need to trade them. We need to be talking about championship and nothin’ else. You can’t limit yourself to just playoffs. Who wants to do that? Playoffs is not really an achievement to me. Anybody can get to the playoffs.”

“If I’m shot, I’ma get stitched and play the next game. I got hit by a car and played two days later.”

“I’m always 100 percent.”

“Last time I had a good point guard and a big man, I was able to win a championship, that was with San Antonio.”

“I think he’s top three. I got him behind Dwight and Gasol.”

“I was on the opposite end of 55 points, so I know what this kid can do.”

“Ya’ll know me, I’ma tell you the truth, love it or leave it. You don’t like me, I don’t care anyway. I’ma tell you what’s real and I’ma tell you how I feel. I definitely feel we can get this thing done. I’ve always wanted to play for Scott, He’s one of the very few coaches I go over and shake hands with when I’m on the opposing team.

“He’s a fiery guy, and I’m looking forward to me and him arguing, because that means the fire is on the team and we goin’ in the right direction. To be able to play for him and Jim is a blessing for me.”

“Who won the championship again? I didn’t even watch the playoffs.”

“Dallas sucks to me.”

“My name is Slash, I play whatever. I played center in Golden State, I played four in Golden State. Wherever I need to be man, I’m just ready to play. I’ll guard anybody, I’ll do anything.”

“I don’t mind leading by example, I don’t mind fighting for my teammates, I don’t mind putting myself on the line for my teammates.”

“You can’t teach somebody how to be a leader.”

“Was there a lockout? I don’t know, I wasn’t even watching the news, I wasn’t affected by the lockout, I don’t have money problems. Yeah I wasn’t playing basketball, but I can’t control that. I was doing my music stuff at the time.”

“When it was over, they called us, told us to come. Now I know what’s going on.”

“We have all the tools here. We got two stars in Brandon and Andrew. This their team, no question about that. Me and the other guys, we gotta buy in and back these guys up.”

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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That’s where you come in.

After all, this site, and all media sites really, are for the fans. You’re the reason we keep these things going. With that in mind, we want to hear from you. Respond to this post and let us know what you’d like to hear about, what questions you would ask of the Milwaukee Bucks brass.

New acquisitions, Bucks veterans, rookies, it doesn’t matter. Let us know what you want to know, and we’ll do our best to get your questions, the serious ones of them, to the masses.

And if you think of one later in the day while you’re not by a computer to get a post in, shoot a tweet to me with your question. Toss the hashtag #bucksqs on there so I can sort them with ease.

Thanks, and let the comments begin.

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Mike Dunleavy: Keeping it classy with the Warriors.

The truncated timetable, new CBA and still-present pettiness from the lockout is basically like throwing a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets into the offseason. Caron Butler for three years, $24 million dollars. Tyson Chandler for four years, $14 million a year. Eddy Curry back in the NBA. All the Chris Paul trades that aren’t happening. Madness, I say. Just madness.

Meanwhile, John Hammond is just making reasonable deals that the Milwaukee Bucks need. Keyon Dooling’s expulsion was necessary. He’d be buried deep in the depth chart anyway and the Bucks could use the roster spot for the 15ish other guys linked to them. Mike Dunleavy for two years and $7.5 million was also eminently reasonable.

The Bucks offense doesn’t have to be good. It just has to be good enough. As long as Scott Skiles is the coach and Andrew Bogut is patrolling the paint, the Bucks will have an elite defense. If the Bucks have a middling offense (2009-10) and not the worst offense (last year), they can be a moderately successful team. That’s what signing Dunleavy pushes them towards: being good enough.

Obvious: the Bucks need more scoring. Less obvious: they need a certain type of scoring. The Corey Maggette experiment proved that much. Let’s look at the four things wrong with the Bucks offense last year:

1)      Aggressively moving the ball inside

2)      Shot creation

3)      Off-ball movement

4)      Three-point shooting

Everyone the Bucks got during the draft address issues one and two. Dunleavy addresses problems three and four.

Just looking at basic per-game team stats between the 2009 – 10 season and last year, the most notable difference concerns three-point shooting.

2009 – 10: 7.9 3FGM, 22.1 3FGA, 53.4 eFG% (effective field goal percentage; accounts for how much more efficient a three is than a two)

2010 – 11: 5.9 3FGM, 17.2 3FGA, 51.2 eFG%

There are two reasons for this major drop in three-point production. First, John Salmons stopped attacking the basket like a madman. Salmons shots at the basket dropped from 4.2 when he first arrived in Milwaukee to 2.4 once he signed his new contract. Bogut also stopped doing work inside. His shots at the rim dropped from 5.8 in 2009 – 10 to 4.9 last year. With such a dramatic drop in production inside, opponents had little reason to leave the Bucks perimeter shooters open last season.

The next reason is that Luke Ridnour and Charlie Bell were replaced by Dooling and Maggette. Ridnour and Bell are excellent catch-and-shoot players, doing well off the opportunities created by Salmons penetration. Bell had an eFG% of 54.8 from three. 93.2 percent of his three-point attempts were assisted. Ridnour had an EFG% of 57.2 from three. 81.2 percent of his attempts were assisted. There’s nothing much to say about Dooling and Maggette’s three-point shooting beyond one of them was no good at it and the other had no interest in it.

Last year, Dunleavy was much better from three than Ridnour or Bell had ever been. He had an eFG% of 60.3, but throughout his career that number has vacillated wildly, hitting bottom at 42.3. What makes Dunleavy a particularly good fit for the Bucks system is that he’s a catch-and-shoot player into his very soul. He moves exceptionally well off the ball which explains his abnormally high level of assisted field goals at the rim, midrange and from three-point range.  He can’t create his own shot, but he should be benefitting from everything Jennings, Beno Udrih, Stephen Jackson and Shaun Livingston are doing.

Personally, I’d like to see Dunleavy running pick-n-pops with Jennings. It’s not his forte, he never set picks for the Pacers. But Indiana run significantly less pick-and-rolls (PNRs) than the Bucks (last year: Bucks 21% of offensive plays were PNRs, Pacers were at 15%). And the Bucks have made Luc Mbah a Moute pop instead of roll on PNRs. The Bucks have tried crazier things is what I’m saying. Basically anything that can force Jennings to not get double teamed on PNRs would be fantastic.

As for his defense, let’s just say that Dunleavy turns into Dumbleavy. Hahaha, amirite? But no, seriously, the Udrih/Dunleavy backcourt should never see the light of day. Individually, Dunleavy gets hammered by anyone with marginal speed because he’s not very athletic and has bad knees.  However, the headiness that makes his off ball movement good is the same thing that makes him a good team defender. He rotates well and just knows where to be. I don’t have any recent stats to back this up, but from 2005 to 2008, he finished in the top ten of drawn charges.

The biggest problem with Dunleavy is that his effectiveness is completely at the mercy of other players. If Jennings doesn’t make a leap in production this year or Jackson’s old age begins to catch up to him, Dunleavy will be limited too.

Ian Segovia is a contributor to Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter, fan us up on Facebook.

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Keyon Dooling appears to have taken his last shot for the Milwaukee Bucks (Photo: Jonathan Daniel)

UPDATE: Charles F. Gardner is reporting Dooling and a second round pick will be heading to Boston for a trade exception.

Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld adds on to an earlier report from Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, tweeting that Milwaukee Bucks backup point guard Keyon Dooling will be heading to the Boston Celtics for a second round draft pick.

Dooling had been a likely trade candidate since June after Milwaukee acquired two point guards, Beno Udrih and Shaun Livingston, along with forward Stephen Jackson in a draft day three-way trade with the Charlotte Bobcats and Sacramento Kings.

Dooling’s one season in Milwaukee was a rocky one. Originally signed to backup Brandon Jennings, Dooling spent a large part of the season in a shooting guard role that he wasn’t quite cut out for. Dooling started 22 games when Jennings went down with an injury mid-season. After a stellar year from Luke Ridnour in the backup point guard spot, Dooling’s sub-40% shooting often made him a target for the criticism of fans.

Dooling’s departure essentially leaves the Bucks with 15 current roster candidates, not including the backup center many suspect they will be after. Dooling was set to make just under $2.3 million this season. Assuming Mike Dunleavy Jr., signed earlier on Thursday, is going to make in the neighborhood of $3.75 million next season, losing Dooling’s contract leaves the Bucks $1.825 million under the salary cap when accounting for Luc Mbah a Moute’s qualifying offer. This number does not take into account Darington Hobson, but does take into account Tobias Harris and Jon Leuer.

While the point guard log jam appears solved, Milwaukee will still have a decision to make now that Mike Dunleavy Jr. is reportedly in the mix. Stephen Jackson, Carlos Delfino, Dunleavy, Harris and Hobson will all compete for minutes at the two and three, with Udrih and Livingston able to spend some time on the wings as well.

Clearing Dooling gives the team the option to hold steady with this group or drop one more wing and make a run at another big man.

It’s worth noting that oft-mentioned Bucks backup target Joel Przybilla is considering the Bucks, but is rumored to be leaning towards retirement.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Free agent forward Mike Dunleavy will sign a two year, $7.5 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, league source tells Y! Sports.

Those of you who were Bucks fans during the early to mid-90s will remember how his father ran the organization straight into the ground. And those of you who were Bucks fans in the mid-to-late 80s will remember he also played for the team. Dunleavy Jr., 31, is said to be taking his father’s former number 10 jersey.

Dunleavy Jr. the basketball player is likely to fair better with Milwaukee than his father the general manager/coach.

After battling injuries the two seasons prior, Dunleavy shot 40.2% from behind the arc last season, the second highest percentage he’s posted from deep as a pro. He averaged 11.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

That type of accuracy from three-point range surely appealed to the Bucks, who, outside of Carlos Delfino, are stacked with inconsistent three-point shooters. Despite his size, Dunleavy can occasionally slide over to the shooting guard position in addition to his typical home at the small forward spot. He’s not much defensively, but he’s a very smart player, one that meshes with Milwaukee’s off-season priority of adding players who can create and make plays for others.

The health concerns that come over with Dunleavy could be mitigated a bit with the short season and his likely role in reserve. He started 44 games for the Pacers last season and averaged 27.6 mpg.

Dunleavy played four and a half seasons for the Pacers after coming over from Golden State with Troy Murphy in a trade for Al Harrington and recent Bucks acquisition Stephen Jackson.

Prior to that, Dunleavy played four and a half seasons for the Warriors after being drafted third overall in the 2002 draft out of Duke.

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57

34

6

2

20

19

1

1

2

∞

The Bucks 2011-12 schedule was released. Again. The month-to-month dynamics haven’t changed much for the Bucks. January is still conspiring against them, except this time they won’t have two months to build a decent cushion. And the Bucks may be too tired after January to mount any sort of a comeback.

I think we can all agree that these scheduling quirks, plus the fact that the Bucks don’t have a superstar yet, prove that the lockout was just a giant anti-Milwaukee conspiracy.

Scheduling Notes:

• If it wasn’t clear from the chart, the schedule is just a never-ending series of three games in four days. I couldn’t figure out where one ended and the another began.

• The Bucks kick off January with a eight games in 12 days. Six of those games are on the road. One of the home games is against the Spurs. The last game of that stretch is at Dallas.

• The back end of January has a six games in nine days stretch. The Los Angeles Lakers will be in Milwaukee during this on Saturday the 28th.

• The only not-terrible schedule part of January features three games in the middle of the month. These games are against three playoff teams from last year: Philadelphia, Denver and New York.

• February has the Bucks only four in five. The first three games are at Phoenix, at Toronto and at Cleveland. A very winnable stretch. Chalk up an L for the last game vs. Orlando.

• Not that I think this is going to be the biggest problem, but if there was ever a year to actively vote against a Bucks player making the All-Star game, this is the year. Five days of rest at the end of February will be great for everyone.

• Six games in eight days. That’s what the middle of March has in store. It starts at Portland and finishes against Atlanta. Yes, this is this includes the dreaded back-to-back-to-back stretch and has the incredibly unfair five games in six days included. Boston and New York are somewhere in that quagmire.

• Interestingly, the back end of the back-to-back-to-back is  against the Pacers who will also be at the end of their back-to-back-to-back. Reserve your seat at the Bradley Center now because that game will be so good.

• April has nine home games and five road games. So if there’s anything left in the tank (doubtful), the Bucks have the schedule to make their move. Two games each against the Wizards and Pacers. One game apiece against the Nets and Sixers. Four teams that could possibly be competing for the lower playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference. Plus games against the Raptors, Cavaliers, and Pistons. If the Bucks are within range of the playoffs at all come April, they control their own destiny.

Ian Segovia is a contributor to Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter, fan us up on Facebook.

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It begins.

Monday was the first day NBA teams could openly court free agents, and the courting has begun with some gusto. And not surprisingly, the Milwaukee Bucks haven’t been widely rumored to be involved with much of the bidding.

But Gery Woelfel has a few tidbits about potential Bucks targets. Woelfel interviewed long shot Bucks target, Dallas Mavericks forward and Racine native Caron Butler. Butler did not outright rule out the Bucks as a landing spot:

Milwaukee definitely reached out and, obviously, that’s always a high consideration because it’s home. I’m a hometown guy. I’m a guy who always likes coming back and doing things in the community.

There are a few logistics that could make Butler’s homecoming difficult. For one, Milwaukee currently has 12 players under contract right now. Add in first round draft pick Tobias Harris, and they are up to 13. Add in Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and you’re up to 14. If Milwaukee wanted to use that last roster spot on a backup center, that’s a full 15 man roster, and that doesn’t even include potential addition Darington Hobson, who had a hip surgery paid for by the Bucks and has been hanging around Milwaukee since being the Bucks second round pick in 2010.

Butler’s contract demands could be an issue as well. The Bucks do have a little bit of money to play with. Michael Redd’s expiring contract outweighs some of the additions Milwaukee made last season, but the length demands Butler has could be too much. After seeing Redd struggle to return from an ACL tear, Milwaukee, and other teams, could be seriously hesitant to commit more than one season to Butler after his ACL tear on January 1 of this year. Jeff Caplan reports that Butler has no interest in a one year deal though.

It’s worth noting that no major outlet has even mentioned the Bucks as a viable candidate for Butler. So this seems to just be Butler playing up interest in his hometown because that can be a fun thing to do.

• Mbah a Moute has become quite the popular topic amongst writers these days. David Aldridge of NBA.com published a article lamenting the lack of interest in defensive minded players come free agency. He notes that Mbah a Moute’s inabilities on the perimeter could very well leave him looking longingly at his phone this week. In the piece, John Hammond notes once again, the team wants to retain Mbah a Moute and feels he has more value to them than he does anyone else.

• In a separate article than the Butler one, Woelfel writes that the Bucks have contacted the agent for Shannon Brown. Brown is an undersized, over athletic two guard that has spent the past few years dunking for the Lakers and profiting from a grass roots LetShannonDunk campaign that landed him in the dunk contest.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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Stephen Jackson was all smiles and hilarious quotes in late June.

It’s been a long time, so you’re forgiven if you don’t recall the colorful flourish Stephen Jackson arrived in Milwaukee with.

And if you remember, kudos to you. Though Jackson made it clear from his introductory news conference that his tenure in Milwaukee, if nothing else, is likely to be one people will remember. The Bucks have used the motto, “Work Hard, Play Hard” for each of the past two seasons, but Jackson did his best to give them something else to consider back in June.

“It’s no time for being babies or being scared. Scared, go to church.”

“Scared, go to church.”

If the Bucks miss the playoffs and Jackson flames out like Corey Maggette, we’ll always have that. Things are always going to be interesting when Jackson is involved. He pledged to be a leader, to be vocal and said he arrived in Milwaukee to win games.

So as you prepare for the return of the NBA and engulf yourself in the trade rumors, free agent activity and madness that’s going to consume the league until training camps open and the season finally is under way, don’t forget about the move Milwaukee already made. The Bucks are likely to be quiet on the free agent front during this shortened free agent frenzy. A backup center may arrive and something must be done on the Luc Mbah a Moute front, but Milwaukee isn’t in the mix for Nene, David West or even Nick Young. The Bucks made their move back in June.

The team hopes in that one June move, they added both the scoring punch and locker room fire sorely lacking throughout the disappointing 2010-11 season.

Other notes

• Chris Sheridan ranked five hidden gems in free agency and listed Milwaukee’s Mbah a Moute first. He likened Mbah a Moute’s tenacity on defense to that of Tony Allen, a key cog in the Memphis Grizzlies playoff run last season.

• Andrew Wagner reports from day one at the Cousins Center. Beno Udrih was the lone Bucks player to show up, though the team did not expect much as their players are largely spread out across both this country and other ones. John Hammond told the assembled media Milwaukee has “every intention” of bringing back Mbah a Moute.

• Also on hand at the Cousins Center? Steve Novak.

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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