Milwaukee Bucks Blog - The Bob Boozer Jinx : 2009 NBA Draft

Bucks in flux roster rundown... More moves ahead... Ersan Ilyasova VIDEO

J.D. Mo — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:55:00 GMT

There's a part of me that appreciates when the Bucks beat writers fall short and a part of me that appreciates even more when they hit the three. Over the weekend, JSOnline's Tom Enlund drained it from downtown with his rundown of the current state of the Bucks roster. Articles like it create much less work for yours truly, which I thoroughly appreciate.

Now, let's review the current state of the Bucks roster after RJ trade and last week's draft:

13 players under contract, 15 including the rookies, at a cost of $63-65 mill.
3 free agents -- Ramon Sessions, Ersan Ilyasova and Charlie "Chuck-it" Villanueva
barring more trades, about $6-8 million available under the estimated $71 million luxury tax threshold to sign them
A potential core of Andrew Bogut, Michael Redd, Ramon Sessions, Charlie Bell, Luc Mbah a Moute, Amir Johnson, Ersan Ilyasova and Joe Alexander - plus two rookies and aging bigs
A team with another trade or two in mind

The PLAYERS

Luke "Frodo" Ridnour - Almost sure to be traded, leaving the task of leading the Bucks to the promised land in the good hands of Ramon "Sam" Sessions

newcomers Kurt Thomas and Bruce Bowen - Trade bait to teams looking for veteran help in the playoffs. There's very little about Kurt Thomas, however, that is interesting, other than the possibility that he could take PT away from a younger player. Bowen could help the Bucks at small forward, but, unfortunately may retire realizing as I'm sure he does that he is trade bait in Milwaukee. Plus, half of Bowen's $4.1 million salary is not guaranteed, which would give the Bucks about $8 million to play with in resigning free agents.

free agent Ramon "Sam" Sessions - If and when Ridnour is traded, I'll probably have to stop calling him Sam. I don't think too many people were getting it anyway. The Bucks will resign Sessions and go into the season with Sessions and Brandon Jennings as their point guards.

free agent Ersan Ilyasova - Bucks will sign 21-year-old Ersan, a 6'9" forward who's made the most of his two years abroad after playing the 2006-07 season with the Bucks. Ilyasova had his strongest year as a pro this past season, and was EuroLeague player of the month in October, doing it all for Regal FC Barcelona. He also finished strong, leading Barca to the Euroleague Final Four, where they ended up 3rd. The Bucks will need his help on the front line, which looks pretty shaky now without Richard Jefferson, and with Chuck-it Charlie almost sure to leave in free agency. Check out these Ersan highlights:

~~free agent Charlie Villanueva~~ - Chuck-it Charlie won't be a Buck next season. If he is, we've all been misled by Bucks management.

newcomer Amir Johnson - JSOnline got the Amir bug today with "Young forward shows promise", but what else can you really say? Yes, he's shown promise. Yes, the Pistons gave up on him. Amir, 22, is a long 6'9", blocks shots, rebounds, does some good things on D ... but he's only played about a quarter per game in the last two seasons. He's the kind of help Bogut needs in the paint, a player who'll do the dirty work and free up, say, Ersan, to roam around and knock down some jumpers. His presence means less PT for Francisco Elson, Kurt Thomas and Malik Allen, and that's probably a good thing.

Luc Mbah a Moute - Probably happy about the Amir Johnson pick-up and happy Bogut should be back to good health. Probably not so pleased about the Bucks trading team leader Jefferson. Mbah a Moute may be called on to perform miracles this season in an increased role.

Joe Alexander - The front line looks pretty weak, if counting on big improvements from Joe. I'm not ready to write him off just yet, but he turned in a D-grade season in his rookie year. Better to pin your hopes on a core frontline of Mbah a Moute, Ilyasova, Bogut and Amir Johnson. Hopefully Joe can develop as a strong, competent contributor in that mix.

rookie Brandon Jennings - Rookie point guard. Sessions' backup until further notice. Allegedly raw. Allegedly more gifted than some drafted ahead of him.

rookie Jodie Meeks - 2nd round pick, good shooter, behind Michael Redd and Charlie Bell on the depth chart. Probably be new BFF with Salim Stoudamire, who'll be in his vicinity on the Bucks bench. D-League?

newcomer Salim Stoudamire - No Bucks fans, just because he's 6'1" doesn't mean that Salim's a point guard. He's a little shooting guard who just might find himself competing with Meeks for a spot on the roster, depending on subsequent Bucks moves. Had a decent rookie year coming off Atlanta's bench, playing with Tyronn Lue and Royal Ivey, a couple of bygone Bucks. Why another guard from Atlanta? I don't know. Bucks picked up his contract in April.

Francisco Elson and Malik Allen - Trade add-ons. The Bucks now have 5 players - Ridnour, Thomas, Bowen, Elson and Allen - representing $17.5 million in 2009-10 expiring contracts. That's a lot of trade fodder, with many teams drooling at the 2010 free agent class -- and Bucks GM Hammond pleased with his options. Five expirings = plenty of options up through the Feb. trading deadline.

Michael Redd - Looking less and less like he fits in here anymore, coming back from knee surgery and drawing $17.1 million salary, but still the starting shooting guard. It'll be interesting to see if Redd draws any trade interest but I won't hold my breath this season. I did that last season -- it didn't work and I ended up with high blood pressure. With RJ gone and Chuck-it Charlie out the door, I see visions of Redd hogging the ball, trying to pick up the scoring slack all by himself while the Bucks lose and lose again. Ball movement Mike, ball movement. And Dee-fense.

Charlie Bell - The less Redd plays, the more Charlie Bell and his tough D are in the game, and that's good for the Bucks. Bum ankles hampered him last year, and he still put together a decent season. Coulda been better, though, and better health from Bell will help the Bucks improve. Can also guard forwards and shoot the 3, of course.

Andrew Bogut - This is Bogut's Bucks team now. The Bucks will need their center to pick up the scoring this season and to fill the leadership void created by the RJ trade. A midrange shot will help in the former area. 2009-10 would be the year for Bogut to turn in his first All-Star season.

I think that's everybody, isn't it? Am I forgetting somebody.

Oh, Dan Gadzuric - Salary's up to $6.749 mill this season. After 2009-10, there's still one more season left on his abominable contract.

Da draft, Jennings & a buncha links inspired by my laziness

J.D. Mo — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:53:00 GMT

If you haven't checked out Sportsbubbler's Bucks center, now's a good time to check it out. Dan and Jim's draft day work is downright comprehensive, complete with video interviews of many of the players the Bucks worked out, including, of course ...

a Draft workout interview with Bucks first-round pick Brandon Jennings.

Journal Sentinel's Bucks page has more, featuring Saturday's extended feature on Jennings. For once, I like how Bucks GM John Hammond is describing a management decision:

"We had a real fear on this guy, and the fear was that we don't take him. Because we really thought in watching him, he had the chance to be the most special of all of them."

In other words, Hammond and coach Scott Skiles made a gut decision and passed on the more polished players from NCAA basketball machines, such as Ty Lawson. Not such a bad idea, Skiles of course knowing how difficult the transition to the NBA is for point guards, having gone through it himself in the late 1980s out of Michigan State. Europe might be better preparation in some ways. Here are a couple:

He received much less hype from the draft matrons, midwives and handmaidens (Jay Bilas, Chad Ford et al) than players like Jonny Flynn or Lawson.

He never got the opportunity to be BMOC or break the NCAA's precious rules, all those wonders the college basketball experience offers.

Italian women, enuff said.

You'll find more post draft interviews (Hammond, Skiles, Jennings) here.

And here's Sham's unnecessarily long 2009 draft diary, complete with a tale of drunkenness and cruelty.

I have to admit, I'm like Sham in that I don't watch enough college basketball to really sink my two cents in about the draft. Much like our fan commentator, Christopher Peppas, I was surprised when DeJuan Blair fell farther and farther, and farther, and then even farther, until the Spurs picked him at #37 in the 2nd round. Lucky break for Blair in my book. Sure, he lost millions but now gets to play for Pop Popovich and knock around in the paint with Tim Duncan. And win games. The Spurs are getting better with every move they make this offseason.

Even more surprising was how far Patty Mills fell (#55 by the Portland Trail Blazers) Mills received rave reviews from Jason Kidd and Chris Paul playing with Andrew Bogut and Australia Boomers in the 2008 Olympics. He then dazzled Stephon Curry and Davidson in the NIT. In that Davidson-St. Mary's game -- won by Mills and St. Mary's -- Mills outplayed Curry and was, I thought, the best player on the court. I think the Trail Blazers found a great point guard in Mills, one who should challenge Steve Blake for PT right away. I think he's better than Flynn or Lawson, et al, maybe Jennings too.

The fact that Jerrell McNeal wasn't drafted is a big surprise. One draft ranking site -- one of far too many -- the yahoo board, had McNeal ranked right behind Jodie Weeks in its shooting guard rankings (Meeks 13th, McNeal 14th). Why McNeal bombed out of the draft altogether is a bit of a mystery at the moment ... I wasn't expecting that.

Speaking of Jodie Meeks, the Bucks #41 pick -- I'm glad they picked a guy who can shoot. Obviously, with the addition of Salim Stoudamire and now Weeks pick-up, Hammond and Skiles are well aware that the Bucks aren't going to win too many games shooting the way they did last season. Does this mean the end for Michael Redd? No, but a team that just traded their top 3-point shooter to San Antonio and has its starting 2-guard coming off of knee surgery ought to be concerned about its ability to stretch defenses -- and the Bucks are concerned. (And OUCH!!, Charlie Villanueva's 20-80 grand finish in the last 20 games is still ringing in the BC rafters). Meeks best bet at finding PT will be if Redd is slowed at the start of the season. I can't see Skiles playing a rookie while Charlie Bell and his great defense sits on the bench.

But the Bucks certainly have a lot of guards in the fold, don't they? Redd, Ridnour, Bell, Bowen (a F/G), Stoudamire, Jennings and Meeks. That's seven, eight if the Bucks resign Sessions. Something tells me another trade may be in the works. Also, somebody could be headed for the D-League.

Will the Bucks go into the season with Sessions, Ridnour and Jennings at point? It's possible, I suppose, but doesn't seem too likely. Stoudamire is more a shooting guard, down on the depth chart behind Redd and Bell, along with rookie Meeks.

I think this offseason has some more surprises in store for Bucks faithful. ...