Milwaukee Bucks Blog - The Bob Boozer Jinx : Amir Johnson

A Bucks Monday: Doubting Kurt Thomas

J.D. Mo — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:43:00 GMT

The Bucks got their first preseason win up in Green Bay Saturday against the Derrick-Rose-less Chicago Bulls, thanks to some good versatility by their young forwards off the bench (a combined 30 pts and 17 rebs by Hakim Warrick , Ersan Ilyasova and Luc...(read more)

Bucks not letting Sessions get away... & other notes

J.D. Mo — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:58:00 GMT

New York Knicks fans were pretty excited last week about the prospects of picking up Ramon Sessions . The Bucks 23-year-old point guard certainly can't shoot or run a game like veteran Andre Miller , the Sixers pointman whom the Knicks also courted...(read more)

(more) VIDEO: Bucks rookies impress in NBA summer league

J.D. Mo — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:26:00 GMT

Now that we've had our fun in the brothels skirting Vegas and the hot tubs of Tao, let's address how our summer league Bucks are doing. In a word -- impressive . First round pick Brandon Jennings tore through the Sacramento Kings for 13 pts, 14...(read more)

Joe Alexander to start at small forward?... Happy Independence Day

J.D. Mo — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:19:00 GMT

Ever since I was a kid, one of my favorite holidays has been the 4th of July. The food, the weather, the lazy summer vibe of the day, yes, there's a lot to look forward to this weekend. But what I've always liked most of all is the history imbued in the day. During my formative J.D. Mo years, I even had a glass-framed copy of the Declaration of Independence parchment hanging over the desk and typewriter in my room. In my pantheon of heroes, Thomas Jefferson was right up there with Marques Johnson, Cecil Cooper and Mike Caldwell.

To close our 233th year of Independence and get the 234th off to a good nose, let's raise a toast-and-snort to the end of tyranny & throw one back for old Tom, who drained a few mugs of beer himself in Philly taverns whilst drafting the Declaration ... probably because the tavern was one place he knew he could find refuge from one Ben Franklin (no barfly, that poor Richard), whose persistent pestiness, well intentioned though it surely was, did little kindness to the writing process. ...

Happy Independence Day, Bucks fans!!!

Now for our Bucks item of the weekend ...

Bucks plan to start Joe Alexander at small forward

According to Dunkin' Joe Alexander himself, the plan is for Joe to start at SF next season, filling the vacancy created by the RJ trade.

The news comes to me from Bob Boozer Jinx street squad member Nicholas Wallk, who got a chance to talk to Joe this week at the Home Depot on Holt and Chase, where Nick works. Joe was waiting in line at checkout, shelving materials (or the like) in his cart, when Nick approached and said hello. When Joe gave a friendly hello in response, Nick thought he'd ask a couple of questions. Here's how it went.

Nick: Since Richard Jefferson is gone to the Spurs, are you going to be the starting small forward next season?

Joe: That's the plan.

Nick: Is that your plan or the Bucks plan?

Joe: That's the plan.

This may not come as a surprise to some Bucks fans, considering the trade of RJ to the Spurs left a gaping maw at the small forward position -- and because Scott Skiles likes to have his defensive stopper, Luc Mbah a Moute, ready to guard as many as four positions on the court, as well as the flexibility to start Luc or bring him off the bench. But it does come as a surpise to me after Joe's uninspiring rookie year. Sure, he played some impressive ball off the bench, in spurts, in the 2nd half of the season, and he showed he's got some range on his jumper. But progress was slow, and he still looked lost out there at times, something that should never be seen out of a pro ballplayer 50-plus games into the season.

I like the potential upgrade the Bucks have going for them at power forward with Ersan Ilyasova and Amir Johnson, but at small forward -- it would be good for the Bucks to keep veteran forward-guard Bruce Bowen and his great defense around at least up until around the trading deadline. Bowen is reportedly considering retirement, though he would undoubtedly prefer to find his way back to the Spurs by playoff time next season. If the Bucks do convince Bowen to stay, they will be on the hook for his $4.1 million salary (as opposed to $2 million if he is released) but the Bucks have from now until next February to make moves that will keep them out of luxury tax territory. Bowen has a lot of trade value, particularly to teams looking for veteran help in the playoffs ...

HOWEVER - the trend in the NBA is to make arrangements (Antonio McDyess, Joe Smith) that allow veterans to return to the teams of their choosing rather than ship them around as trade chips. Which brings us back to Joe ...

If Joe's right (no reason for him to jive our man Nick) and the plan is to give him his shot as the starter, more power to him and the Bucks youth movement. While there are questions about whether Joe's starting small forward stuff, let's find out. Bowen would help, but why spend the $2 million if he'd rather be elsewhere. As a fan, I'll gladly wait a year or two more for winning if the Bucks make a genuine commitment to their under-24 players. Joe will be 23 in December; Mbah a Moute, 23 in September; Amir Johnson, turned 22 in May; Ersan Ilyasova's 22; Andrew Bogut, the old man of the group, will be 25 in November.

It's uncertain which of the veteran big men behind them will be around next season, but it may not matter. Roll the ball out there and let this athletic, versatile young frontcourt of five loose. Forget the Bucks pr bull about winning now. It's time to build the future on young legs, win or lose in 2009-10.

Whatever happens, Joe made a he*! of an impression on our man Nick, who said Joe was a great guy, easy to talk to. Nick then issued the following statement for media release:

"I will make this commitment: I will buy the Joe Alexander jersey and wear it to games. I will also keep it in my locker at work in case I see him again."

When asked what prompted this investment in Joe, Nick was sure:

"I'm buying the jersey because I met him and he's a cool guy."

Pretty cool, Joe. And cudos to you, Nick.

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.