Milwaukee Bucks Blog - The Bob Boozer Jinx : Richard Jefferson trade

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)

VIDEO: Brandon Jennings 1st practice... NBA cuts tax limit... Free and unfree agency ramble on

J.D. Mo — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:21:00 GMT

Bucks summer league workouts are under way!!

Either the Bucks need to hire a new cameraman or rookie Brandon Jennings is too quick for video.

Watch snippets of Jennings' first practice here. The link also takes you to video of 2nd round pick Jodie Meeks, who today signed a three-year deal (numbers anyone?).

Encouraging commentary from Bucks assistant Kelvin Sampson after Jennings finished off a 2-on-1 break:

"That's more exciting; fans want to see that. They want to be entertained, and this kid is going to entertain them."

NBA sets cap and tax levels: As league officials forecast last winter, the NBA cut salary cap and luxury tax levels for the 2009-10 season. This squeezes the Bucks budget just a little bit more as the team negotiates with restricted free agents Ramon Sessions and Ersan Ilyasova. Bucks owner, Sen. Herb Kohl, has indicated he will not allow the payroll to rise into tax territory. Teams over the luxury tax threshold pay $1 to the league for every dollar over the limit.

The luxury tax threshold was reduced from $71.15 million to $69.92m, a cut of 1.7%. The salary "cap" went from $58.68m down to $57.7m.

This doesn't necessarily mean that the Bucks cannot or will not slightly exceed the limit to sign Sessions and Ilyasova. The tax is levied after the close of the regular season, April 2010, so the Bucks could start the season over the limit and have until the February trade deadline to make a move or two to get under.

Only half of forward-guard Bruce Bowen's $4.1m contract is guaranteed, so the Bucks could secure $2m in wiggle room by releasing Bowen. The veteran defensive menace was acquired from the Spurs in the Richard Jefferson trade, and very likely would prefer to return to the Spurs for another playoff run this season. Bowen is also reportedly considering retiring, so there seems little point (other than making me happy) in keeping Bowen around.

It's really too bad. It would be nice to see Bowen, Luc Mbah a Moute and Charlie Bell playing together next season, sticking some nasty team D on Bucks opponents.

The $884,000 contract of shooting guard Salim Stoudamire, all 6'1" of him, is also not fully guaranteed. Not sure, however, how much would count against the salary cap if the Bucks release him. You have to assume GM John Hammond has had additional payroll shaving moves/trades in mind since the end of the 2009 season -- otherwise, the addition of Stoudamire doesn't make much sense.

Shamsports' very useful guide to 2009 NBA free agents: The Bucks may be talking to Hawks small forward Josh Childress, who jumped ship to Europe last season, but that doesn't mean he's available. The term free agent gets used pretty loosely when discussing NBA players, and Childress isn't "free" -- the Hawks, if they choose, can match any offer for him.

I know this because Sham over at Shamsports.com has put his madness over minutia to good use and provided a handy dandy guide to 2009-10 free agents. It's open season as of today (July 8) and Sham's provided a team-by-team breakdown of who opted out of their contracts, who opted in, who's restricted and who's truly free and unrestricted.

Perusing the list, we also learn that:

There are so many scrub ex-Bucks on the list that it's gotta be a joke on ex-GM Larry Harris. Desmond Mason, David Ruffin, Jake Voskuhl .. c'mon. Also: Joe Smith, Brian Skinner, Royal Ivey.

Like Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess is jumping off the Pistons ship. McDyess will join the Spurs, who are loading up on forwards this offseason (RJ, DuJuan Blair, and now McDyess). Actually that's hot off the presses and hasn't made Sham's list yet.

Hedo Turkoglu's signing with the Raptors. Why Hedo, why?

Shawn Marion's headed for Dallas, which is gearing up for one more run with Jason and Dirk. Can't say owner Mark Cuban is not the committed sort.

Does this make Josh Howard expendable? And might Cuban and the Mavs be interested in Michael Redd, if fully recuperated from knee surgery?

Unrestricted Mike Bibby and former Buck Zaza Pachulia will resign with the Hawks.

The Celtics have left Stephon Marbury (takers?) and big men Leon Powe and Miki Moore free and unrestricted.

Trevor Ariza will sign with Houston (as good as Ron Artest can be, whose getting better in the Artest-Ariza swa, the Lakers or the Rockets? Looking ahead, I'd rather have Ariza.)

The Sixers have five restricted free agents, headed by Andre Miller, who could be good pickups. Former Buck Royal Ivey is among them (don't worry, I'll stifle the Royal Ivey rant this time.)

Paul Millsap, the Jazz' up and coming, young big forward, a favorite of many Bucks fans, is restricted. (Don't expect the Jazz to let him slip away).

Anderson Varejao from the Cavs and the Lakers Lamar Odom look to be the big prizes on the unrestricted front.

(Day after I wrote this, Varejao got a new deal from the Cavs - 5 yrs, $50million, which is what he wanted two years ago when he was a restricted holdout. Can't help but figure that the 5 yrs, $37.5m ($7.5m/yr) Charlie Villanueva got from Detroit bumped Varejao's stock up.)

PF Chris Wilcox from the Thunder and Rodney Carney from the T-Wolves might be interesting targets.

Suns forwards Matt Barnes and Grant Hill are free and unrestricted. (Hill resigned with the Suns.)

Could the Bucks pick up Brandon Bass from the Mavs for the mid-level exception? Is Bass worth it ($5.85m)?

Yahoo's Johnny Ludden ranks his Top 20 NBA free agents, complete with deals and signings as they come.

Speaking of the Bucks very real need for tough power forward play, why are the Bucks talking to restricted small forward Josh Childress? Shouldn't the Bucks leave the SF position to our young and developing forwards (Luc and Joe) and get some rugged help in the paint? Brandon Bass certainly matches that description. Wilcox maybe less so, but he does qualify as paint-help.

Let's face it -- Kurt Thomas, Malik Allen, Francisco Elson and Dan Gadzuric aren't going to help the Bucks get anywhere.

In any case, there just aren't really any good small forwards out there in the free and unrestricted market. Would Matt Barnes be all that big of a help? Probably not. So what about a PF like Boston's Leon Powe, a guy who, moreso than Wilcox or Bass, would be less of a mid-level risk.

So goes my brainstorm for now. More later (consider that a warning if you like). I think the Bucks have a shot to improve if they play their mid-level exception right in this market.

Food for thought: Who in the market is worth the Bucks $5.85 exception?

Ramble on ...

Celtics get 'Sheed... More NBA free agents

J.D. Mo — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:42:00 GMT

The Detroit Pistons had room under the salary cap to sign Rasheed Wallace after reaching agreements with Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon last week -- but the Celtics had something the Pistons could no longer offer: A shot at the NBA championship.

And another of the NBA's best teams will get better. The Boston press reported last night that the Celtics had reached an agreement with the Pistons forward-center. The Celtics would not be denied. This from Peter May's report:

Ainge brought out the full arsenal in an all-out assault on Wallace, enlisting Kevin Garnett (a Wallace chum), Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to make the recruiting pitch. The money was pretty much the same, but, once again, the Celtics’ owners stepped up, mindful the team already is over the luxury-tax threshold. That means Wallace will cost $2 on the dollar. Not every owner would do that; most, in fact, would probably reject it out of hand. Having won once, however, has given the Celtics’ owners the appetite for more.

Somehow I doubt the money was the same. Boston will pay Sheed the mid-level exemption next season ($5.8 mill) whereas Detroit had much more to offer: The Pistons are still about $17m away from tax territory -- after the Gordan and Villanueva deals. And with the signing of Charlie and Gordon, gunners more than defenders, and the loss of Amir Johnson to the Bucks, the Pistons needed Sheed's inside presence more than ever. However, it appears that Detroit never had much of a chance.

Orlando, San Antonio and Dallas were other teams with meetings scheduled with Wallace's agent -- Sheed was going to a title contender while the Pistons slid toward mediocrity.

A talent-rich get richer trend has hit the NBA, with the elite teams getting better. Teams such as the Bucks and now, even the Pistons, having little or no hope of competing for the league's best veterans when the contenders are in the mix. The league is as loaded at the top as it's ever been, with Shaq in Cleveland; the Lakers adding Ron Artest; the Spurs improving with Richard Jefferson; and the Magic getting Vince Carter (but apparently losing Hedo Turkoglu).

But for now let's go to the Need4Sheed blog for the Detroit reaction:

"Some will even give you the obligatory 'You can launch your three’s and not play in the paint for another team, thanks for mailing in the last season Sheed.'

But to most Pistons fans we are thankful to him for putting our team over the top in 2004, allowing us a Championship we won't soon forget."

They're going to miss him. And if Pistons fans are under any illusions that Charlie Villanueva's going to fill Sheed's sneakers, they are going to be very disappointed.

I just realized I've been spelling Hedo Turkoglu's name wrong all year. Sorry dude.

Look who opted out of their contracts:

- Cleveland: Anderson Varejao
- L.A. Clippers: Brian Skinner
- Orlando: Hedo Turkoglu

- Philadelphia: Royal Ivey

Royal Ivey? Brian Skinner? There's no keeping a former Buck happy, apparently. I wouldn't mind having either of those guys back in Bucks uniforms, especially after John Hammond blew some $2.5 million and counting replacing Ivey with first Tyronn Lue and then Keith Bogans.

Skinner's a rugged big forward who had perhaps his best season as a pro with the Bucks in 2003-04 and was back for the 2006-07 season. He's 32 now and no longer commanding a mid-level exception-sized contract. Or maybe he thinks he does.

Ivey made less than $1 million in Philly last season and is obviously looking for a raise. He was a key part of the Sixers crunchtime rotation, burning the Bucks last season with some late 3-balls to steal a game the Bucks had in their grasp. Good D and point guard court sense make Ivey a very useful guy to have around, especially when developing younger point guards (Sessions and Jennings). I still have no clue why Hammond didn't resign him to the Bucks last summer. He could have saved some of Herb's money AND retained a guy who contributed more last season to the playoff Sixers than Lue or Bogans did on the Bucks.

Even more free agents still unsigned

What an abundance of players -- too many to list here - but Sham's got 'em here. Some of the players on Sham's list, such as Sheed and Charlie Villanueva have reached agreements but most of the guys on the list haven't. Everybody on sham's list is unrestricted. (Notice how Ramon Sessions or Ersan Ilyasova are NOT on the list. That's because they're not free agents. The Bucks filed qualifying offers to both players, which means they are Bucks unless the Bucks decide not to match whatever offers they receive from other teams).

Here are a few notables from the NBA free agent wire, and some oddities, too:

Point guards Andre Miller (Sixers) and Mike Bibby (Hawks) are still out there.

Hey, former Buck Joe Smith's a free agent after joining the Cavs for the 2009 playoffs.

Of course, there's Trevor Ariza, the Lakers versatile guard who's apparently been replaced by Ron Artest.

Brandon Bass, a good, young big forward who played in Dallas is an unrestricted free agent.

Keith Bogans and Damon Jones, two 2009 Bucks are free agents. Antoine Walker's free, and gladly accepting any and all calls (don't do it GM Hammond).

Wes Matthews, Jerel McNeal and Dominic James from Marquette are all free after going undrafted. McNeal might be a nice pick-up at shooting guard.

Everybody from Matt Barnes (Phoenix forward) to Bonzi Wells (former Trailblazer guard) and Chris Wilcox (OK City PF) are looking for new contracts.

And yes, Bucks fans: Ruben Patterson is once again a free agent.

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.