Many sports fans dream for a chance to run their favorite team, make the decisions, and take home a big check in the process. When you look at how some teams make decisions it appears like they hired John L Fan to come up with a way to map out the franchise future. This offseason the Bucks proved how easy it is to destroy a team in a matter of a few weeks and a few moves.The sports world is an ultimate example of “What have you done for me lately?” NBA coaches have lead their teams deep into the playoffs only to be replaced or rumored to be jettisoned (Rick Carlisle and Stan Van Gundy for instance). Players are far from immune to this phenomenon as well. Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker twice helped to carry the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals and then were traded and/or ripped apart by fans and the media.
The cause is a simple, albeit unfortunate, reality. Winning teams make money, while losing teams cause people to lose jobs. If you are a powerhouse team in a major market (such as New York or Los Angeles) you can’t take the time to rebuild, you must win now. That win at all costs philosophy has certainly helped nudge teams into making awful decision.
In the 2003-2004 season the Milwaukee Bucks were a playoff team, Terry Porter was a coaching genius, and Milwaukee was a happy place. Last year the cheese wheels fell off the Bucks bus. Poor salary cap decisions hurt the team, as Anthony Mason’s large bank account can prove. Point Guard sensation TJ Ford suffered a potentially career threatening spinal injury, and the Bucks took an early summer vacation. The outlook for the Bucks looked bleak as star guard Michael Redd said he would leave as a free agent if the team didn’t make drastic improvements. Porter was fired as coach in the first piece of what would be a major makeover.
The Bucks did get lucky in the NBA playoffs, just not on the court. Milwaukee landed the number one pick in the NBA draft, winning the draft lottery. After much speculation about what direction to take with the first pick, Australian Andrew Bogut donned a Bucks hat on draft night and signed the same week. Bogut will take time to develop as he is only 20, but has a great upside. He might be one of the best passing centers since Arvydas Sabonis was in his prime in Europe. Once free agency opened Milwaukee threw over ninety million bucks at Michael Redd, who decided to remain a Buck. Milwaukee even received encouraging news that TJ Ford was recovering and was going to be able to play in the 2005-2006 season.
Amongst the joy in Dairyland the Bucks proved that it only takes a short time to ruin a promising future. Redd was signed but at an amount that took up a large portion of the salary cap. He received a maximum contract when he could have been signed for a few million dollars a year less. The Bucks then went out and signed small forward Bobby Simmons to a five year forty-seven million dollar contract. Simmons had a good year for the Clippers but he doesn’t fit in with the Bucks. Desmond Mason is the small forward and Michael Redd is the shooting guard. Simmons is now making over nine million dollars a year to be a reserve. Throw in the deal that sent a second round pick next year for swingman Jiri Welsch, and the Bucks have four men making more than the GNP of Uruguay to play two positions.
Milwaukee made a smart decision by deciding to keep athletic center Dan Gadzuric. The contract was absurd. The man who will be a backup in a few years will be the recipient of an insanely generous six year thirty six million dollar deal. Gadzurik was a great player to keep, but most likely would have resigned for a third of price. The Bucks also want to keep a third center Zaza Pachulia. This is a team with no reliable power forward and three centers. Joe Smith was the number one overall pick, but the key word is was. Smith is a good role player but isn’t anything more than average. He has lost a step and doesn’t have the moves and athletic ability that made him a star. The Bucks needed a reliable power forward and have yet to address this issue.
Last year Maurice Williams did a good job filling in for TJ Ford but he is a backup on a decent team. He played well but had a poor turnover-to-assist ratio and showed his inexperience at crucial times. A veteran point guard is needed, especially with Ford’s health in question. The Bucks decided to let Eric Strickland leave as a free agent, and there are few point guards in this year’s free agent class.
So who is coaching the new look Bucks? One of the big name coaches available this year? Flip Saunders? Phil Jackson? Larry Brown? Paul Silas? Nate McMillan? Nope, it is Terry Stotts. The former coach of the Atlanta Hawks, a team worse than the Bucks. When I tried to find something positive to say about Stotts, only one though popped into my mind. Who the #&^% would hire him to rebuild a team? Not exactly a glowing review.
What has General Manager Larry Harris done to the Bucks? This was a team with the #1 overall draft pick, millions of dollars to spend, a great coach, and talented players. Now the Bucks will soon find themselves maxed out on a roster filled with holes. Not exactly a well planned out off-season for the CheeseWizards. In less than a month the Bucks went from a potentially great situation to bubble team hell. Welcome to Wisconsin, home of the Dumb Bucks, dontshknow.