Monday Bucks Notes

by Frank Madden on Jun 8, 2008 9:16 PM CDT Comment 0 comments

Michael Hunt writes that there's no question that Michael Redd should be available. But Hunt warns that moving Redd just for the sake of making a deal could backfire.
But here's what the Bucks cannot do: They cannot trade him for a handful of palookas in the last year of their contracts merely to achieve payroll flexibility. The franchise is too fragile to sell prolonged rebuilding. The last few fans who still care would set fire to the Bradley Center. If the new regime wants to move Redd, it had better get players it can compete with now.
When Hammond was hired he warned that an unpopular trade might be necessary for the Bucks to move in the right direction, which could have been interpreted as code for a salary-dumping Redd trade. But the likelihood of a Cleveland trade comes down largely to two factors: how highly Hammond and Skiles value Redd's services and how concerned the Bucks' brass is with the possibility of luxury tax issues in 2009.
Bucks.com now has some video of the Friday workouts featuring Anthony Randolph, Joe Alexander and Donte Greene. Also check out Alex's recap of the media session and the Sportsbubbler's extended video interviews with the prospects, Scott Skiles and John Hammond. Big kudos to Dan Walsh and Jim Ganzer for that.
Last fall we brought you the The Bogut Whisperer, and in that same vein of basketball comedy check out Bucks Tales (check out all four installments). Credit to Moses over at the Bucks Fan Forum for the hard work.
Ersan Ilyasova's first season in Spain ended with a whimper as he had just two points and three boards in Barcelona's 76-61 loss to TAU Ceramica, completing TAU's 3-0 sweep of the Spanish finals. Ilyasova was however Barca's best player in the first two games of the best-of-five championship series, posting 21/10 and 15/10. For the season, Ersan finished with averages of 7.4 ppg and 4.0 rpg on .442/.403/.735 shooting in 17 mpg, but his raw numbers shot up in the playoffs when he averaged 13.0 ppg and 9.6 rpg on .403/.375/.700 shooting in 29 mpg.

After struggling to find regular playing time until a mid-season coaching change, Ilyasova will likely get major minutes should he return for the second year of his contract in Barcelona. That could be the best move for his development, but the Bucks will no doubt also consider the possibility of bringing Ilyasova back to Milwaukee sooner if their forward position remains unresolved following the draft and free agency/trade season. John Hammond's response to Gery Woelfel on the subject: "It's a consideration."