Tis the season to be melancholy, at least according to those who warn against "losing" star NBA players to international duty.

Don't believe the hype.

Team USA open the summer with a warm-up on July 25 against Canada, five days after the Bucks conclude their Summer League schedule. The stars and stripes start Group B Olympic play on August 10 versus China.

Fans, along with some of the media and and team management, view the tournaments rather differently. Summer League games are often celebrated as a wonderful opportunity to gauge fresh, relatively unknown talent. International competitions on the other hand are looked at, by some, as little more than a way to drain a star player's energy for the following NBA season, or worse yet, provide risk of major injury.

I'll concede that when thinking from a club (Bucks) perspective, it's only natural to have different outlooks when you're weighing the impacts of Joe Alexander versus Michael Redd or Luc Richard Mbah a Moute versus Andrew Bogut. As beloved as the rooks are, they aren't nearly as important to the team as Redd and Bogut. Thus, the conventional wisdom is that summer basketball is good for the youngin's, not so much for the seasoned stars.

In the weeks preceding, during, and quite probably after the Olympics, this will be reinforced by some who whisper and still others who scream about the dangers of playing competitively outside the NBA. At best, you'll hear anecdotal evidence.

While there is an inherent risk in any physical activity, there isn't a lot to worry about based on recent Team USA player's performances the NBA season following international duty.

Before the FIBA's last summer, I researched how the Team USA members performed in the NBA following the World Championships in 2006. The nearly consensus answer was that they played very well.

To further calm the fears, the following is a recap of how Team USA's 2007 FIBA Americas roster fared in the NBA last season:

Chauncey Billups: The 31 year-old played in 78 regular season games and shot a career-high .448 from the field and .918 from the line.

Jason Kidd: At 35, the oldest Team USA player appeared in exactly 80 regular games for the third straight season.

LeBron James: He averaged 30.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in 75 regular season games and then 28.2 points in 13 more playoff games.

Deron Williams: Williams played in all 82 games for the Jazz, and had his finest season yet, averaging 18.8 points and 10.5 assists while shooting .507 from the field.

Michael Redd: With soaring fan expectations, he didn't thrill, but still, the guy demanded a double-double watch early on, finished 11th in the first Blogger MVP rankings, and concluded the year with averages of 22.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and a career-high 3.4 assists.

Tayshaun Prince: He played in every game for the fifth straight season, also playing deep into the postseason, as required in Motown. He averaged 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.

Kobe Bryant: Kobe also played every regular season game, then added 21 more to the 82 in the playoffs. Rumor has it that some non-blogging media types voted him MVP.

Dwight Howard: Yet another Team USA player who managed to play all 82 games, Howard exploded with career-highs in points (20.7), rebounds (10.8), and blocks (2.1).

Amare Stoudemire: Another All-Star game for the Suns star, who played 79 games and finished fifth in the NBA with 25.2 points per game.

Mike Miller: Miller appeared in 70 games and averaged 16.4 points, a career-high 6.6 rebounds, and shot .432 from three-point land.

Tyson Chandler: In helping lead the Hornets to the best record in the West, Chandler had his best season as a pro. Averaged 11.8 points points and rebounds in 79 regular season games.

Carmelo Anthony: Anthony played in 77 games for the Nuggets, finishing fourth in the NBA with 25.7 points per game.

In summary:

• No Team USA player suffered a major injury or missed significant time after playing in the FIBA Americas tournament last summer. Miller 's 70 games played (85.3 % of possible games) were the least of any player.
• A third (four of 12) of the players appeared in all 82 regular season games for their respective teams.
• On average, they appeared in 78.16 games out of 82, or about 95.3 %.
• No player had a substantial drop in production from the previous season.
• 15 of the 24 (62.5 %) players on the last two Team USA's appeared in at least 75 games in the NBA season following their international competition.

The verdict? Don't fret about Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, and possibly Luc Richard Mbah a Moute playing in the Olympics. Instead, enjoy what should be a highly entertaining tournament.

This is only a small look at a larger picture, and there are no guarantees. Anything can happen, sure. Who knows, maybe Beijing will come up Gold-Silver-Bronze for the Bucks' trio.

• Check out a video interview of Michael Redd talking Olympics and Bucks (above). 
• We recap the Bucks' summer league opener, including a (much) less-than-stellar debut for Joe Alexander. DraftExpress' complete coverage takes a closer look at Ramon Sessions and Joe Alexander.
  
• Andrew Bogut talks to WSSP's Gary & Cliff. Among the highlights: Bogut prefers "Man in the Mirror" to T-Pain and he was "shocked" by the Yi trade. He say he had no inkling a deal could go down until he read about it on HoopsHype.
• Dave Berri takes a look at The Bogut Economy. The Wages of Wins professor as always takes a novel approach, but the conceit of the article--the implied worth of other players assuming Bogut gets $72.5 million for continuing his 07/08 level of production--ignores the fact that Bogut will only earn $72.5 million if he does improve his production.
• Martin Greenberg at the JS has an interesting look at how Seattle's Sonic-less future should affect Milwaukee's approach to the Bucks' arena issues.

  NBA Commissioner David Stern has given Milwaukee a temporary pass, but the limits of the Bradley Center should not be a back burner issue. Creative community efforts and Milwaukee’s leadership combining private, charitable and public concerns must seek a solution to the Bradley Center’s future. Our country’s current financial and credit crisis and the discussion of eliminating the use of tax-exempt bonds for financing sports facilities will make the challenge for Milwaukee even greater. A solution for the Bradley Center needs to be discussed now rather than waiting for what happened in Seattle to unravel here.

  David Stern told Don Walker in May that "for a period of time, this arena will do." While we can breathe a sigh of relief that the commissioner is playing nice for now, you wonder if that will simply encourage the kind of civic complacency that doomed Seattle.  There's no question that the Bucks today would face an uphill battle in building a taxpayer-financed arena, especially given the team's consistent struggles since the 2001 playoff run.  Sen. Herb Kohl is also in something of a catch-22 since he's in a poor position to ask for public funding, yet also is committed to keeping the Bucks in Milwaukee.  And despite the fact that Miller Park has been a major reason for the Brewers' march back to relevance, I'd bet many people would still use the cost overruns and construction delays there as an excuse to pass on helping build a new Bucks' arena.
  
  Which is a shame because there's certainly potential for greatly improving the downtown as an entertainment area if a larger sports/entertainment complex was built. For now the dialogue about what needs to happen seems very limited, though at least Michael Hunt keeps trying to bring it up. Is it politically feasible? That's another question which might have some very frustrating answers in the short term. Overall, a new Bucks arena, even if funded partly by tax dollars, would certainly seem like less of a handout if it could be spun as an investment in keeping not just the Bucks relevant, but the city itself.
• The Bratwurst chimes in on Bogut's extension and the Bucks' power forward vacuum.
  
• Mark Schwarz has an interesting look at fraternization between referees and players/coaches.

Given the Bucks just invested $60+ million in Andrew Bogut, now would seem to be as good of a time as any to take a look at Bogut's better moments from 07/08. There was some good stuff in 05/06 and 06/07, too.  Accentuate the positive, people. 

• Andrew Bogut was in town to officially sign his new extension, and Dan Walsh provides all the video goodies over at Sportsbubbler. Charles Gardner recaps Bogut's big day at the JS. 
• Ersan Ilyasova appears headed back to Barcelona for at least one more year. Ersan had a terrific finish to his first season in Spain, but the Bucks' acquisition of Richard Jefferson and the drafting of Joe Alexander and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute meant there wasn't much room for Ersan this fall.
  
  Ilyasova played mostly as a PF for Barca, but the Bucks' recent interest in Chris Andersen and Kwame Brown hints that they'd prefer a 4/5 rather than a combo forward--Alexander and Mbah a Moute can already provide that.   And given Ersan can make a couple million Euro tax-free in Catalonia, the Bucks' were always unlikely to offer more money.  With Barca acquiring Juan Carlos Navarro and CSKA Moscow big man David Andersen, Barcelona look primed for a big season in both the Euroleague and Spanish ACB.  Andersen will also be Bogut's teammate this summer with the Australian national team.
  
• Gardner also writes that Skiles is getting a head start this week with summer league practices.

  "I’ve seen him four practices now," Skiles said. "I’m going to talk to him and tell him where I think he’s at, what he’s got to do, and then take him through Vegas.
  
  "This is an important time for him and me, because I get a chance to actually see him in game competition. And he gets a chance to know what ultimately I’m going to expect of him. I’m not too worried about it, but I am going to expect more out of him probably than has been expected out of him."

  Sessions' only NBA burn came during Larry Krystkowiak's lame duck finish, so Bucks fans will be eager to see what Sessions can do when the games really matter and the coaches actually demand some defensive intensity.  But there's no shortage of point guard expertise among the Bucks' coaching ranks. Skiles is still the NBA single-game assist record holder former all-defensive team guard Lionel Hollins
• The Bucks' first game in Vegas is Saturday night at 9 pm central. None of the Bucks' games will be televised, but you can watch all of them live at NBA.com.
• Kelly Dwyer talks contracts, including his take on the Bogut deal:

  I truly do like Bogut's game, think he's been used improperly, and understand that you pay centers 1.43 times worth what you pay every other position player who contributes about the same amount.
  
  It doesn't mean the Bucks didn't bid against themselves. You can still sustain a good relationship with a player and person that you like while demanding that the market determine what he should be paid.

• We break down the Andrew Bogut extension.
  
• If you're curious about what sort of contract incentives might be in Bogut's deal and how they're handled for cap purposes, check out the source for all CBA-related questions.  I wouldn't mind seeing Bogut's incentives tied exclusively to team wins, rebounds and free throw percentage.  If those things work out, everything else should fall into place quite nicely.
  
• The Bucks didn't waste time signing their picks, inking Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to a two-year deal, only one day after signing Joe Alexander.  Last year the Bucks waited until September 11 to sign Ramon Sessions, but that was in part because the Bucks had cap space to work with and unsigned second-rounders don't count against the cap.  The Bucks have no cap space this summer, so they don't have that same incentive (I probably should have realized that earlier).  Still, Mbah a Moute is just the fourth second rounder to sign, following Chris Douglas-Roberts (Nets), Patrick Ewing, Jr. (Kings), and Sean Singletary (Kings).
  
• Speaking of Luc, Truman Reed at Bucks.com put his terrific investigative skills to work with an insightful profile of the Bucks' new Cameroonian prince.  As with all of Reed's pieces, there's plenty of insight straight from the subject, and it's great to find a young player focused on things bigger than basketball:
  

  "Hopefully with the position I'm in with the Bucks, I can work hard and have enough success so I can help my government and my people overcome those hurdles and any others they encounter," he said. "I know I'm not the only one; there are lots of other people doing that, too.
  
  "The biggest thing is to reach out and help, and I'm willing to work in order to do that. It's hard for some of the countries in Africa. They're younger countries -- my country just won its independence in 1960. It's hard for young countries to keep up with others, such as those in Europe and America, which have been around for hundreds of years. Things have changed a lot already, though, and I'm hoping I can work hard and have enough success that I'll be able to continue to help bring about change there."

• Lots of talk over at RealGM about former Hornets big man/Birdman Chris Andersen possibly joining the Bucks. Andersen hasn't really played much the past two years after a length drug suspension, but he seems like he's turned his life around.  On the court, he's an athletic big man who can rebound and block shots, similar to Dan Gadzuric without the big pricetag.  A long-term answer at PF?  Nope.  A decent guy to add to the frontcourt rotation? Sure. Stay tuned.
• Nets Daily has Yi/Simmons coverage.

The basics of the Bogut deal: five years at a flat $12 million annually, for a total of $60 million guaranteed. Additionally, Bogut could earn up to $12.5 million in incentives over the course of the deal, for a maximum total deal value of up to $72.5 million.  Charles Gardner reports the incentives are tied to both team and personal performance, so Bogut won't be making that higher figure if he's merely an average center on a lottery team.  That's good, though the pessimist could say that he's going to be paid $12 million per year even if he makes no progress.

Given what we know about the 23-year old Bogut and the improvement he's shown so far, that shouldn't be too big of a concern, however.  My initial reaction is that the $60 million number sounds reasonable while the $72.5 million figure seems steep.  But it all comes down to what those incentives are and, more importantly, what Bogut does from here on out.  I know that's something of a cop-out answer, but we're fooling ourselves if we think we can provide a final judgment on this deal today.  We'll hopefully get some specifics on the incentives next week, but the real test will be the next six years.

Continue reading this post »

Update: Charles Gardner has now posted  at the JS that the deal will be for $72.5 million over five years according to Bogut's agent David Bauman, while WSSP is reporting the deal is worth $60 million.  So it might not be such a bargain, though the difference could also be due to contract incentives. Obviously if the Bauman number is dependent on things like all-star appearances (or hitting 70% from the line) it would look pretty reasonable.

As many had expected, the Bucks appear close to signing Andrew Bogut to a five year extension that will keep him in a Bucks uniform for the foreseeable future.  No official confirmation or dollar figures are available yet, though there's additional talk at RealGM that the deal will be for $60 million. Given I referred to a $55-60 million deal as "reasonable" a little over a week ago, I can't complain. (update: well, maybe I can)

Beyond that, the only thing I would add is that it will apparently not include an early termination option or player option, which would be very good news that might be overlooked.  Last year the Bucks conceded Mo Williams both an ETO and a player option, which you rarely see in the NBA, especially for non-stars.  The collective bargaining agreement allows ETOs to be included after the fourth year of a contract.

Because of the luxury tax risk they have in 09/10, the Bucks will likely structure the deal to start at the lowest possible amount and then have maximum 10.5% raises (of the first year salary) in order to hit the $60 million figure.  That would put Bogut's 09/10 salary at around $9.92 million, peaking at about $14.1 million in the 13/14 season.  If they start at $10 million even then the deal would amount to about $60.5 million total.  To put that in perspective, Michael Redd will earn $15.8 million this season and $18.3 million in 10/11, the last year of his current deal. Bogut will earn $6.3 million this coming season, the last year of his rookie contract.

In any case, locking up Bogut at around the market rate for good young centers is another step in the right direction for John Hammond's Bucks.  It's certainly a ton of money for a player who has yet to be a major piece of a winning team, but Bogut also showed enough in the last four months of the season to suggest that he was close to being an all-star caliber center, averaging 16.3 ppg, 11.6 rpg and 1.7 bpg after the all-star break.  With Dwight Howard around he won't have much chance of starting for the East, but given the Bucks' decades long search for a real center, Bucks fans probably won't mind.

This is also excellent news for Australians, who are pinning their Olympic hopes on Bogut's rich shoulders. Bogut had previously set mid-July as his deadline for signing a new deal, and has been sitting out Australia's pre-Olympic exhibition games as he waits to lock up his extension.

Remember that story about Scott Skiles' small forwards? How he's coached the likes of Shawn Marion and Luol Deng? What could possibly prevent you from recalling that rousing Friday night of reading, I don't know.

In any event, the recent big trade reminded me. Now, with Richard Jefferson in the fold, as well as Joe Alexander and Desmond Mason, the Bucks have quickly turned a need into a surplus. And Skiles yet again has a premier small forward at his disposal.

The trade also netted the Bucks a player that just might feature in a fearsome offensive foursome. And I mean "offensive" in a very good way.

No team in the NBA finished the season with four 15.0+ point scorers in 2007-08, according to our research.

With the addition of Jefferson (22.6 ppg last year), the Bucks have a legitimate chance to boast a quartet of guys that could hit the 15.0 per game mark next season, along with Michael Redd (22.7), Mo Williams (17.2), and Andrew Bogut (14.3).

Offensive juggernaut in the making?

Continue reading this post »

Here's the third part of our interview with Bucks GM John Hammond. Check out Part I and Part II here.  Thanks again to John for so generously providing his time last Friday.

Viewed individually, it was easy to like the three players John Hammond acquired on draft day. Richard Jefferson provided the Bucks an athletic, high-scoring forward. Joe Alexander brought athleticism and upside in spades, as well as the attitude and coachability to reach that potential.  And in the second round, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute gave the Bucks another athletic forward who prided his game on defense--a novel concept for pro basketball in Wisconsin.

Taken together however, the acquisition of three small forwards in one day begs the question of whether the Bucks would have been better off giving more weight to positional need, especially given the power forward shortage created by Yi's departure.  Not surprisingly, Hammond is unapologetic over acquiring the guys he felt were the best players available and sees his forwards' flexibility as key attributes going forward.

"Our goal is to have the best players you can possibly have.  Someone told me years ago that you are what you guard, and I think Richard Jefferson can guard multiple positions.  I think Joe can and I think Luc can.  So I think those guys are all multiple position players."

Continue reading this post »

• Charles Gardner reports that Andrew Bogut has set a mid-July deadline for signing an extension. 

  "He’s happy with the direction of the team," Bauman said. "Getting a disciplinarian in Scott Skiles will help, and he’s very pleased they were able to get a former all-star to fill the small forward spot. Defensively, he (Jefferson) is really strong, to go with his offensive prowess.
  
  "I spoke to Andrew right after the draft, and he was intrigued by Joe Alexander. John Hammond said he can play the 4, and to get a hard-nosed guy at the 4, he’s going to be a good complement to Andrew’s abilities."

  Bogut's mentioned a few times his wish to have a physical power forward next to him, which makes sense given that type of guy could do some of the defensive dirty work for Bogut. But while Alexander will likely be capable of providing minutes at the PF spot, something tells me Joe won't exactly be the solution Bogut's looking for.
  
  As for Bogut's contract, this will no doubt be an interesting negotiation. Bogut would probably like to get a deal done and dusted, especially given the number of players from the 2004 draft class who perhaps foolishly turned down lucrative extensions last summer (I'm look at you, Ben Gordon). Then again, if any of those guys sign for big money in the next week it could complicate the Bucks' attempts to sign Bogut to a reasonable deal (think $55 to $60 million over five years...wait, is that really "reasonable"?). Emeka Okafor, Andris Biedrins, Luol Deng, Josh Smith and Andre Iguodala are the guys worth keeping an eye on. Okafor is probably the most relevant given his numbers are similar to Bogut's and he turned down a reported five year, $60-65 million extension last summer (whoops). Since they're all restricted free agents and the only teams with cap space appear to be Philly and Memphis, a number of those guys could end up getting far less money than they turned down a year ago. The Bucks will have to hope Bogut is more risk averse than his predecessors.
  
• Rod Thorn tells Fred Kerber of the New York Post that Richard Jefferson wasn't thrilled with the deal that sent him to Milwaukee.

  "He didn't seem very happy," said Thorn, who emphasized yesterday he had not yet spoken to Jefferson. "I spoke to his agent, I called him, texted him. I like Richard. He was here for a long time and I'm sure he still expected to be here. Unless you are the one pushing for it, it's always difficult when you are traded. You are going to a new place, have new teammates. It's hard at first."

  Should we be surprised that Jefferson isn't doing backflips about having to pack up and move to Wisconsin? No, probably not. And it's also important to put Thorn's comments into context--Jefferson had hoped to stay in New Jersey, so there's no reason for him to be particularly enthusiastic towards the guy who just traded him away.  I'm not sure if HoopsWorld has any info beyond the Post story, but they're also emphasizing that Jefferson's displeasure is with Thorn, not the Bucks. Welcome to Milwaukee, Richard.
  
• Gardner also reports that 37th overall pick Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will be formally introduced at the Cousins Center Tuesday.
• Mbah a Moute, fellow rook Joe Alexander, Ramon Sessions and D-Leaguer Trey Johnson are among those expected to play for the Bucks' summer league team in Vegas, which runs from July 12-20.   Here's the schedule (all times central):
  • July 12 - Memphis 9:00
  • July 15 - Detroit 5:00
  • July 17 - Denver 9:30
  • July 19 - Minnesota 7:30
  • July 20 - Cleveland 5:30