• Bucks.com releases the team's preseason schedule, highlighted by a trip to China, where Milwaukee will play the Golden St. Warriors twice. They tip off at the Bradley Center against Timberwolves on October 6.
• An ESPN.com panel of 25 collectively ranks the Bucks 11th in the East, with a projected 35 wins.
  
• SI.com's Chris Mannix gives the Central Division teams a summer report card. The Bucks are top of the class with an A-.

  Hammond still has some things to do (figuring out if Michael Redd is in the team's long-term plans, for one) and his decision to draft Joe Alexander after trading for Jefferson was a little puzzling. But Hammond has Milwaukee back on the right track.

• Chris Colston at USA Today tabs the Bucks 18th in a first version of preseason power rankings. That places them ninth in the East.
• Michael Redd is the NBA's 46th best player according to Tom Ziller at FanHouse. The always keen Ziller is in the process of counting down the league's top 50 players.

  What the Hades in wrong with being one-dimensional if you're among the best in the world at that one dimension? Redd is an elite scorer: he's unstoppable 80% of the time, he's efficient. He never turns over the ball in score mode, a real special quality given how much offense he creates on his own. Scoring is a pretty important part of basketball -- we act like Redd did the equivalent of tiddlywinks in 2006-07, just because the Bucks were awful.

• Brett at The Bratwurst is a little underwhelmed looking at the offseason moves.
• JS Online's Don Walker reports Charlie Villanueva is working with SolesUnited, a shoe donation program. Great stuff, CV.
• Brian Hood, writing for Fox Sports, devises an All-NBA Football team and slots Richard Jefferson at tight end.
• The Bob Boozers Jinx's J.D. Mo again questions Michael Redd's Olympic performance, as well as local media coverage. Redd certainly was underwhelming on the court. He only played 73 minutes, and for good reason. The glut of guards in front of him (Kobe, Paul, Williams etc.) played better in Beijing, which isn't surprising because they are, well, better players. Redd isn't a good defender, and was cold shooting the ball (32.3 FG% and 27.8 3PT%), rendering him not terribly useful on a team of the most polished players on the planet. Of course, he didn't really have a chance to work his way into a groove, and he's not suddenly a bad shooter. He was simply off for what amounted to about two NBA games worth of minutes. That happens. Recall the heroic Kobe Bryant's first 45 minutes for Team USA in the Olympics? Went like this: 37.0 FG% and 6.7 3PT% with four assist and four turnovers. When you look at the big picture though, Kobe fulfilled his role. Redd? He obviously didn't contribute anywhere near the level of Kobe or most others, but I can't say "he was not a factor in winning the gold." Remember the FIBA's last summer? The tournament that qualified Team USA for the Olympics? Redd hit 53.0 FG% and 45.3 3PT%. That came against lesser competition, and for smaller stakes, but it was a necessary step toward gold. Glen Davis shot 58.3 FG% and played an important role in the first round against the Hawks, but notched 15 minutes total in the Finals. Sure, Atlanta isn't Los Angeles, just as the FIBA's aren't the Olympics. No one is crowning Redd or Davis as the vital player on a champion. But don't tell Davis he didn't earn a ring. And don't say Michael didn't factor in winning gold.

Bogut talks to FIBA.com about his big night

• As noted this morning, Andrew Bogut carried Australia to an 81-78 win over African champion Angola this morning (recap / photos).  Bogut made 13/18 fg, 1/2 3fg and 5/6 ft en route to a monster 32-point, 11-rebound performance against the undersized Angolans. Still, the Aussies' needed a buzzer-beating three from guard C.J. Bruton to pull it out.
  

  "All of these preparation games are really important to get a feel for the ball, for the different style of refereeing," he said.
  
  "It's more a European style of game and that is different from the Australian and NBA game and we have to get used to that."

  With the win Australia finished atop group A at 2-0 and will play Group B winner Agrentina in the Diamond Ball final tomorrow morning. The Argentines also finished 2-0 and boast a stacked roster that includes Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni, Fabricio Oberto, and Carlos Delfino. The size of Oberto and Scola should provide a bit more resistance for Aussie's frontcourt trio of Bogut, David Andersen, and Chris Anstey, but Argentina's backcourt should also have its way with the Aussie guards.
  
• Team USA dispatched a pesky Turkey squad 114-822 this morning in Macao. Michael Redd was a non-factor in making 1/3 fg and scoring four points, but Ersan Ilyasova started for the Turks and contributed 10 points and five boards. Bucks.com has more terrific coverage of all the Olympic action.
  
• For more on Ilyasova and his future with the Bucks, check out Charlie's interview with Dave Babcock.
• Alex takes a look at the double-edged sword of Charlie Villanueva's perimeter game.
• Ridiculous Upside broke news today that OKC owner Clay Bennett is buying the Tulsa 66ers. The 66ers have been the Bucks' shared D-League affiliate the past three seasons, providing (sometimes) valuable minutes for the development of Ramon Sessions, Ilyasova, David Noel, and (of course) the Damir Markota Experience.  The NBA announced in June that Tulsa would be the affiliate for both the Bucks and OKC, but it's not yet clear how OKC's outright ownership will change that.  The only other D-League squads owned by NBA teams are the L.A. D-Fenders (Lakers) and Austin Toros (Spurs), and neither shares an affiliation with another team. Every other D-League team has two NBA affiliates, so there's not an obvious alternative for the Bucks.  UPDATE: the official press release notes that OKC will have "exclusive rights to assign its players with one or two years of NBA experience to the 66ers."
  
• Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Ramon Sessions, Charlie Bell, and Bob Lanier will be hanging out at the Wisconsin State Fair this weekend.
• The 17th Annual PCC/Milwaukee Bucks Golf Tournament to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will be held September 22 at Ozaukee Country Club.  Check out the link for information on how you can take part. 
  

Three for the road? (rotobob.com)

Ryne Nelson at Slam lists Charlie Villanueva among seven talented players who don't deserve big contracts.

The problem with Villanueva is his flaming inconsistency. Most nights he won’t be anything on the court. He’ll be a complete non-factor. Write him off. Forget about him. Pretend he’s from Milwaukee and never give him a second thought.

Then, there’s other nights when he literally doesn’t miss a shot. On these nights, Villanueva looks like Lamar Odom…with much less hair and a game that’s 10 times better.

VNuv's seeming inability to string together multiple big games is often lamented by Bucks fans, so we know where Ryne is coming from here. One of the issues is that the nights Nelson refers to when CV doesn't miss a shot are often characterized by deft three-point shooting. Yes, that is a problem.

In his only two 30+ point games this past season (March 5 and April 9) Villanueva made a combined 10-18 from downtown. Since his best games come when he pours in threes, it's a little easier to understand why the power forward hoisted 2.4 three-pointers per game last season. Even if that doesn't sound like a ton, it is.

Continue reading this post »

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 »

• Tom Enlund reports on Luc Richard Mbah a Moute's introduction to Milwaukee.  Head over to the Sportsbubbler where Dan Walsh delivers the Luc video. If you're still wondering why the Bucks took LRMaM over Chris Douglas-Roberts, read the following quote.

  "I love playing defense. That’s the best part about basketball. Defense wins championships, and I’m proof of that. Ever since I’ve played basketball, I’ve played for a program that put a big emphasis on defense and I’ve always been successful at it, so I’m hoping to do the same here in Milwaukee."

  The cynic in me says that we heard similar talk when Desmond Mason, Michael Ruffin and Royal Ivey were signed last year, but Mbah a Moute has one thing going for him that those guys didn't have: Scott Skiles. And the whole Cameroonian royalty thing. That won't hurt Luc's case, either.
• Bob Wolfley is doing his best to get to the bottom of the Richard Jefferson situation.
• The Philly press names Charlie Villanueva as a possible plan B should the Sixers fail in their pursuit of Hawks' RFA Josh Smith.

  If the Sixers make an offer to Smith and the Hawks do match it, Stefanski would likely try to nab a power forward such as the Trail Blazers' Channing Frye, the SuperSonics' Chris Wilcox or the Bucks' Charlie Villanueva via trade.

• Meanwhile, AZCentral.com reports that the Bucks are among five teams interested in former Hawks PG Tyronn Lue.  Lue's a very solid backup who had some of his best moments lighting up Steve Blake and Mo Williams, but it does seem interesting that the Bucks would be interested in using some of their limited free agent dollars on a PG when they already have Mo Williams, Ramon Sessions and Charlie Bell on the roster.  Perhaps they're preparing to trade one of those guys?
• Now that it's over, I've been trying to find some time to write in more detail about the Yi Jianlian era, but fortunately Don Walker is already all over it. Yesterday he wrote that the Yi trade suggests Herb Kohl really is letting John Hammond call the shots, which was one of the first things I thought when the deal went down.
• Mike McGraw of the Chicago Daily Herald sees promise in the Bucks offseason, but says there's still work to be done.

  Now Hammond must find a way to exchange Mo Williams for a point guard who will pass the ball inside once in a while. Miami showed interest in Williams last summer, and the Bucks made a mistake by not sending him south. Williams is a bad fit next to Michael Redd.
  
  Some might say Kirk Hinrich would be a good match for Milwaukee. But even if the Bulls move Hinrich this summer, they would want more in return than unfocused power forward Charlie Villanueva, which is about the extent of the Bucks' assets.

• Check out the video above and get to know Bucks second rounder Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Given Luc's native Cameroon is fighting for a spot in Beijing, Jill Painter of InsideSoCal.com asked him about his Olympic plans:

  ``I don't know about that,'' Mbah a Moute said. ``Right now, I'm just trying to focus on making the team and getting accustomed to the team. I'll think about Olympic stuff after that.''

  Makes sense.  Given the Bucks' crowded small forward position he'll no doubt want to get off on the right foot with the coaching staff, so expect him to be in Vegas with the Bucks' summer league squad in a couple weeks. And as much as I love that name, I'm going to be using a lot of "Luc" and "LRMaM" from here on out. 
  
• Few expected Charlie Villanueva would outlast Yi Jianlian as a member of the Bucks (myself included), but Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News writes that Villanueva is likely to be shipped out soon as well.

  No surprise that the Bucks are looking to send Charlie Villanueva to the first place they can find. He'll never last with Scott Skiles.

  Not many people would argue with that last point, though the problem is that Villanueva is now the only true power forward currently on the Bucks' roster. Given their lack of cap space and the threat of luxury tax issues in 09/10, the Bucks are unlikely to find more than a stop-gap solution to their power forward problem in free agency this summer.  Especially given that Joe Alexander is expected to sign within the next week or so, thus making him untradable for 30 days, that leaves John Hammond with Villanueva, Mo Williams and Desmond Mason as assets he can use to solve his PF shortage (yes, I'll assume Redd is unlikely to be moved at this point).  Trading Mo for a PF leaves the Bucks a bit short at the point, so in simplest terms Hammond would probably have to pull off a pair of trades (Mo for a PF and CV for a PG), and even then he'd still likely need another PF.  I'm less optimistic that Desmond Mason's expiring $5.4 million deal would fetch a quality 4. 
  
• How about bringing back Michael Ruffin on another minimum-level deal?  No, he can't do anything offensively and you don't want him playing a lot of minutes, but he still provided enough rebounding and defense to be a very good value last year.  In fact, Ruffin led the Bucks in net +/-, and his lack of offensive ambition isn't as problematic with the likes of Redd, Jefferson, Bogut and Williams (if he's around) on the roster. You don't want to sign him with the intent of making him a starter, but the Bucks don't have that many options right now.
  
• Michael Hunt writes that Mike Redd and his fellow Olympians have only one option: gold.
• Joe Alexander's rise from probable first rounder to mid-lottery pick has been well-chronicled, but if you have ESPN Insider be sure to take a look at Chad Ford's report on Alexander's pre-draft work with Joe Abunassar. Given the debate about whether he can play PF, I found it interesting that Alexander measured 6'7.25" without shoes and 6'8.25" with shoes in Orlando, yet Ford reports that he measured 6'7.75" in socks and 6'9" in shoes during his pre-draft training.  Why am I not surprised?  And aside from some nice workout video, Ford also does his part to add to the legend of Joe:

  Steve said that Alexander would spend hours in the basement dribbling a basketball with headphones on. One time, he and his wife left to go shopping. He yelled at Alexander in the basement and told him they'd be right back. Three hours later they returned and Alexander was still in the basement, dripping with sweat, still dribbling the basketball.
  
  "Joe didn't really have a girlfriend in school," Steve said. "If he could've dated his basketball, then I guess, he would have dated. Basketball has always been his one true love."

Sleepy Joe: Alexander takes a snooze in the Cousins Center lobby. (Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

• Alex reports from Summerfest where Joe Alexander was in his element.
• Sportsbubbler delivers video from the Alexander press conference while Charles Gardner provides a recap.There's an allusion there to Alexander possibly wearing the same #8 jersey Marques Johnson wore, but it looks like the jersey they presented him was simply an "08" jersey printed up for whomever the Bucks picked in the 2008 draft. I'll guess Alexander ends up wearing #11, following in the miniature footsteps of T.J. Ford, whom the Bucks happened to pick eighth five years ago.  Chatting at ESPN before the draft, Joe warned it could get ugly if he doesn't get it:
  

  I chose 11 because it was a number I wore in middle school. I'm going to wear 11 if I can. If not, I have some serious thinking to do about whether I really want to play in this league.

  He's got a sense of humor, kids!  Needless to say, his first Braeger Chevrolet commercial should be awe-inspiring.
  
• Dave Heller at the JS has a survey of Bucks' draft grades. For the most part the spread in grades (C- to A) depend on how strongly the writers felt about drafting for quality vs. positional need. Aside from those, Jonathan Givony at DX also gives the Bucks an "A":
  

  With Jefferson in the fold, we definitely feel better about seeing Milwaukee take a chance on Joe Alexander with the 8th overall pick. He was always going to have problems stepping up from day one and justifying being drafted that high considering his lack of polish, but with Jefferson on board and minutes to be had off the bench at the 3 and especially the 4, Alexander can develop at a more reasonable pace, instead of being thrown straight into the fire.

• Ty at Bucks Diary is working overtime.  On a positive note, he breaks down the numbers and argues that Scott Skiles' defensive magic could pay immediate dividends:

  As I said above, all but one player improved his career defensive efficiency under Skiles, and the minimum improvement was 3 points per possession, with the average improvement being 5.5 points per possession. That means victories, especially in the Eastern Conference. If you project Skiles average improvement effect onto the Bucks roster from last season, and you assume that their putrid offense won't get any worse, then I estimate the "Skiles Effect" alone will add 11 wins to the Bucks record.

  It's a pretty startling stat, and there's no doubt that the 08/09 Bucks will provide a fascinating test of Skiles' incredible defensive record. In efficiency terms, Skiles' teams have typically been excellent defensively (2nd, 7th, and 1st from '04-'07 in Chicago) and below-average offensively (26th, 23rd and 21st over the same period) while playing at a fast pace.
  
  To me the question is 1) how much can Skiles really help the Bucks defensively and 2) can they still be a respectable team offensively. The Bucks were dead last in defensive efficiency last year, so there's no doubt some improvement will occur, but how much is reasonable?  The Bulls were 21st in 02/03, then 16th the following season when Skiles took over 16 games into the season.  So they were pretty bad and Skiles produced results rather quickly. I'd love to know the biggest improvement a team has made from year-to-year in that category.  For what it's worth, the world champion Celtics produced one of the best defensive performances of all time this year after ranking 16th last year. Maybe they could spare us Kevin Garnett?
  
  Secondly, the Bucks were below-average offensively last year, ranking 21st in efficiency, but I agree with Ty that as of now it's difficult to imagine the Bucks will be any worse than that. Normally you expect there to be a tradeoff of worse offense with improved defense, but it's possible the 07/08 Bucks were simply so poorly coached and unmotivated that those rules won't apply (well, we hope). Afterall, at the moment their worst starters offensively are Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva, two guys capable of going for 20/10 on any given night (I'll ignore CV's offensive inefficiency for the moment). There's a solid chance Villanueva and/or Mo Williams aren't on the roster by opening night, but the addition of Jefferson alone gives the Bucks one of the most offensively potent teams in the East...at least on paper.
  
• On the flip side, Ty says Richard Jefferson's defense is in clear decline. That's somewhat understandable given he had ankle surgery two years ago, though he did play in all 82 games last season. Last year RJ's opponent PER was about the same as Desmond Mason's, but the key difference is that RJ's own production actually outpaced the guys he was guarding, which can't be said of Desmond. Both guys might suffer from having to guard the best opponent wing player more often than not, and the Nets were also better defensively when RJ wasn't on the court. Still, the Bucks were outproduced at every position in 07/08, so as long as Jefferson can be consistently better than the guy he's guarding--which wasn't true of Yi and Simmons--the trade could make a big difference.
  
• Speaking of which, how does Jefferson feel about moving to Milwaukee? Dave D'Alessandro writes he has yet to say anything about his new gig.

  Still no first-hand word from R. Jefferson on his life being turned upside down. We could tell you third-hand that he's pretty flummoxed by the whole thing, which we've heard from two of his closest friends. But he dutifully ran his camp yesterday and is at a charity golf tournament today, so we'll hold off on the rest until we hear from him personally. Which, knowing Richard, could be in October.

  D'Alessandro also mentions that the Nets could use a wing player and now have a logjam of bigs following the acquisition of both Yi and Brook Lopez. Which makes you wonder if the Bucks tried to include Desmond Mason's expiring deal and one of the Nets' young big men (Josh Boone, Sean Williams) in order to balance the trade out positionally. Of course, at the time the deal was made the Bucks hadn't actually drafted Alexander/Mbah a Moute and the the Nets didn't yet have Lopez.  So perhaps Rod Thorn and Hammond will be talking again soon.
• Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal writes that draft day said a great deal about the direction the Bucks are headed in.
• Jim Paschke might not have a reason to learn Chinese any more, but that doesn't mean he's not excited about the draft day wheeling and dealing.
• The Salt Lake Tribune writes that Andrew Bogut could miss Beijing entirely if he doesn't sign a new contract extension with the Bucks. Bogut has been saying that he won't play until his extension is finalized, but something tells me he might revise that stance if negotiations stall. Afterall, he's still under contract for 08/09.  From a Bucks standpoint it would be nice to lock up Bogut before he has a breakout fourth season, but you can bet agent David Bauman won't be looking to give the Bucks a bargain. The earliest Bogut can officially sign an extension is July 9 when the free agent/trade moratorium ends.

• For audio/video from the draft, check out Bucks.com.
• Let's start with the obvious: the Bucks started the day with a decided weakness at the small forward spot but ended it with an embarrassment of riches at the position. Naturally, there's plenty of second-guessing among fans about why the Bucks would draft two small forwards after acquiring an all-star at the position only hours earlier. The biggest question to me is whether Alexander can legitimately play as a PF, which the Bucks are saying he can. However, that also suggests he might be more of a tweener than originally thought.  Alexander might be on the short end of the PF spectrum, but he's strong, athletic and played the position in college. More importantly, even if he ends up being more of a small forward, it probably would have been unfair to expect Alexander to be a productive starter as a rookie. While he was the best player on a very good West Virginia team last year, Alexander is in many ways still learning the finer points of the game.  
• Changing the culture of the Bucks has been a theme since John Hammond was hired, and the moves today certainly underscore that Scott Skiles' team will bring a different mentality than Larry Krystkowiak's sorry 07/08 squad.  While he may not be the top shelf defender he once was, Jefferson provides a major upgrade at the offensive end while also bringing a two-way mentality that Skiles should appreciate.  Alexander meanwhile could be Skiles' long-lost son, exuding an intensity and dedication that makes him a fairly safe pick. Lastly, Mbah a Moute doesn't have the sex appeal of a CDR, but he has a clear role and his success isn't dependent on being a scorer like CDR. Last year the Bucks tried to infuse some defensive intensity into the team by adding lunchpail role players such as Mike Ruffin and Royal Ivey, but they found out the hard way that your 13th guy doesn't get your team to play defense. Alexander and Mbah a Moute won't be leaders next year, but Jefferson will help set a more responsible defensive tone that the young guys will no doubt pick up on.
• Assuming Alexander is here to stay, then it would seem obvious that Desmond Mason would be on the move this summer. On a personal side, I hate to see Mason shipped out again given the sort of guy he is, but with an expiring $5.4 million deal he'll be a key bargaining chip who can be easily combined with someone like Mo Williams or Charlie Villanueva in a bigger deal.
• So where do the Bucks go from here?  Hammond said he spoke to Michael Redd last week about acquiring players to complement Redd, so for now it sounds like trading Redd isn't a priority.  If that's the case then the Bucks will have two 20+ ppg guys on the wings and will probably look to shop Mo Williams.  Both the Cavs (Anderson Varejao) and Heat (Udonis Haslem) could be good trade partners, as each could use a scoring point and can offer defensive power forwards to help fill the gap now faced by the Bucks at the 4. Especially with O.J. Mayo joining the backcourt mix in Memphis, Hammond could then try to use Charlie Villanueva to acquire Memphis' Kyle Lowry, a more defensive, game-managing point who would seem to complement Sessions.  Either way, the Bucks have plenty of time to shuffle their roster before camp breaks in October.

Cruising around the net, here are some of your latest notes and rumors with less than 24 hours to go until the draft:

• Sam Amico at the Pro Basketball News has a bit about Minnesota being interested in Joe Alexander, which I hadn't previously heard.

  Reports say the Timberwolves are aiming to use their third overall selection to land a veteran, or at the very least, trade down and select West Virginia forward Joe Alexander. Expect Milwaukee to get involved in these talks (if it isn’t already). The Bucks are also very high on Alexander and are considering selecing him at No. 8. That is, of course, unless the Wolves get to him first.

  The interesting part is that Amico contends the Heat will take Mayo and then trade him (maybe to the Clips?), which would leave Beasley available at the third pick. The Bucks last week were rumored to be interested in trading up for Mayo, but keep in mind that Hammond has a number of times referred to Rose/Beasley being the top two players in the draft. The Bucks landing Beasley? Apparently not as ludicrous as we thought. But still pretty ludicrous I'd guess.
  
• With all the the talk about Alexander and Randolph, I've been a little surprised that there's been no mention of Kevin Love, who could slip outside the top seven if Memphis (or whoever has their pick) passes on him for Eric Gordon or Danilo Gallinari at five. In a radio interview on Monday, Hammond mentioned the possibility of one of the "smalls" being available, but didn't say anything about Love. However, Andy Katz writes that the Bucks have "interest" in Love, but he still expects the them to go with Alexander, whom he terms "the "safest pick in the lottery." I'd have to disagree with that description, but whatever.
  
• Chad Ford still has Alexander locked in at eight, though he acknowledges Randolph is also in the mix. Ford also has a breakdown of which teams are interested in each of the prospects; the Bucks are only mentioned for Love, Randolph and Alexander. He has Randolph going no higher than the Bucks' pick but writes that Alexander could go as high as sixth to the Knicks, who "seem to be really intrigued."
• On the trade front, check out some back-and-forth over at RealGM about a rumor of Kirk Hinrich for Villanueva, Mason and the eighth pick.  As you might guess, most people aren't thrilled. Trading Mason would also mess up the Bucks' draft party at Summerfest, since Desmond is the only Buck who's supposed to be there. Quick, where's Awvee Storey?
• Dan Walsh and Jim Ganzer at the Sportsbubbler again provide some good video footage from the workout yesterday. Most notably, John Hammond sounds pretty content to stay with the eighth pick. Or at least he wants us to think he is.

• Bob Wolfley at the JS comes through with some quotes from a John Hammond interview with Fox Sports Radio this afternoon. Yesterday we broke down the Randolph vs. Alexander debate, and with everyone predicting the Bucks will choose Alexander, Hammond is saying all kinds of nice things about Randolph.

  "We like him very much. He's a tough one because some people have said, and it's really kind of hard to argue, if they say the top tier of this draft is (Derrick) Rose-(Michael) Beasley 1-2. . .Some people say, and time will tell, maybe three or four years down the line from now, maybe the next best player could be a guy like Anthony Randolph. He's 6-10, handles the ball, passes it. Very, very skilled guy, just extremely thin right now. But, boy, in time he could be a special player. That would be a tough decision if he's looking you in the eye with the eighth pick."

  The good news is that you can interpret it pretty much anyway you want. If you like Randolph, then clearly this is Hammond glowing about a guy that he likes--and perhaps trying to butter up Bucks fans for what could be an unpopular pick. If you like Joe Alexander, then you can say Hammond is simply talking up the guy he doesn't want so as to throw other teams off the scent.
• The Bucks had eleven prospects at the Cousins Center on Tuesday for another day of workouts, with Alabama PF (and Bratwurst favorite) Richard Hendrix probably the most notable name in the group. Plenty of Wisconsin connections as well, as Mike Taylor, Brian Butch and Draelon Burns were also in the house.
  
• If you're looking to emotionally prepare yourself for a Joe Alexander pick, check out video from his ESPN appearance, where he's asked about the Bucks and says pleasant things about Milwaukee. TrueHoop also has an interesting read by Todd Gallagher on Alexander's development into a lotto pick. Having watched Alexander since his days as a freshman scrub, Gallagher points to Alexander's Big East Tourney performance as indicative of the stunning progress he's made:
  

  Because of Hasheem Thabeet and UConn's massive frontline, which congested the lane and led the NCAA in blocks once again, Alexander broke out a series of latter year MJ moves. Jab step, one dribble, jump shot. Post up, square up, elevate.

  This is a very mature way of playing the game and there aren't many college players who have the physical ability and are refined enough to do it. It's certainly a departure from when Alexander was a stringbean newbie who had no concept of how he was being defended and wanted to beat everyone off of the dribble through a series of hideous And-1 moves.

  And he's a killer. When he talked trash about Duke after beating them in the NCAA tournament, that was the Joe Alexander WVU fans saw the entire second half of last year. Maybe that's from Huggins, maybe that's inborn, but the guy is not going to be intimidated.

• The Sonics, Grizzlies, Knicks, Blazers and Suns probably head the list of teams that could affect the Bucks' draft strategies should they keep the 8th pick. Seattle has long been assumed to be taking one of the guards, but now they're also being connected with Brook Lopez (for some reason).  That would push one of the guards or Kevin Love down to the Bucks, something that no one seems to be talking much about. Would the Bucks really pick Alexander or Randolph ahead of Love, Jerry Bayless, Russell Westbrook, or Eric Gordon?
  
  In the absence of any trades, Memphis is still the most likely destination for Love, though Gordon and Danilo Gallinari have also gotten mentions.  New York has been touted as a possible destination for pretty much everyone, including Alexander. That's probably more of a longshot, though it'd be more likely if the Knicks could swing a deal for Memphis' pick.
  
  And though they both pick behind the Bucks, the Suns (15th) and Blazers (13th) both reportedly like Alexander and may be willing to trade up to get him. The Suns could take Alexander ahead of the Bucks' pick if they were to pull off a rumored trade for the Clippers' 7th pick. Or maybe not.
  
• Then again, maybe the Bucks won't be picking anyone in the first round on Thursday. If you follow RealGM then you've probably noticed the discussion about a supposed deal that could go down on draft night; for a good recap, start here. The basics are that it wouldn't include Bogut or Yi, probably can't involve Mo because he's BYC, and would likely involve dealing the 8th pick as part of a package for a veteran player.  Wichmae is the poster who started it all with a trail of hints, his every word spurring Greenspan-ian levels of scrutiny. I won't pretend to know if there's anything to it but I've met Wichmae, so I can attest to him being a real person and a good dude. He certainly doesn't have a reputation for rumor-mongering, but who knows what's really going on with the Bucks right now.
• Charles Gardner blogs that Dwyane Wade likes O.J. Mayo and alludes to the possibility of the Bucks using Charlie Villanueva or even (gasp!) Yi Jianlian to swap picks with Minnesota for the purpose of drafting Mayo. What about Sessions as bait?  I'm kinda surprised this got its own blog entry, as the Bucks were rumored to be interested in Mayo last week but couldn't get into a private workout with him. In general this seems like something of a longshot,  but maybe Gardner has an inkling that something could still go down and wants to cover his bases?  I'm Ron Burgundy?
• Ty serves up his list of mixed-bag prospects, which includes Alexander.

  He only had 3 positive Win Contribution performances out of the 10 and those all happened to come against the lowest ranked among the "10 Best" -- Oklahoma (32nd ranked), Winthrop (27th ranked), and Notre Dame (42nd ranked). If you look at his performances against the highest ranked -- Georgetown and Louisville -- both are very poor. Thus, Alexander scares the hell out of me.

• Yi Jianlian scored 26 points (8/15 fg, 10/11 ft) along with five boards  and two blocks in 26 minutes as China once again defeated Lithuania's B team 110-92
• Truman Reed at Bucks.com opens up his history book and wonders: will number eight be great?
• The Bucks had their annual "media appreciation game," unfortunately our invite got lost in the mail.