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Weekend Bucks Notes

  • Charles Gardner writes that Mo Williams will probably be back tomorrow night, but Andrew Bogut has an injured quad that may cause him to miss his first game of the season.
  • David Noel has been ripping up the D-League lately, but apparently it wasn't enough for the Bucks, who today placed him on waivers. Noel didn't play a minute for the Bucks this season, but was averaging 20.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 3.9 apg in 17 games. He was also shooting .525 from the field and .489 from distance, but just .533 from the line. Noel was in the second (and final) year of his rookie deal, and it was unlikely he going to be re-signed this summer anyway. The intrepid Charlie Bury offered some good insight on the move over at RealGM.

    He was playing controlled, his jumper was falling and he was really doing a good job creating for teammates. He wasn’t going to the rim and taking people’s heads off though, and that’s eventually what I think will keep him from succeeding in the league. No NBA team is going to want David Noel to play the role of Tracy McGrady. They are going to want Noel to play like Darvin Ham. He is far more skilled than Ham, has a better jumper and a better handle, but he still seems to refuse to use his biggest asset which is his athleticism. I know he’s a hard worker but he seems hell bent on proving that he’s not just an energy guy. It will be interesting to see what happens as his career progresses.

    So if you're keeping score at home, that means that all of the Bucks' 2nd rounders from 2005 (Ersan Ilyasova) and 2006 (Noel and Damir Markota) are now plying their trade outside Milwaukee. Best of luck, David.

  • We gave you our thoughts on the grocery bag revolt this morning, and you can find logistics and more info over at RealGM. The "revolt" has been talked about plenty today, including a mention in Bill Simmons' links, as well as during Bill's interview this afternoon on ESPN 540.

    This sounds interesting: For Saturday's Celtics-Bucks battle, the Milwaukee fans on RealGM.com have organized a protest in which they'll be attending the game but wearing paper bags on their heads. And you're telling me this franchise doesn't need a new GM who can get the fans excited again???? I might have to do some campaigning in Wisconsin soon. By the way, thanks to the folks at The Bucky Channel for pledging their support. I have now cornered the market on Bucks blogs. I'd also like to thank the Bucks CFO for sending the exact same automated response to every fan who e-mails the team asking the club to consider my candidacy. It's that personal touch that makes being a Bucks fan so special right now.

    Bill will in fact be campaigning next month in Milwaukee, so we'll keep you posted.

  • Seemingly lost in all the losing was a great Bogut article by Michael Lee over at the Washington Post. Overall it's a pretty positive piece, but what stood out most was Bogut's comment about the unsettled nature of the Bucks:

    Many players on the Bucks are worried that the team is destined for another blowup this summer, with the future of general manager Larry Harris in question, and several observers believing that the team needs to start all over with just Bogut and Chinese rookie Yi Jianlian, who missed last night's game with a wrist injury.

    "You got a new coach coming in again, probably a new GM, the way things are looking; the things you read on the internet," Bogut said. "Next year, it's going to be the same again. We are going to have to adjust to a new GM. That's the toughest part. No matter how many leaders you have, when you keep shuffling things around, you have six or seven new players each year, it doesn't help the chemistry of a team."

    That probably won't keep Bogut from wanting to remain with the Bucks. He is eligible for a lucrative contract extension this summer. "I would definitely like to get extended," Bogut said, "but obviously, we also want to see the direction of the franchise. I think it's stable, but you want it to be more stable."

    Kinda hard to tell if Bogut is referring to Krystkowiak being new this year or the possibility that LK will be gone by next fall. Either way, the description of the GM position is pretty unequivocal. The latest discussion today by Homer True was Rick Carlisle possibly taking over as both coach and GM. While Carlisle doesn't have any GM experience, the Bucks might need to offer him that role to convince him to take over this sort of coaching gig. Of course, the dual coach/GM role didn't exactly work with Mike Dunleavy, but the Bucks may have no other choice in order to get an experienced coach. As a coach, Carlisle eventually wore out his welcome in Indiana but he's been a winner in both Detroit and Indiana.

  • Basketbawful has this week's Powerless Rankings, where the Bucks rank third in the East. Our buddy Matt Moore from Hardwood Paroxysm provides the good news:

    Yi's on the shelf, they couldn't defend against a Shriner's convention, and Michael Redd is still their superstar. I think it's safe to safe some retooling might be needed in the offseason. With a giant machete.