- Charles Gardner writes that Andrew Bogut is saying all the right things about the Scott Skiles hiring.
"I'm very excited about coach; I know he will be tough," the Australian wrote in an e-mail response. "I think he will be the leader we need to set things straight and hold everyone accountable."
It's a worthwhile read, with Bogut also saying nice things about Ramon Sessions' pure point skills and Yi Jianlian's athleticism and work ethic. Bogut was calling for Sessions to get more minutes before the rookie burst on the scene, and it doesn't require much logic to figure out which of the Bucks' point guards Bogut would like to see shipped out this summer. It's a little harder to tell whether Bogut is sold on Yi as his long-term big man complement, as Bogut's also called for adding a banger and Yi's rookie season left many questions unanswered. Then again, it makes perfect sense for Bogut to want a pass-first point and a big-bodied 4: the former will get him the ball on offense and the latter would make his job easier on defense. - We mentioned this the other day, but Tom Enlund has a blurb over at the JS blog about Jim Boylan being the most likely choice as Scott Skiles' lead assistant. Boylan didn't inspire much confidence as the Bulls' interim coach following Skiles' departure, but he's a proven assistant who also happened to be on Marquette's 1977 championship team. Works for me.
- The Bratwurst has been reviewing the 07/08 roster, and in their final installment conclude that the Mo and Mike backcourt just doesn't work.
In the meantime, while it has become popular to blame Redd for the Bucks’ problems, forget it – he’s not going anywhere. His salary makes it almost impossible to get fair value back, and he cannot possibly be traded along with one of the Bucks’ bad contracts in order to clear some cap room. Fortunately, with a coach better able to put him into a position to succeed and make the offense flow, Redd should bounce back next season just fine. But he’s never going to be a very well-rounded player.
Redd's biggest problem this year was thinking that he could be an all-around star, but in spite of showing flashes of that he's simply not a Kobe/LeBron/McGrady type guy. He's probably best served picking his spots as a scorer and otherwise saving some energy for the defensive end, rather than trying to quarterback the offense--which all too often saw Redd palming the ball behind his back or trying to dribble around double-teams. Williams' contract and his apparent falling out with a number of teammates makes him the more likely man to be dealt, but I wouldn't count out a Redd deal either. Still, if Williams is dealt and the Bucks hypothetically have Sessions starting, they could get plenty of use out of Redd as the team's designated scorer. As much as Bogut has improved, he's simply not going to be a top-tier scorer and will need guys around him who can put up points; while Redd might benefit from a change of scenery, that's one thing he can certainly do. - DraftExpress has scouting reports on the Bucks. Perhaps a 26-56 season has gotten me overly cynical, but calling Mo Williams a "great point guard" and categorizing virtually everyone on the team as at least an "average" or "decent" defender just doesn't pass the smell test. Some overrating aside, there's lots of good detail on player tendencies in there.
- Yahoo's final team report is pretty much on point.
- Our friend Drew Cieszynski finished his season-long tour of all 29 NBA arenas two weeks ago in Milwaukee, and talked to the NBA.com blog about it. Congrats Drew!
- We'll start ramping up our draft coverage soon, but in the meantime Chad Ford has a list of who's in and who's out. Guys I'll be keeping an eye on when workouts get going: O.J. Mayo (probably gone unless the Bucks jump up into the lottery), Russell Westbrook (defensive combo guard who can do this ), Mareese Speights (beastly PF/C who may or may not have the motor of his Florida predecessors), Eric Gordon (explosive youngster but plenty of questions about his toughness and size), Anthony Randolph (freakish but raw combo-forward) and Danilo Gallinari (wily Italian kid has produced against pros but is he athletic enough?).
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