Bucks: Bucks sign Brian Skinner
Now that we've had a minute or three to consider this... Oh. Still not so exciting. He's Brian Skinner, he's not Erick Dampier, he was quite alright back in 03-04, hardly okay by 06-07, and has only produced a handful of relevant games since 2008. The Bucks have an overabundance of players and bigs now, and I find this move somewhat curious. Skinner's contract is non-guaranteed, so he might not make it to November. I suppose this added camp competition doesn't hurt.
Skinner only played 16 games last season. He played 51 games (starting 21) in 08-09 for the Clippers, but he didn't fare too well when he played center: Per 82games.com, he "boasted" an 8.7 PER while playing center and allowed an 18.7 PER to opposing centers.
Meanwhile, in 09-10 Drew Gooden produced an 18.0 PER while playing center and allowed a 23.6 PER to opposing centers, though he spent the vast majority of time at power forward, so the sample size is limited.
Ball Don't Lie: "S" is for Scott Skiles
Up in Milwaukee, Skiles is off getting the most he can from a Bucks team that - Andrew M. Bogut Twitter escapades aside - is one of the league's more highly regarded outfits. Not a championship contender, but a team that nobody would dare blink at, were they to take the eventual champs (whoever that might be) to seven games.
This is Year Three for Scotty in MKE. He went 51-31 in his second season in Phoenix and didn't make it through the next season. He turned the Bulls around in his second year on the sidelines, from 19-47 to 47-35 before falling back down to 41-41 in his third year with Chicago. With the Bucks, TBD.
Ball Don't Lie: Brandon Jennings had an excellent birthday, cake decorator
Brandon turned 21 last week. I celebrated my 21st a few years ago by going to the BC to catch a Lakers/Bucks game, one of only a couple games I attended. Kobe Bryant got suspended the night before and didn't play, natch.
Hoops World: Milwaukee Bucks 10-11 Preview
Four staff writers pick the Bucks to take second in the Central, one gives them first place. They deem John Salmons as the top offensive player, which I guess is probably true, though it just reminds me how incredibly balanced the point distribution figures to be with this team... I doubt anyone will average 20 per night, but Salmons, Jennings, Bogut, Maggette, and Delfino could make for five double-digit scorers, and that is without mentioning Gooden and Ilyasova, adept offensive players who averaged 10+ last season.
SB Nation Bucks Preview: Can the team respond to higher expectations?
Another concern is that a lot of the players are veteran guys unlikely to get much better. It's hard to expect Bogut to play better, especially because he's still recovering from his wrist injury to end the year. Salmons was on fire to close the season, and it's legitimate to wonder whether he'll play as hard now that he has the security of a long-term contract. Delfino and Ilyasova came out of nowhere, so they could regress, and Maggette and Gooden are what they are. Outside of rookie Larry Sanders, the only player with potential to be significantly better than last year is Jennings.
I would add Douglas-Roberts, Ilyasova and Mbah a Moute (though only marginally I am guessing for Luc) to improve in addition to Jennings. Outlook is good for Delfino as well following an impressive showing in Turkey at the World Championships, but I'm not quite greedy enough to expect two straight career years for the veteran. Obviously Jennings is the biggest deal here; rookie point guards struggle as a rule, but many make real strides in sophomore campaigns.
SLAM Top 50: Brandon Jennings, 37
Speaking of whom.
Count SLAM firmly among the believers in Young Buck. This might be an optimistic placement, but there is a lot to be optimistic about.
SLAM: Buck Shot
A few fresh photos of Brandon.
SLAM Top 50: Andrew Bogut, 39
Though the writer dismisses the injury conners, I think they must have a played a role in this ranking... but then again Yao is 38, so. I would also take Bogut over Brook Lopez (#33) for this season anyway.
Bucksketball: Media Day Chris Douglas-Robert style
Fun media-day-inspired write-up about a player who is among the team's most intriguing on and off the court as we dive into the new season. I'm actually quite excited to see him play -- he was one of my personal favorites since playing for Memphis in college and he's already one of my favorite Bucks.
It’s easy to forget sometimes, that basketball players can be pretty young guys. CD-R is only 23, so it makes sense that he was tuning into Disney’s Recess years ago. At least I’ll assume it was years ago, we didn’t exactly get that clear. Though I wouldn’t put it by CD-R to be tuning into cartoons still. As much as many may think a guy like Lebron James is completely out of touch with reality, that’s how in touch with reality, or something that resembles reality, CD-R seems to be.
JS: Bucks rookie Sanders has lots to learn
Bogut said he has been impressed with Sanders in the early workouts.
"He's athletic, very long," Bogut said. "I'm hoping if not this year, then next year and in years to come he's going to help me down low with his wingspan and his shot-blocking ability.
"I don't think he realizes how good a shot-blocker he can be just yet."
Coming from someone who didn't know how good of a shot-blocker he could be (0.8 blocks per game in 05-06, 2.5 blocks per game in 09-10) this is encouraging.