CDR officially a Buck, not playing in Vegas
The Bucks have finally made their acquisition of Chris Douglas-Roberts official. In return the Bucks will be sending New Jersey the 2012 second round pick that they got from Chicago in the John Salmons deal (aka the gift that keeps on giving). They will retain the 2011 second rounder that they got in the same deal.
As for CDR, his Tweeting has him neck-and-neck with Tiny Gallon as the most excited guy ever to be a Buck. The only bad news is that he won't be playing in Vegas next month, though he will be there with the team.
JS: Gallon too talented to pass up
Tiny Gallon is excited to be a Buck. A bit too excited? Perhaps. But John Hammond says his talent was too tough to pass up late in the second.
"He slid for a few reasons," Hammond said. "But we just thought that a guy with that much talent, we just couldn't pass on. We had options with 47. Do we keep the pick? Or maybe move up for a future (pick), something like that? We had a couple guys on the board, and he was the key guy. We thought if he was at 47, he was way, way too talented to pass up."
Bucks Beat: Skiles turns to Jennings before selecting Gallon
The interesting subplot behind the Tiny pick? As Paul Imig wrote a couple weeks back, Gallon and Brandon Jennings are buds from their season together at Oak Hill, which wasn't lost on the Bucks as they considered their options at #47.
"Scott (Skiles) was on the phone with Brandon and talking to him about it," Hammond said. "That’s Scott Skiles. Grabbing the phone and talking to Brandon literally right up to the last moment of the pick. It worked out, and we’re happy to have him.""We talked to Brandon as the pick was getting near," Skiles said. "Because they have a relationship it’ll be good that there’s somebody here that Tiny can look to, and also good for Brandon to start to take on more of a leadership role. I think that works well both ways."
You might question whether it's a good idea to be drafting players in part because of their relationship with your 20-year-old point guard, but in this case I don't really have a problem with it. Despite his flaws, Gallon's talents are well known and in the hours leading up to the draft many thought he was headed for New Jersey with the first pick of the second round. But instead he slid and even the Bucks passed on him twice, suggesting that they couldn't have been that desperate to get Brandon a buddy. Interestingly, Gallon also mentioned in an interview with WSSP that he was already good friends with Larry Sanders--both guys were at LeBron James' skills camp last summer, though not sure if that's how they first met. They also faced off last season in Virginia, with Sanders' VCU taking down then-17th ranked OU.
Fox Sports: Hobson making his mark
Despite going ten spots ahead of Gallon, Darington Hobson has been the forgotten man of the Bucks' draft so far. I guess that what happens when you're neither a first round pick nor have an ironic nickname. In any case, I linked to this on draft night but be sure to check it out if you haven't already--fascinating story about his long road to the NBA.
Five years, five different schools.It began with a sense of normalcy as a freshman at Western High in Las Vegas before relocating with his mother to Houston at Alief Hastings. His junior season was spent across town at a program called Gulf Shores Academy as a backup to future pro Gerald Green. Then he jettisoned off to Calvary Baptist Christian in California for his senior year, and after failing to qualify, he landed at Decatur Christian for a year of prep school in Illinois.
Kawakami: Warriors finally rid themselves of Maggette
With Corey Maggette gone, Warriors beat writer Tim Kawakami gets out the hatchet:
Nelson loved Maggette and catered to him, no matter how selfishly Maggette played.Maggette was Nelson’s perfect kind of veteran–he just wanted his own stats, didn’t care about defense (4 blocks TOTAL last year) and never helped much with victories.
But Corey spoke up in the locker room for Nelson!
WSSP: Bradley's agent thought he was going to be a Buck
Interesting chat with Gery Woelfel, who explains the origin of his Avery Bradley-to-the-Bucks rumor.