Tobias Harris and Jon Leuer meet Milwaukee, NBA draft reaction continues

Let's kick off a recap of the draft day-after with assorted audio/video interviews from the key participants:

• Paschketball: Scott Skiles and John Hammond discuss their busy draft night. Couldn't agree more with Skiles' assertion that the Bucks' scoring problems start with their inability to finish around the basket, as opposed to saying it's just a matter of perimeter shooting (as many have). But did the Bucks actually help themselves in that department? As we mentioned the other day, Udrih was the best finishing PG in the league last year (73.6% at the rim) and Livingston's size allows him to do things around the hoop that few points can. But Stephen Jackson has been fairly comparable to John Salmons the past couple years in terms of seeing his finishing trail off with age, down to 55% a year ago. So for the Bucks to improve from dead last in the NBA (57.6%), they need to do a lot more than just hope the new guys make things right.  
• Paschketball: Tobias Harris and Jon Leuer meet the Milwaukee media for the first time since their selections. The JS also has a recap if you think reading is cool.
• WSSP 1250. Hammond joins The Big Show to recap his night. Some interesting comments where he volunteers his frustrations with Michael Hunt's suggestion that the Bucks are "spinning their wheels."
• ESPN540: Former Tennessee/UWM coach Bruce Pearl talks Tobias Harris with Homer. Pearl echoes many of the same things we've heard about Harris' professionalism and upbringing, and not surprisingly believes his biggest challenge will be learning to defend NBA small forwards.   
• ESPN540: Jeff Weltman was on the D-List hours before the draft day dealings began, but it's still very interesting to hear his perspective on the draft process. For those of you curious about the Bucks' use of stats and how the different aspects of the draft process interact, be sure to listen to this. Weltman alludes to the Bucks' analytics group, psychological profiling, and traditional scouting all playing a part in the process, and mentions a couple of the statistical trends they watch out for with collegiate players. I like it.
• ESPN540: Jon Leuer talks to the D-List about working out for 17 teams, how the Bucks will try to get some workouts in this week before the lockout, and reveals that he's never seen the Badgers or Bucks play as a spectator (he did go to Wolves games as a kid).

Here's an interesting feature on Harris from two years ago ahead of the Boost Mobile Elite 24. As Pearl alluded to, Harris was essentially bred to be an NBA player by his father, himself a former college baller and agent for George Gervin. It's an interesting case study in the world of high school basketball, where 17-year-olds have personal strength trainers and have played against every other top prospect in the country thanks to years of high-profile summer camps and AAU tournaments.

We're Bucked: Breaking down the trade

K.L. Chouinard breaks down the deal from all angles, and I 100% agree that the best starting point for assessing the deal on the court is comparing Jackson with Salmons, not Maggette (I'm working on a similar piece with Synergy stats that I hope to put out next week). A year ago the Bucks effectively replaced Luke Ridnour with Maggette as their sixth man, and with this deal they're essentially replacing Salmons with Jackson and Maggette with Beno. Basically it's back to the future with a pick/roll point guard leading the bench unit, though don't expect Jackson to give the Bucks what Salmons did down the stretch in 2010.

Woelfel: Bucks' draft is forward thinking
Gery Woelfel offers his post-draft take on the new-look Bucks, noting the importance of bringing in Udrih to backstop Jennings a la Ridnour two years ago.  

Rocky Top Talk: Should Scott Hopson and Tobias Harris enter the NBA Draft?
Our SB Nation brethren at UT sports site Rocky Top Talk covered Harris all season, and I thought theblurb below was a bit interesting.

Tobias is in Knoxville in large part because of the way Bruce Pearl used Tyler Smith:  a point forward in a flex offense, able to create in a number of ways from the four spot.  From day one, Tobias had the green light to go coast-to-coast after grabbing a defensive rebound, something he did with great success all year.  He has a better skill set off the bounce than in the post right now, which certainly can't hurt a guy who will be a 3/4 tweener in the NBA.

SI: Freshmen who fit
The Rocky Top post mentioned an article by SI's Luke Winn from December, which is a fascinating read on how Harris and his father Torrel decided on Tennessee over a host of other big name programs.