Paschketball: Sidney Moncrief officially introduced as assistant
We first got word of Sidney Moncrief's return to the Miwaukee Bucks' bench in late July, though it wasn't until this week that the Bucks made the announcement official. One of the Bucks' all-time greats, Moncrief joined Scott Skiles and Jim Paschke at a Bucks tailgate event this week at Miller Park, discussing among other things his role with the team, his memories of Skiles' rookie year with the Bucks, and the way the game has evolved in the 25 years since he and Skiles first crossed paths. Moncrief officially replaces Kelvin Sampson, who left earlier this summer to become new Rockets coach Kevin McHale's top assistant in Houston, though Skiles emphasized that he would continue to give all his assistants comparable responsibilities.
The Business Journal: Attanasio noncommittal about buying Bucks
With the Brewers running away with the NL Central, is there a more popular man in Wisconsin right now than Mark Attanasio? OK, Aaron Rodgers...sure. But among the select few super-rich guys who could possibly afford to buy the Bucks, Attanasio certainly has the highest profile thanks to his tenure with the Brewers, which has seen the club transform itself from a perennial doormat into legitimate contender. So Mark, how about shelling out a few hundred million for the Bucks while you're at it?
"You know, I love sports," Attanasio said. "I know Sen. Kohl is passionate about sports too. So we will see where all of that goes. I have enormous commitment to the Brewers, enormous commitment to the money managing business, also enormous commitment to my family. One of the things I want to make sure of - so I can continue to be a mensch - is that I can make good on my commitments. So I have to make sure I don't get overextended. We will see what happens.
"That's neither yes nor no," Attanasio said. "And it's really up to Sen. Kohl anyway. It's his team."
How much should we read into Attanasio's expression of vague, hypothetical interest? Well, we haven't seen any indication that Kohl plans to sell in the short term, though I'd guess that would quickly change if an ownership group with local ties was actually capable and interested in making a legitimate offer. Kohl knows he's not immortal, and no one knows for sure what would happen if he passed away while still owner. But so far there hasn't been a serious local buyer to step forward, which has made Kohl's willingness to sell something of a moot point. Moreover, it's difficult to imagine anyone making an offer without a better sense of what the next collective bargaining agreement will look like, in particular the way it spreads the wealth among small and large market teams. Yes, the Sixers and Hawks were recently sold in spite of the ongoing lockout, but Philly and Atlanta are also significantly larger markets than Milwaukee. A more robust revenue sharing system is in many ways the necessary first step to assuring the long-term future of NBA basketball in places like Milwaukee, and only when that's in place will we likely see any movement on the other two elephants in room: ownership succession and a new arena.
Despite his California roots and rep as a baseball guy, Attanasio's local credibility would undoubtedly be a huge asset to any potential new Bucks ownership group, though it's also a stretch to think that his name alone could get a publicly financed building approved. The latter seems like something of a pipe dream in today's political climate, but that's all the more reason why we need to see guys like Attanasio working with Kohl to make the Bucks viable in the long term. Whether he really has the appetite to own two professional teams in the same small market is hardly clear, but it's not insignificant that he at least seems to be open to the possibility.
Hoops World: Larry Sanders working on his game
Alex Kennedy talks to Larry Sanders about working on his game at the IMG Academy in Florida (video above). A little too much talk about jump shooting for my taste (start rebounding first!), but I suppose that's what these kinds of pieces typically focus on.
Deadspin: Dumb corporate beef becomes dumb Kobe Bryant-Brandon Jennings beef
We couldn't do a notes post without some talk about Brandon Jennings, could we? As noted by the Deadpsin gang, this week saw Brandon and Under Armour taking some not-so-subtle shots at Nike's big guns, while UA is also releasing a series of videos featuring Brandon doing what Brandon does. And is anyone doing a better job of promotion than UA and BDA right now?
BUCKS.com: Bucks Announce 2011 Preseason Schedule
The only thing more depressingly futile than analyzing a regular season schedule that may never happen? Doing the same for a preseason schedule, which is why I won't even bother. In theory, the Bucks open their preseason slate on October 11 in Cleveland, with the highlight being the annual MACC Fund game on Friday, October 21--which also happens to be the only Bradley Center game. In reality? Don't hold your breath.
We're Bucked: Carlos Delfino helps Argentina win FIBA friendlies
Over the past weekend, Argentina's men's basketball team won a four-team contest designed as a warmup for the upcoming FIBA Americas.
Ball Don't Lie: Michael Jordan briefly mentions an NBA player, will definitely be fined
Michael Jordan just couldn't keep himself from talking about Andrew Bogut, and it will probably cost him. Kind of weird that Bogut of all people would get the Bobcats owner fined, isn't it?