SB Nation - Salim Stoudamire

Ridiculous Transactions 8/1-8/7

Jon L — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:00:11 -0000

Kasib Powell will be doing his thing over in Greece next year.

Time once again for Ridiculous Transactions, wherein we talk about all the signings, trades, and waivers that involve the players we love to talk about - D-Leaguers! (and also some European players and a handful of NBA players). Putting aside the discussion of whether these guys should be playing overseas or not, let's get right to this week's moves.

August 1: L.A. Clippers - waived Mike Taylor; Milwaukee Bucks - requested waivers for Salim Stoudamire, then traded Malik Allen to the Denver Nuggets for Walter Sharpe and Sonny Weems; L.A. Lakers - waived Sun Yue; Boston Celtics - waived Gabe Pruitt

This was a dark day in the NBA. Mike Taylor was waived after Sebastian Telfair was brought in. He's not a perfect player by any stretch, but he's shown he can definitely play. We've already discussed Sun Yue. I didn't really expect Stoudamire to make the team, but it would have been fun. Gabe Pruitt didn't have the best Summer League, and the Celtics have been more interested in signing veterans the last few years than in letting their guys actually develop, so his release isn't all that shocking. All expectations are that the Bucks are going to waive Sonny Weems, because as I understand it his contract is guaranteed after a certain date. Assuming that happens it'll really be too bad, not just because Weems can play in the NBA, but how fun would it be to see him running the floor with Brandon Jennings, Joe Alexander and Amir Johnson? The answer is really, really fun.

August 2: Stanley Burrell - signed with VOO Verviers-Pepinster (Belgium); Oklahoma City Thunder - signed Kevin Ollie

Burrell going to Europe was probably an inevitability. He's a good defender, but doesn't do enough other things well enough to get an NBA call-up, so at this point heading overseas was probably more attractive than hanging around the D-League. Between his and Sqeaky Johnson's leaving and Marcus Williams and Malik Hairston likely making the Spurs roster out of training camp, the Toros are going to look a lot different next year. I'm only mentioning Ollie here because I really, really hope that this is some kind of "assign him to Tulsa where he can play for a year and learn how to be a coach" deal. I believe he's the 15th man on the OKC roster, and they already have something like six guards, so the fact that he might take playing time away from someone like Kyle Weaver or Shaun Livingston is pretty mind-boggling.

August 5: Robert Vaden - signed with Imola (Italy); Brent Petway - signed with Ilysiakos (Greece)

So it's finally official, and Air Georgia is headed for Greece. As I mentioned yesterday I don't think this is the worst idea for his career, but I also do sort-of wonder about all these defensive specialists going overseas. Not because people don't traditionally think of defense when they think of European basketball, but because it would seem that NBA teams would be on the lookout for those types of players during the season. Then again, perhaps someone like Petway can boost his offensive numbers a little bit over there and be more attractive as an all-around player to an NBA squad. Vaden going back to Europe isn't a huge deal, though I do sort-of wonder how serious the Thunder are about having him in their plans. Given that they own their own D-League team and run the pro system there, I would think that at some point they would want to give their prospects as much chance to learn that system as possible.

August 6: Kevin Lyde - signed with Eisbaren Bremerhaven (Germany); Kasib Powell - signed with Trikasa (Greece); Ahmad Nivins - signed with Manresa (Spain); Dakota Wizards - retained Kevin Rice as assistant coach; New Orleans Hornets - hired Robert Pack as an assistant coach

Nivins had flashes of looking really good in Summer League this season, and I wonder if his going over to Spain for a year has to do with the Mavs' new affiliate going "underground" until the 2010-2011 season. If so this makes good sense, in that he was unlikely to get much playing time off the Dallas bench, and this will keep him sharp and in playing shape. Lyde rebounded really well in his limited Summer League action, and while he's been to training camp with the Jazz a few times I don't think it was in the cards this year. 2010 is when the next Sail Bremerhaven is going to be held, which is a big international sailing convention, so that might be fun to check out. Hopefully Kasib Powell will check in with us before he heads to Greece, but as I mentioned yesterday, he's already been a D-League MVP and did really will at Summer League this year, so if he hasn't gotten an NBA offer then spending a year in Greece wouldn't be the worst thing.‎

Pack is a New Orleans native, so this is a nice homecoming for him, but I also hope that his presence and access to the coaching staff and front office there will make the team a little more receptive to the D-League. As far as I know, their only experience with D-League players so far has been that they like Courtney Sims, but haven't signed him. For a team that had as many bench scoring and backup center problems as they did last year, they really should have been looking at places like the D-League for help.

Rice being retained as an assistant with Dakota may seem a little awkward, as he was mentioned as a possible (though maybe not a front-running) candidate for the head position, but he knows the team and the area, brings a measure of continuity post-Ticknor, and he's a good defensive coach. It probably won't be too much longer before he's running his own squad.

August 7: Jared Jordan - signed with Telekom Baskets Bonn (Germany)

Jordan going to Europe means he likely wasn't in the Rockets/Vipers' long-term plans, which may seem surprising for a guy who racked up so many assists in college and the D-League, but he also didn't get a lot of playing time in Summer League, so the writing may have been on the wall there. And, while I know we always say these guys should stay in the US, I wouldn't mind living in Bonn for a year.

UPDATE: Yo, this is Scott. Jon L wrote this before his vacation yesterday. A couple of other big moves happened late Friday night and my social life and monetary situation lacks just enough that I was checking the European basketball transactions so that I could update you all! Without further adieu:

Trent Plaisted signed with Zadar in Croatia - Well, this move probably shouldn't surprise you since he averaged 3.0 points and 2.8 boards in Summer League, but the last ever pick of the Seattle Supersonics (later traded for DJ White) is headed back overseas. He was set to play in Italy last season, but had a season-ending back injury just two games into the season. Apparently Detroit likes him less than Ben Wallace, though I have no idea why they wouldn't rather give a young guy a shot instead of paying the artist formerly known as Big Ben.

TJ Parker signed with Asvel in France - Why should you care? Well, you probably shouldn't because he hasn't even been able to parlay being Tony Parker's younger brother into a Summer League invite. I believe he was also the best player on SLUC Nancy, the team Rod Benson played for before returning to the D-League around Christmas last season.

Ben Woodside signed with Gravelines-Dunkerque in France - Well, this one hurts me. Since I'm employed by the Dakota Wizards, I've been salivating at the thought of Woodside being a likely allocation player due to his North Dakota State alumni status. However, it apparently wasn't meant to be. Woodside played for the Timberwolves in Vegas, but never really got his chance to shine behind Jonny Flynn. Also, Gravelines-Dunkerque is a cool name for a basketball team.

Robert Dozier signed with Kolossos Rhodes in Greece - Dozier isn't used to losing (Memphis was 137-14 while he was there) so hopefully this Kolossos team is good. I always thought Dozier was the sort of player that would dominate the D-League, but apparently it wasn't meant to be. Dozier was also the final pick in the draft in June, but apparently he didn't impress Miami in whatever they did instead of Summer League. They do retain his rights though, so it's not all bad.

Jeremy Pargo signed Gilboa Galil in Israel - Pargo played for the Pistons this Summer, and played well, averaging 10 points and shooting 50% from the field in three games. Still, the Pistons apparently didn't have room for him and since players like his older brother Jannero are taking all the good jobs, Jeremy apparently felt that overseas was the right route to go. He's another guy that would have been good in the D-League.

Gary Forbes signed with US Gruppo Triboldi in Italy - Forbes had a great Summer League for the D-League Select team averaging almost 18 points per game, but like everyone else that played in the D-League last season and got a Summer League invite, it seems he's headed overseas. I feel like more guys should play in the D-League this season just so they can play on the Select team in Vegas next Summer. Anyway, I follow Gary on Twitter and he explains it like this: crossin dem waters for that extra bread n then b back for the league nxt year. I feel you, Mr. Forbes - wish I could cross dem waters for extra bread!

Warrick in, Bowen/Stoudamire waived, Sessions waits

Frank Madden — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:14:02 -0000

No matter what you think of the Bucks' summer, don't call it boring. Sure, Ramon Sessions is still waiting for the Knicks to put us all out of our misery with an offer sheet, but the Bucks moves today make Sessions' exit seem a bit more imminent.

The Bucks signed Hakim Warrick to a one-year deal, reportedly in the $3 to $3.5 million range. The most important takeaway here is that the Bucks blew a huge chunk of their remaining dollars with this deal, seemingly begging the Knicks to make a move for Sessions. While Warrick's not going to fundamentally alter the course of the Bucks' future, he's a very useful guy who could start at PF...plus I like anyone who Kelly Dwyer approves of. Warrick's made a living putting up good numbers as a part-time starter for forgettable Grizzlies teams, so he'll probably perform similarly for a very young Bucks team. He's always been labeled a tweener and was kicked to the curb in Memphis, but his raw numbers last year were pretty encouraging: a 19.4/16.5 PER differential at PF as the Grizz were better offensively and defensively with him on the court. As the video above illustrates, he's at his best using his athleticism around the bucket and should enjoy playing with Brandon Jennings.

As of now the race to be the Bucks' opening night PF is wide open, with Warrick, Ersan Ilyasova and Amir Johnson each bringing something different to the table. Warrick is the athletic greyhound, Ilyasova the floor-spacer, and Johnson the athletic big man. Add to that Luc Mbah a Moute and Joe Alexander, and you've got an absolute ton of young, fairly athletic, and completely unproven talent at the forward spots. Something tells me
Bruce Bowen and Salim Stoudamire were both waived, saving the Bucks about $2.9 million. Bowen's $4.1 million became fully-guaranteed tomorrow, but the Bucks saved $2 million by cutting bait now. There had been a fair bit of trade talk surrounding him up until the last minute--involving Boston and perhaps the Knicks--but nothing ever came of it.

Stoudamire's minimum deal ($884k) would have become partially guaranteed if he made it to training camp, but he did nothing of note in Vegas before picking up yet another injury. His signing in April never made much sense to me, but fortunately the Bucks didn't commit any guaranteed 09/10 dollars to him. Essentially they gave him a couple weeks of minimum salary at the end of last season in order to have a right of first refusal on him this summer.
Sonny Weems and Walter Sharpe have officially been acquired along with cash from Denver for Malik Allen. This is old news, but it hadn't been officially announced by the teams until today. And don't get too excited, because neither Sharpe nor Weems figures to ever play for the Bucks. Both guys have expiring deals at the second year minimum ($736k), but Sharpe is out for the year with an ACL injury and Weems' deal is only guaranteed to the tune of $174k. Given the Bucks shipped out $1.3 million with Allen, that means they save about $390k on the contract differentials. The JS reported the Bucks will save about $500k through the move, so perhaps they're factoring in the cash as well. The last thing I wanted to see was Allen steal minutes from all the other better/more interesting bigs on the roster, so clearing his roster spot while saving some money is just gravy.
Ramon Sessions was expected by everyone to finally get his contract offer from the Knicks today...so of course it didn't happen. Marc Stein reports the Knicks will make an offer soon, and the Warrick deal should finally give them the assurances they need that the Bucks won't match a long-term offer sheet. Given the desirability of starting for Mike D'Antoni, Donnie Walsh knew Sessions would be willing to wait for a Knicks offer and essentially outwaited the Bucks, who had been keeping enough cash available under the tax to maintain a credible enough threat to re-sign their young point guard. But apparently the opportunity to sign Warrick was appealing enough to give up the charade. Even assuming Warrick comes in at $3 million even, the Bucks would have $67.583 million committed to 14 players, leaving just $2.337 million to re-sign Sessions while staying under the tax. Sure, the Bucks could match an offer and then try to wheel and deal to get under the tax by the end of the season, but the Bucks don't seem all that interested in Sessions now that Brandon Jennings is in town.

Sessions/Lee sign-and-trade difficult, but not impossible

Frank Madden — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:43:12 -0000

For a while I've been playing the role of spoiler whenever the possibility of a Ramon Sessions sign-and-trade is broached. "The CBA makes a BYC S/T too difficult!" I know, it's annoying. And too full of acronyms. But it's true for the most part.

Sign-and-trades are hard enough to negotiate with unrestricted free agents, since both the player and two teams have to all agree on a deal. What makes them even harder with restricted free agents is two-fold. First, there's the additional leverage the incumbent team has in being able to match any offer for a player. With Sessions, even the Bucks' lukewarm public stance on his future in Milwaukee has been enough to prevent the Knicks from actually making him an offer. Further complicating matters is that any good restricted free agent will be in line for a sizable raise, which immediately makes them a base year compensation (BYC) player. That means his new salary is discounted by half for the purposes of making a trade--but only from the perspective of their original team. And since capped out teams (like the Knicks and Bucks) are restricted to taking back 125% plus $100k of the salaries they send out, the BYC provision makes it very difficult to strike a deal. But let's not be discouraged, and pose a difficult question instead: would there be a way to not only sign and trade Sessions to New York, but make Knicks' restricted free agent David Lee part of the package headed to Milwaukee? There's a ton of moving parts, but the short answer is yes.

Let's start with the options both teams have. If the Knicks wanted to sign Sessions to a deal starting at $5 million, the simplest thing is to just make him the offer, get his signature, and then hope the Bucks don't match. After the offer sheet is signed, the Bucks can't sign-and-trade him anywhere else so it's winner-take-all. Either the Bucks pass and Sessions walks, or they match and he's a Buck.

If the Knicks are concerned about the Bucks matching, then Donnie Walsh and John Hammond can get together to see if they can come to an agreement, though they also have to be mindful of the fact that Sessions also has to agree to sign on to whatever they cook up. As it happens, Gery Woelfel tweeted today that the two GMs did talk yesterday about that very possibility. So far so good.

OK, so what could the Bucks realistically do to get Sessions to New York in a S/T? From the Bucks' perspective, Sessions would count for only half his new 09/10 salary, which would obviously have to first be negotiated between the Knicks and Sessions. Given the Knicks seemed hesitant to do a full MLE deal, let's assume it's $5 million for now (the length is irrelevant for trade purposes). For a one-for-one trade to work, the Bucks could take back no more than $5 million x 50% (BYC effect) x 125% + $100k = $3.225 million. But since both teams are over the cap, the Knicks would have to send out at least ($5 million - $100k)/125% = $3.92 million. In other words, the minimum the Knicks have to send out is more than the maximum the Bucks can take back....so it's impossible. The same would be true if the Bucks wanted to get Lee, who probably wants $10 million per but can't get it from anyone, at least not as a RFA. A couple weeks ago John Hammond spoke glowingly of Lee on ESPN 540, so it appears he's a fan. But with the Bucks having less than the MLE to work with (Jodie Meeks' $650k deal cut into the MLE since it wasn't a minimum deal), there's no way they can offer enough dollars without a sign-and-trade.

So what can help bridge the gap? More contracts. Since the NBA's trade rules are percentage-based, adding significant salary to both sides can help overcome the BYC asymmetry that makes it hard to work out a deal. For discussion's sake, let's throw Lee into the equation at maybe $7 million as a starting salary, which could get him $32.4 million over four years assuming max raises. Is that enough to entice him to come to Milwaukee? Maybe, maybe not. It does seem to be more than the 2010-mindful Knicks want to give him, but I'm speculating there as well. Let's also assume that if possible the Knicks and Bucks would be content to swap RFAs at those two starting salaries.

As you can imagine, Lee for Sessions straight up doesn't work because both guys would be BYC. OK, so let's add some deadweight salary...how about Dan Gadzuric ($6.75 million) and Jared Jeffries ($6.47 million)? Both guys have two years left and are essentially worthless on the court, so they don't really change the dynamics of a trade from a value perspective. Still, Sessions/Gadzuric for Lee/Jeffries doesn't work with those Sessions/Lee starting salary assumptions of $5 and $7 million respectively. And playing around with the starting salaries doesn't change things (unless I'm missing something). We need even more salary.

What about adding Luke Ridnour ($6.50 million) and Chris Duhon ($6.03 million)? Again, their contracts are practically mirror images, as both guys have just one year left while providing backup-level production on the court. From the Bucks' perspective, the deal now sends out 50% x $5 million + $6.75 million + $6.5 million = $15.75 million while taking back $7 million + $6.47 million + $6.03 million = $19.5 million. Even though that's almost $4 million more going in than coming out, it works because they can take back as much as 125% x $15.75 + $100k = $19.79 million. From the Knicks' perspective, they send out 50% x $7 million + $6.47 million + $6.03 million = $16 million. They take back $5 million + $6.75 million + $6.5 million = $18.25 million, which again works because they can take back as much as $16 million x 125% + $100k = $20.1 million.

Given the Bucks' apparent disinterest in bringing back Sessions, I'd gladly take that deal even if Lee gets a big contract out of it. I'm not sure if the Knicks do it, though they don't seem eager to pony up long-term dollars for Lee and just drafted Jordan Hill as a potential replacement anyway. Instead they get a quality young point guard and otherwise retain their 2010 cap flexibility. The Bucks would be adding $6.25 million on net to their payroll, so they'd have to start cutting salary to avoid the luxury tax. That means waiving Bruce Bowen (who has been rumored to be heading out anyway), Sonny Weems (if that deal actually happens), and Salim Stoudamire plus finding other cost-cutting moves thereafter (like buying out Kurt Thomas).

But let's be clear: any deal remotely resembling this would be tough to work out. Sessions and Lee would both have to agree to the contracts in addition to the Bucks and Knicks working out things between each other. We haven't seen anything concrete suggesting a deal like this could go down, but all the circumstantial evidence out there suggests it could satisfy all parties. Bowen's deal becomes fully guaranteed over the weekend, so if he's part of any trade it would seemingly have to happen in the next 24 hours (Update: Dan has a good example of a Sessions/Lee deal that involves Bowen over at RealGM). If the Bucks don't find a deal then they will just waive Bowen and save $2 million, which would help facilitate a deal that adds salary such as the one above.

Tuesday Notes: Jennings unleashed, Childress back to Greece, Sessions' suitors

Frank Madden — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:35:19 -0000

Woelfel: Ilyasova close, Sessions' interest
Gery Woelfel tweets from Vegas that four teams are still interested in Sessions, including the Clips. Woelfel also reports Ilyasova is still close to signing, but again nothing official. I kind of like the theory I first heard from Bern on RealGM that the Bucks have a deal in place with Ersan but are keeping it secret so as to appear flush with cash and scare off Sessions suitors. Reports from Spain and Turkey suggest he's signed for three years and something between $6 and 7 million, which fits with the $2 million starting figure we've seen thrown around. In Vegas the talk was that the Bucks didn't have to actually decide anything by July 15, which was the supposed deadline for picking up his Barca option, but that may have been because he was effectively already signed. The plot thickens!
Meeks and Stoudamire contract details.
Some good news on the contract front is that Salim Stoudamire's deal is unguaranteed until training camp (when it becomes roughly half-guaranteed), meaning the Bucks could free up $884k and another roster spot at no cost should they want to sign both Ilyasova and Sessions. Considering they'd still need to open up one more roster spot, waiving Bruce Bowen with his $2 million buyout would be the other obvious move.

Like Luc Mbah a Moute last year, Jodie Meeks will get slightly more than the rookie minimum in his new contract, reducing the amount left to sign Sessions/Ilyasova slightly (most second rounders get two year minimum deals). The Bucks opted to give him a three year deal with a base salary of $550-650k and the minimum the following two years, the last of which isn't fully guaranteed. It's essentially same deal the Bucks gave Luc last year, which delays restricted free agency by a year in exchange for a few hundred grand extra as a rook. Considering the millions Mbah a Moute will be forfeiting because of that, it would seem that NBA players have high discount rates.

JS: Childress staying in Greece
Josh Childress will not be a Buck this season, as he's heading back to Greece for a second season with Olympiacos. Charles Gardner got John Hammond's reaction:

"It was a business decision," Hammond said Tuesday from Las Vegas. "We wish Josh nothing but the best. We were interested."

Personally, I'm not that broken up about it. Still just 26, Childress is a phenomenal role player and glue guy. But as a long-term contract on a young team? Eh, I wasn't quite so enthused. I would have been happy to add him in a S/T if very little was headed out (like Luke Ridnour), but once first round picks and big contracts come into the equation it's less appealing. You could certainly do worse than give Chill an MLE deal, but I'm fine with giving Luc the keys to the car at SF and letting Joe Alexander fight for backup minutes. Besides, I'd rather save our cash to bring back Sessions--yes, even with Jennings lighting up Vegas.

Bucksketball: Focus on Sessions
Jeremy chimes in on Childress and a more pressing issue: the Sessions situation.

Are they waiting for an offer sheet? I sure hope not. Letting other teams set the market usually goes a long way towards souring relationships between players and teams. Don’t believe me? Read about the recent Marcin Gortat fiasco with the Magic. Does he sound like a happy guy? We don’t want Sessions getting promised starter minutes somewhere else only to find out he’s coming back here to fight with Brandon Jennings and Luke Ridnour for minutes.

I'm a bit nervous, too, but the fact that there are rumors of Olympiacos interest is in some ways encouraging--if he's resorting to Mediterranean recruiting trips then it would suggest NBA interest isn't what he hoped it to be. For now that interest appears to be coming from Greece, not Sessions, which is an important distinction. And like the inflated Jarrett Jack deal in Toronto, it only takes one team to force the Bucks' hand.

Jones: Evans vs. Jennings
Via Sactown Royalty, Jason Jones writes:

Jennings showed some of the immaturity he was criticized for having before the draft when after missing a shot on which he thought he was fouled, Jennings tripped Thompson.
Thompson only offered a stern glare, but has not retaliated.

You couldn't actually see what happened on the NBA.com game feed, but at about 23:30 of the video you see something happens. At the time I assumed it was just the two guys getting tangled up since there wasn't a technical and Thompson just got up and kept walking. On the replay, Jennings looks like he was fouled (though certainly not viciously) by Thompson on a perimeter jumper. Both guys disappear from the picture, a whistle is blown, and then you see Jennings walk back into the picture with his arm raised to acknowledge the foul as Thompson gets up. It's not all that uncommon for guys to hold or otherwise impede opponents trying to break down the court, but there's no way of telling if there was much malice in it or what.

Either way, Jennings will probably need to get used to fans and media looking for reasons to label him immature, brash, cocky, etc. It's a convenient story given his reputation for flashy play, academic indifference, and trash talk. Even if the hype doesn't mesh with reality, "easy" stories always tend to get retold, and people are always eager to mount their high horses. Hopefully Jennings can walk the fine line of letting his confidence and charisma show without letting it become a distraction.

Ball Don't Lie: Jennings winning over Skeets???
Skeets is Canadian, so sometimes he says unfortunate things. Like, "I hate the Milwaukee Bucks." But he's too good to us to be mad at him. And maybe, just maybe, he's coming around.

Honestly, outside of Brew Hoop and maybe Armen "The Hammer" Gilliam, everything about the Bucks bores me to death. Those tacky Christmas color jerseys, the uninspired team roster (sorry, I've never been a big Michael Redd(notes) fan), that creepy emo mascot ... man, I can't stand 'em. They're just ... just ... there. It's a frustrating franchise to try and follow.
But I'll tell you what, if rookie Brandon Jennings(notes) and new addition Amir Johnson(notes) keep connecting on sick alley-oops (like they do at the 1:17 and 1:24 marks in the Vegas Summer League video above), well, I'm going to start paying a lot more attention to the Bucks. Heck, I might even drink a Milwaukee's Best. (Too much?)

Hammond: Nothing imminent with Ilyasova, Sessions and Childress

Frank Madden — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:19:11 -0000

I caught up with John Hammond this afternoon and he was fairly tight-lipped on the progress of negotiations with restricted free agents Ersan Ilyasova and Ramon Sessions. Contrary to reports we've been regularly seeing in Spain, an Ilyasova signing hasn't been finalized--but that's not to say it won't get done at some point in the near future. Meanwhile, the Bucks had a conference call with Sessions on Thursday.

"Ersan might be in a little different position than Ramon. We're probably a little further along in our discussions with Ersan. But the discussions with Ramon have been positive and on-going."

When asked whether Sessions had been offered a longer term contract aside from the one year qualifying offer (about $1 million), Hammond said the Bucks were "still letting the process play itself out."

Especially now that Charlie Villanueva has taken his jumper to Detroit, the Bucks clearly value what Ilyasova could add as a perimeter-oriented power forward. Much has been made of Ilyasova's interest in returning to Milwaukee and the NBA, even if it's at a discount to the multi-millions he can earn in Europe tax free, and Hammond certainly sounds hopeful of making that a reality.

"He's gotten strong--he's very big, very thick right now, and kind of changed his game. I remember seeing him when he was 16- or 17-years old in Turkey, and he was this long, lean guy that people said might be a Kirilenko-type player.

"Now he really has the ability to stretch the defense, whether in half court or transition. When he's back behind the three point line you have to either stand with him or run at him. And he can handle and shoot the ball well enough that when he pump fakes they have to respect it, and he can put the ball on the floor, make a shot there or find open people."

Of course, we know that scoring ability wasn't why the Bucks chose to focus their attention on Ilyasova and let Villanueva walk. And while there's little doubt that Villanueva will put up better-lookng stats than Ilyasova this year, it's evident the Bucks prefer the idea of paying Ilyasova less to get a more well-rounded player. Try reading between the lines:

"He's a guy who's going to give you an honest effort in everything that he does. He's smart enough, he's got good basketball savvy and he's going to fit into the system both offensively and defensively."

Sessions' return still seems more up in the air. Though RFAs Paul Millsap and Jarrett Jack both agreed to offer sheets this weekend, the Bucks don't seem in a hurry to lock up Sessions preemptively and are well aware that an offer could come from elsewhere.

"We've had hypothetical discussions about whether or not we'd be comfortable with a number. But we'll just wait and see and respond accordingly."

Depending on your point of view, Toronto's reported MLE offer to Jack either totally inflates the going rate for younger PGs, or it removes another overeager potential competitor for Sessions' services. For that same reason, Bucks fans should be rooting for the Jazz not to match Portland's offer to Millsap, since that would eliminate Portland from competing for Sessions' services.

The Bucks are also still interested in Josh Childress, though his situation is complicated by both his lucrative deal with Olympiacos and the Hawks' ability to match any NBA offer sheet he receives.

"We had a good visit and we enjoyed having him spend time with us. We've talked about some kind of range that he could be comfortable with, but he has a lot of variables that he has to work through, not just with us but potentially with Atlanta. That is more of a wait and see situation."

NBA Summer League Day One Recap - It's A Grind

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:31:38 -0000

Alright, I'm back in the saddle. It's 9:00 Saturday morning. I have had my run, swim, shower, shave, and coffee. I almost feel human again. The long road trip caught up with me last night and I wasn't able to do the Day One Recap on time. Here it is now.

Summer League - What's It Like?

It's something else. The first day of games was played in Cox Pavilion. This is a smaller gym attached to the Thomas & Mack Center. The atmosphere is relaxed which put me in a strange position as somebody with press credentials for the first time. The weirdness was that the protocols were not apparent. Where could I go? Where couldn't I go? Who could I talk to? When could I talk to them? Who was in charge? All these things were a bit paralyzing for me. So, I just hung out in my spot on the baseline at the media table and watched the games. I didn't talk to any representatives from any of the teams. I chatted some with of the other media guys and took notes. And observed.

The strange thing about me, even though I am an outgoing person, is that I like to know what I am doing and I like to know whether I SHOULD be doing it. I can't just wander around and wait for somebody to tell me I can't do something. I'm a rule follower. I can't help it. It's not exactly the best trait to have in an environment this informal.

The Nature Of Play

The first thing that jumped out at me in the Rockets - Warriors game was how physical the play was. I didn't know if it was being so close to the action under the basket or if it was because Joey Dorsey was playing. After watching the rest of the games the answer became apparent. This is how the game is played. They flat-out beat the crap out of each other. I mean, there was a ton of hard contact that was not called as a foul. Tons. The most physical players, guys like Joey Dorsey, didn't even blink at the hard fouls they dished out and received. They didn't get angry. They didn't scowl. They just whacked the holy bejeezus out of each other and then helped the other guy up, asked him if he was ok, and patted him on the rump.

On one play, Dorsey went up for the dunk and Anthony Randolph came over hard for the block. Randolph got some ball, a lot of Dorsey's chest and arms, and kicked him square in the testicles. Dorsey kneeled down, Randolph came over and gave him a hand and asked him if he was Ok. Joey just shook his head like "Yeah, I'm fine. No problem". I would have been in the hospital if I had been on the receiving end of such a collision.

Somebody commented in the live thread about the number of fouls. I can only say that they didn't seem to call many cheap ones from what I could tell. My impression is that getting fouls is a matter of positioning. If you move your feet and stay in position, then they won't call a foul on you. If you get out of position, you either have to give up or you will get a foul if you continue to be physical with a guy.

In the Mavericks game, the Dallas coaching staff seemed to make a point of having Aaron Miles play physical pressure defense against Brandon Jennings. Jennings also returned the favor on the other end. It seemed like those guys were in a UFC match the way they were bodying up. I'm surprised Miles only ended 8 fouls.

Game One - Warriors vs Rockets

I already recapped this one. So I won't have much to say about the game itself. Just some impressions about the players.

Joey Dorsey - The guy was impressive. Not only was he physical,as I mentioned, but he only picked up 4 fouls even though he was involved in numerous collisions. He did a good job of moving his feet to get in position on help defense when he was responsible for containing the penetrator. He blocked shots coming from the weak side. He was just very solid. He doesn't have much of an offensive game though. He could really use a 8-10 foot game. Unfortunately for him, he's on a team that has two guys in front of him who do what he does in Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry.

James White - As I mentioned in the recap, I thought James was putting off a prima donna attitude. I got the vibe mostly in the first half. It's hard to describe exactly what gave me this impression. I can't point to one thing definitively that says, "Man, I can't believe he's acting like that". It was more a sum of the parts. The attitude toward the officials, the way he interacted with a coach, etc. Just some little things. In his defense, he seemed to put that behind him in the second half and just play. He was also very supportive of his teammates from the bench.

Chase Budinger - He didn't seem like he was able to handle the physical part of the game and got pushed around. The knock on him at Arizona was that he wasn't assertive or aggressive. Those traits will get you killed in the NBA and they got him killed here. He got trapped with a physical double team and turned it over. Later in the game, his man was attacking him and going right through him to the basket. He didn't seem quite quick enough to get position and not strong enough to hold his position. It seems like you need to be able to do one or the other.

Stephen Curry - Curry was the big name in this game. He seemed just a bit uncomfortable. Not overwhelmed like he didn't belong. Just uncomfortable. He spent a lot of time at the point for the Warriors in the first half. He was very competent handling the ball. He was able to initiate the offense without problem. On the other hand, I think the play making duties, when they fell to him, kept him from getting comfortable with his shot. I don't recall him getting any spot up opportunities off of other players. Everything he got was off the pick and roll, and him breaking down his man. He forced a couple shots and even airballed an 18-footer after a step-back move. I think he'll be a good one, especially when he is able to play off other guys.

Joe Ingles - One of two men from down under in the game. He has a nice feel for the game. He sees the floor well and he is pretty long. His stroke seemed very erratic and, as a guess, will probably be the thing that determines whether or not he makes it into the league. His first 3 was an airball and his second barely drew rim. They were both wide-open in-the-flow shots. Not forced at all. He drained his third 3-ball.

Anthony Randolph - The stat sheet stuffer almost recorded a triple-double. 20 points, 10 rebounds, 9 fouls. Randolph is a thin player, but he didn't shy away from contact in this game at all, which was impressive to me. He has a great ability to score in the paint on the move and was almost impossible for the Rockets to defend. He had 12 first quarter points on 8 shots, then seemed content to work on his outside game. I'm not saying he necessarily drifted. I think the Warriors weren't running sets for him to receive the ball on the move. I think they were wanting to get looks at other guys. That's my guess. I'd need game film to really know.

Game Two - Pistons vs Kings

Another physical game with 61 total fouls. Remember, NBA games are 20% longer as we are only playing 40 minute games out here in the desert. The Pistons, much to my surprise, whipped up on the Kings. The Kings feature several "name" players. 2008 first round draft pick and second year man -- and a player many around here wanted instead of George Hill -- Donte Green. Another 2008 first round draft pick and second year man, Jason Thompson. This year's #4 pick Tyreke Evans and #23 pick Omri Casspi. The Pistons, on the other hand, feature mid-first round pick Austin Daye and pair of second rounders in DaJuan Summers and Jonas Jerebko -- teammate of James Gist at Angelico Biella.

DaJuan Summers - He had to have been the most impressive player of the day. He had 24 points and 7 rebounds, on 9 of 15 shooting, and completely dominated Jason Thompson. He had a nice jumper, he banged his way inside for points, he's rough and tough, he got to the line, and he owned this game. You should keep an eye on this guy. It didn't look like anything he was doing was a fluke.

Austin Daye - He showed both why he was drafted and what he has to work on. He's an offensively gifted version of Tayshaun Prince. However, he needs to get a little stronger to handle the contact and to work on his defense. If you are a Pistons front office guy, you have to like what you saw from him on day one.

Jonas Jerebko - He wasn't making his shots -- 1 for 6 in 13 minutes -- but he might be able to make it. He's a tough guy who isn't afraid to mix it up. He's not a "soft Euro".

Michael Bramos - While bones may be familiar with this former Miami, Ohio player, I sure wasn't. He's a 6'5" guard, and he was very impressive. He scored 13 points in 15 minutes and he did it by attacking the rim AND hitting the outside shot. I doubt he will make the team, but he probably opened some eyes in Europe.

Jason Thompson - He was in a war with Summers and he got the worst of it. He only had 3 rebounds and was completely unable to contain Summers. I'll be interested to see how he does in the next couple games.

Donte Greene - Donte is known for his shooting, including a monstrous 40-point debut in last year's Summer League, but he only went 3 for 9 in this game and missed both his 3-ball attempts. The big knock on Donte last year was his defense, or that thereof, so I found it humorous that on numerous occasions he was telling the guys on the team how to position their bodies and where to be. The best part, is that he was dead on.

Tyreke Evans - I was very impressed with Evans. He's a very big and strong point guard. He probably needs to work on the passing part of the game, but he seemed Ok in every other way. He's big enough to be aggressive going to the rim and draw fouls -- he went to the line 10 times, he was immune to be bodied by the opposing point guard bringing the ball up, and showed great athleticism.

Game Three - Raptors vs Lakers

While this was the closest game of the day, it was also the least impressive. These teams would have been crushed, almost literally, by the previous four teams. The game was far less physical. In addition, there were not many players of interest. The Lakers' team features Adam Morrison -- who was sporting a Rage t-shirt so he has gone way up on my list of guys I like (very coveted list to be on, I know) -- and that is it. The Raptors have #9 pick DeMar DeRozan and point guard Roko Ukic who you may remember from the torching he gave the Spurs this year in Toronto.

The Lakers won this back and forth game 85-84. The best part is that with 5:00 left and a tie game I called the game winner. Meet Ben McCauley from North Carolina State.

Ben McCauley - Ben scored the Lakers first 6 points and, along with Morrison, carried the team. McCauley finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds. He hit the game winner with 14 seconds left, just as I said he would. Other than the fact that the guy seemed to never miss, I don't know how good he is.

Adam Morrison - He played a team-high 33 minutes and also scored 24 points. For a guy known as a shooter, he seems to have the most off-balanced looking shot. He hit big shots for them down the stretch though. He had an interesting match up with DeMar DeRozan as they went head-to-head on both ends. DeRozan is a better athlete, but not as good a shooter and not as experienced. On on one drive to the hoop, Morrison blocked the crap out of DeRozan's shot.

David Monds - 17 points in 14 minutes. He had a great stroke from 18 feet. Thick guys who can shoot from that range have a knack for sticking around.

DeMar DeRozan - He played decent defense against Morrison in the first half, but was invisible offensively. In the second half, he was a bit more aggressive with the ball and showed some flashes. He can also jump and liked to attack the offensive glass coming up with very nice put back slam, but also had a missed put back slam.

Roko Ukic - He ran the point. Maybe a couple 3's, didn't miss free throws. Unspectacular, but solid.

Smush Parker - Yeah, that Smush Parker. He made some of the nicest passes of the day on the pick and roll leading to dunks by Patrick O'Bryant. He hit 1 of his 2 threes. Missed a bunch of free throws. Had 6 assists. Only 2 turnovers. He's an enigma for me.

Patrick O'Bryant - He's a very long man at 7 feet with very long arms. He's not a big thick guy, but he's not too thin as he comes in at 250 pounds. He showed the ability to finish against the Lakers under-sized front line. He made 7 of this 9 shots on a variety of dunks and nice moves in the post.

Brent Petway - Try to find video of his dunk to end the first half. He tried to throw down over somebody and wasn't able to get all the way to the rim and ended up THROWING IT IN from about 2 feet away.

Game Four - Bucks vs Mavericks

This game promised the most interest and turned out to be horribly painful to watch. The Bucks have a lot of big names participating in Summer League with Brandon Jennings, Joe Alexander, Amir Johnson, Luc Mbah a Moute, Jodie Meeks, Chris Richard, and Salim Stoudamire. The Mavericks have Rodrigue Beaubois -- Spurnando's teammate from Cholet -- and Ahmad Nivins, a second round pick from St Joseph's.

This was a hideous brick fest with tons of fouls and sloppy ball handling. Alexander went 4-18 from the field and Jennings got hot late to go 3-12. The teams combined for 65 fouls and 46 turnovers. Both teams erupted in the fourth quarter, 21 for the Bucks and 20 for the Mavs, to push the scoring all the way up to 65-59 in the Bucks victory.

Joe Alexander - A superb athlete. He just couldn't make a shot. He was the focal point of the Bucks offense and received many isolation opportunities. He routinely got by his man but wasn't able to finish over the help defender near the basket. He was a fiend on the offensive glass and made his free throws.

Amir Johnson - He fouled a lot and turned the ball over a lot. He blocked a couple shots, but his 4 rebounds in 21 minutes is disconcerting.

Luc Mbah a Moute - He can still play some defense.

Brandon Jennings - He didn't blow me away but he was quietly effective. That's what I thought at least. He shot a poor percentage, but he handled the pressure defense I mentioned earlier, drew a lot of fouls -- Miles and Beaubois combined for 16 fouls -- and only had 2 turnovers. He's electric quick but doesn't seem able to use it to get his teammates open as evidenced by his 3 assists in 25 minutes.

Jodie Meeks - The dude has a sweet stroke. When he shot it, you knew it was going in. I don't know what else he has to give them, but he'll knock down shots if people leave him open.

Salim Stoudamire - An unspectacular 13 minutes with 6 points, 5 fouls, and 3 turnovers

Rodrigue Beaubois - Easily the most disappointing player of the day. He turned the ball over on the first 2 possessions and only his teammate's hustle kept him from the first three possessions. He was passive defensively in the first quarter to the point that Darrell Armstrong, who is coaching the Mavs team, was yelling at him (from the bench to the court to be heard, not to chastise) to play attacking defense. He showed poor shot selection and not a good ability to finish around the rim. He finished with 6 turnovers, and while he over penetrated the way Tony does some, he did show decent court vision.

Ahmad Nivins - He looked like a serious player. He was just a notch below DaJuan Summers for most impressive. He was 8 of 10 from the field. He had some nice put back dunks and showed a really nice jumper from 17-18 feet. He'll probably step right into Brandon Bass' role. He screams keeper.

Random Observations

In each game, there was one female referee. Never zero, never two. Always one.

Acie Law IV hit his head so hard on a quarter-ending play I could hear it at the other end of the court with a loud WHUMP (some onomatopoeia for you, I know you guys have been into it lately).

In the very last play of the last game, I wasn't watching, the guy next to me says, "Did Jennings just give him a late elbow?" Luke Jackson was bent over holding his face. It looked to me like a broken nose. It will be interesting to find out if there is anything to it.

The crowd was more or less tame, and by the last game the gym was pretty empty. A group of about 6-8 guys were harassing Jennings loudly in the last seconds of the game. One hollered, "Jennings, you aren't even the best #3 on the court" -- Beaubois and Jennings are both #3. Jennings looked up and laughed. I'm thinking if you are going to taunt somebody like that, at least be accurate.

That's all for day one. On to day two.

Recap: Bucks 65, Mavs 59

Frank Madden — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 07:13:44 -0000

Box Score / BrewHoop Liveblog

No one ever claimed summer league was pretty, did they? Despite fielding six probable roster players against a pretty thin Mavs team, the Bucks' subpar shooting (36%) and general sloppiness kept the score down and the game close throughout. The Mavs somehow managed to turn it over 27 times in 40 minutes while the Bucks managed 22 of their own, and neither team managed more than 16 points in a quarter until the final period when the Bucks outscored Dallas 21-20. Anyway, what you're really interested in are the player reviews, so let's cut to the chase after the jump.

Brandon Jennings
25 min, 3/12 fg, 3/4 ft, 10 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 3 pf, 2 to, 2 stl

Jennings' matchup against fellow speedster Rodrigue Beaubois pretty much fell flat, as neither guy ever looked to get into a comfort zone. Beaubois seemed to neutralize Jennings' quickness for much of the night, but despite a better shooting line (4/9 fg) he also racked up eight fouls and six turnovers in 22 minutes. In contrast, Jennings actually looked pretty conservative, turning it over just twice and not showing much of the flash he's been hyped to have. That's probably fine with Scott Skiles, who sat by himself on the opposite side of the gym from John Hammond, Billy McKinney and Jeff Weltman. Beaubois played pretty aggressive defense and had a couple athletic finishes around the rim, including a two-handed alley-oop where he lost Jennings on the backdoor.

Jennings struggled with his shot for most of the night, starting 0-7 before draining a three from the right wing with two minutes to go in the third. He followed it up with a quick yank and pull-up jumper from the top of the key and also dropped in a tough, scissor-kicking floater from the lane early in the fourth. Overall he had a hard time getting to the hoop and he doesn't look like he's strong enough to be much of a finisher--at least not now. He did have his share of nice passes on the night but thanks to the Bucks' cold shooting he finished with just two assists. At least he can feel a bit better about the second half, when he was 3/5 from the field and scored all 10 of his points.

Joe Alexander
30 min, 4/18 fg, 6/7 ft, 14 pts, 7 rebs, 1 ast, 4 pf, 2 to, 1 blk

Well, you can't accuse the guy of not being aggressive. Joe's shot wasn't falling despite creating some pretty good looks, but that's kind of been the story for him, hasn't it? It didn't seem to bother him as he continued to work hard on both ends, operating mostly from the high post against rookie PF Ahmad Nivins, who had a very fine, active game with 19 points on 8/10 fg. The Bucks worked out Nivins before the draft but passed on him in the second round as he dropped to 56th overall. He had a couple nice putback dunks when no one boxed him out, in addition to showing a feathery touch from the mid-range. I like him a lot.

Kelvin Sampson mentioned this week that they would try to get Alexander more isos and that certainly happened, as he had a series of faceup isolation plays run for him, most notably in the first half. We saw his excellent first step on numerous occasions last year and that was also apparent playing against bigger, slower defenders like Nivins. He almost had a tremendous drive and dunk on the baseline in the first half, but he lost his grip on the ball as he was about to finish. Despite grabbing a game-high seven rebounds he still doesn't seem to ever box out, instead relying exclusively on hustle and athleticism.

Amir Johnson
21 min, 2/5 fg, 4 pts, 4 rebs, 7 pf, 7 to, 2 blk, 2 stl

No one's arguing that Amir played well, but I was still kind of shocked to see he had 7 turnovers--it seemed like he barely touched the ball. Looking at the box score play-by-play, three of those were on loose ball fouls following Bucks' misses, which I didn't even think counted as turnovers since neither team theoretically has possession off a missed shot. Whatever.

He also continued to foul like it's going out of style, but it's important to put that in the proper context. It's not like he was getting worked in the post; he got the aforementioned three fouls on loose balls and had another couple defending the rim after somebody else lost their man. I can live with that, especially given the way he came out of nowhere to block a couple shots.

I'm not sure whether it's something he'd look for in a regular season game, but he also was 1/3 on long two-pointers. C'mon Amir, let's not go all Gadzuric on us.

Jodie Meeks
27 min, 6/9 fg, 1/1 3fg, 1/2 ft, 2 rebs, 2 pf

Hey, somebody actually played well! Meeks was exactly as advertised, shooting mostly from mid-range and looking as comfortable as you'd expect from a guy who averaged 24 ppg in the SEC. Unlike Jennings, Meeks always keeps excellent balance as he shoots, which helps explain how consistent his stroke is. Pretty much all his points were off catch-and-shoot plays, and I don't remember him even trying to drive to the rim.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
30 min, 2/5 fg, 2/4 ft, 6 pts, 5 rebs, 2 ast, 4 pf, 1 stl, 3 to, 1 blk

I wasn't focusing on Luc as much as the other roster guys, and he didn't do that much out of the ordinary. He played SF against Luke Jackson much of the night, and showed his usual good footwork defending the perimeter. Offensively, he had a couple finishes around the rim but didn't show off any newfound range or anything else we didn't already know.

Salim Stoudamire
13 min, 2/4 fg, 0/1 3fg, 2/2 ft, 6 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 5 pf, 1 to, 1 blk

Stoudamire hasn't played competitive basketball in about a year, so this week is really just a chance for him to get used to the pace of almost-NBA-action. He played sparingly alongside former UAB PG Paul Delaney, though Stoudamire seemed to handle a bit more of the PG duties and neither guy did anything to distinguish himself.

Vegas, Baby! Previewing the 2009 Bucks Summer League

Frank Madden — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:30:19 -0000

Jim Paschke reports from the final day of pre-Vegas practice

First off, apologies for the predictable and stale title reference (how many Vegas previews have used the same line?). But this is why I'm not a real writer. Fortunately, what I lack in creativity I make up for in dedication: I've flown all the way to Vegas just to watch the Bucks this weekend, and I'll be liveblogging the games tonight and Sunday just for you. Why? Because I love you. Check back later tonight for the game preview/thread.

The fine folks at Bucks.com have done a great job of pulling all the vital info together at their Summer League Central, so that's the best place to start for the roster, schedule, etc. Also check out the Bucks' youtube page for Jim Paschke's reports from this week's practices. Unfortunately the games won't be streamed for free, but you can watch all the games live and on demand for $15. Here's the schedule, with our players to watch after the jump.

Friday, July 10 vs. Dallas, 9:00 CT
Sunday, July 12 vs. Cleveland, 9:00 CT
Monday, July 13 vs. Sacramento, 9:30 CT
Wednesday, July 15 vs. Toronto, 5:00 CT
Thursday, July 16 vs. Chicago, 3:00 CT

Overall the Bucks will have one of the more interesting teams to watch in Vegas, if for no other reason than they have so many potential rotation players actually playing here. The Bucks have six roster players in Vegas : Jennings (though he hasn't signed yet), Jodie Meeks, Joe Alexander, Luc Mbah a Moute, Amir Johnson, and Salim Stoudamire. That's a ton for Vegas, and should make my job much more entertaining.

There are also some interesting non-roster free agents along for the ride, including former Florida and T'Wolves big Chris Richard and Polish PF Szymon Szewczyk, a former Bucks second rounder from the Reagan administration (OK fine, 2003). Unfortunately Dominic James didn't travel with the Bucks after spraining his knee this week in practice, but UAB guard Paul Delaney (an interesting player in his own right) is making the trip instead. None of those guys have a chance of making the team, so I'm obviously hoping we see less of them and more of the roster guys. Check out Truman Reed's bios at bucks.com for more on them.

Players to Watch

1. Brandon Jennings

I know, this one's obvious. But Jennings should be the focal point of Bucks' fans attention in Vegas for a few reasons. First, Jennings' skillset seems tailor-made for the wide-open, guard-oriented style traditionally seen in Vegas. Like Jerryd Bayless and Nate Robinson before him, Jennings could put up some big numbers, though I'm guessing his scoring efficiency will probably leave something to be desired (at least if his Euro numbers are at all indicative). Fortunately, he's also going to have a pretty deep squad around him, so he doesn't have to score a lot for the Bucks to do well in Vegas. Since it's a stage that should suit his skills, we may not learn that much about his ability to contribute immediately in November--in other words, if he plays well in Vegas don't expect it to automatically translate in November. On the flip side, struggling in this setting would be a bit worrying given the nature of summer league, but in all honesty we shouldn't be expecting him to be great off the bat anyway--the kid's still 19 afterall.

But more than anything I just want to watch the guy play. Tiny Archibald, Allen Iverson, and Kenny Anderson have all been mentioned as possible comparisons, but there's something about watching point guards...you really have to see them up close to get a feel for their game, don't you? Amir Johnson compared him to his old teammate Iverson yesterday (see the video up top), which says a lot about Jennings' speed and shot creativity but could also be a bit worrying when you consider Iverson's never been a real PG. Don't get me wrong, if we just drafted a young Allen Iverson with the 10th pick in a so-so draft, well, I can live with that.

One thing I do find a bit contradictory is that everyone always alludes to Jennings' true point guard instincts, yet he seems to draw a lot of comparisons to scoring guards. Ideally he'd be a great distributor who could also take over offensively when needed, but who knows if he will be able to do that at this level. Still, Jennings will play a lot in the next week and should make things interesting--hopefully in a good way.

2. Joe Alexander

Luc Mbah a Moute is the default starter at small forward right now, but Alexander will be the guy I'm paying attention to more closely in Sin City (and not just because of that sweet mop he's sporting these days). We've been hearing all summer that he's bigger and putting in lots of time at the Cousins Center, but now we get our first chance to see what he's got to show for his hard work. Alexander didn't make a big impression in Vegas a year ago, which turned out to be something of a harbinger of things to come. This time around, Gardner reports that Skiles is hoping a good performance in Vegas can be a stepping stone to bigger things:

"This is a big five games for Joe, really. It's just an opportunity for him to feel good about himself, because he should."

It's hard to tell from the outside how a turbulent rookie season affected Joe's psyche, but he's always struck me as a very self-aware guy who was probably well aware of fan cynicism and the organization's own disappointment in his learning curve. Early indications suggest he's reacted the right way, and like most Bucks fans I'm rooting for Joe as much as anyone on the team.

Kelvin Sampson also provided an idea of how he'll be used in Vegas:

"We're going to try to run more isos for him when we get to Vegas.

"When he's not scoring it or attacking the basket with the dribble, we want him to get where he can keep balls alive on the offensive glass. And when we're transitioning from defense to offense, 'sprint, rim run,' take advantage of his athletic gifts."

My main hope: sloooooooow down. Aggressiveness is good, but Joe often times seemed so intent on doing something last year that he didn't let the game come to him. Other times, he was overly deferential and faded into the background. Hopefully he learns how to better pick his spots, because the physical tools are all there. Now he needs to get comfortable using them. Hopefully Salim Stoudamire wasn't just saying nice things when he made this comment yesterday:

"Before he was timid, wasn't aggressive and you could tell he was thinking out there. Now he's just reacting."

3. Amir Johnson

According to Skiles, Johnson may only play a couple games given that he's already done Vegas three times. Still, extra reps in the Bucks' system will only help and it also offers us a sneak peek at quite possibly the team's starting power forward. As a guy who's mostly been an athletic garbagman in the regular season, Amir will hopefully get some post looks and an opportunity to show a bit more than we have usually seen from him in regular season action.

I'm also curious to see where they play Amir. He's definitely bigger than the 6'9" and 210 pounds that he's been listed at since he was 18, and he regularly got minutes at the 5 in Detroit. Power forward is probably a better fit in addition to being more convenient fit given the Bucks' personnel, but I'd gladly see him get backup center minutes over Gadzuric and Elson as well. In Vegas we'll probably see both given there generally aren't many decent big men and the Bucks have only one true center on the roster (former TAU Ceramica big Will McDonald).

4. Jodie Meeks

Like many, I remember Meeks mostly as the guy who torched Tennessee and a host of other teams last year, so I'm anxious to see if he can bring that same sort of shooting to Vegas. Given his propensity to bomb away from well beyond the college three point line, I think we can be optimistic on that front. Presuming that Bruce Bowen's days in Milwaukee are numbered, the Bucks won't have much depth at shooting guard so Meeks should see minutes anytime Redd or Bell are out of the lineup (which has been often the past couple years).

His rep is that he can't create his own shot, though when he's on it doesn't matter all that much. Interestingly he did get to the line a fair bit last year (6.5 fta/g, making 90%), which shows he wasn't purely a shooter. But he doesn't rebound or pass the ball, though a SG who averages 23.7 ppg in the SEC probably doesn't need to in order to be a useful rotation player.

5. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

Having Mbah a Moute ranked this low is mostly just a testament to what we've already seen. We know he can defend and do all the little things, and he's probably the starting SF even if he hasn't progressed much offensively. Still, he's been working on improving his consistency in the mid-range this summer and hopefully we'll also see him get some iso and post touches (where he showed some flashes). I think he'll need to add three point range to his game in order to really reach his potential as a small forward, but it doesn't sound like that's been a priority this summer.

6. Salim Stoudamire

Stoudamire's participation is a bit up in the air after suffering a bit of a groin injury this week, but hopefully we'll get a look at his sweet shooting stroke at some point. He's been out of the league for over a year, largely due to assorted groin injuries, so it's not clear what he can do at this point.

I'm also still unclear why the Bucks felt the need to sign him at the end of last season and give him a partially guaranteed deal this year. Was there really competition for his services? Does he really bring something a non-guaranteed D-Leaguer couldn't bring? He could be cut to save a few hundred grand and make room on the roster for Sessions or Ilyasova, but I'm not sure that's likely given the effort the Bucks made to sign him. When healthy he projects as the Bucks' third-string PG, and he would provide perimeter shooting that the Bucks are currently lacking.

NBA Summer League Day One Preview

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:07:09 -0000

I'll be taking in a pair of division rivals today. The two games I'm targeting today are the opener between the Rockets and Warriors, and the night cap between Dallas and Milwaukee.

The full schedule. All times Spurs time.

3:00 - Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors
5:00 - Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings
7:00 - Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors
9:00 - Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks

Follow me in for who I will be keeping an eye on.

Houston

When it comes to players I want to keep and eye, James White tops the list. Yeah, you know, The James White that won a ring with the Spurs.

I'll keep an eye on Aussie Brad Newley for our down unders. Speaking of down under. I want you guys to explain Thunder From Down Under. Beef cake alert, ladies.

They also have two second round picks that they purchased: Jermaine Taylor and Chase Budinger,

Golden State

Another Aussie, Joe Ingles, is playing for the Warriors. I wonder if he is part of Thunder From Down Under.

Anthony Morrow and Anthony Randolph are both playing. They should be dominant.

We'll also get our first look at the Amare deal killer Stephen Curry.

Dallas

First rounder and Nando De Colo Cholet teammate Rodrigue Beaubois is listed on the roster. Rodrigue is George Hill's height and boasts a greater wingspan.

Fellow Frenchman Mickael Gelabale is playing. His 'From' is listed as 'Unknown'. I think he's from one of the French islands in the Caribbean.

Otherwise, they don't have many guys that really interest me. Lots of names I recognize, but nothing that grabs me.

Milwaukee

Mr. Auspicious, Brandon Jennings, is playing. He hasn't had the best go of it lately. He got left off his team's playoff roster in Italy. Showed up at the draft late. Posted a YouTube rant. Jennings is the player who went to Italy to play pro ball for his mandatory one-year out of high school before you can go pro year. However, he went with the 10th pick, a little unexpectedly high.

Last year's #1 pick Joe Alexander is playing. I'd like to see him. When he came out last year they talked about what an athletic freak he was. I didn't hear much about him after that.

Luc Mbah Moute is on the team. He had a good rookie year last year and is supposed to be an excellent defensive player.

Salim Stoudamire, who spent training camp with the Spurs last year, is playing. Hopefully, his groin is healthy.

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If you guys have players you want me to watch or anything else you are intersted in, let me know.

Sunday Notes: Ilyasova update, Jennings in context, Bogut's summer continued

Frank Madden — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:59:50 -0000

SPORT.es: Ilyasova signing this week?
As oshmeehan mentioned in the comments yesterday, the Spanish media is reporting that Ersan Ilyasova will sign with the Bucks this week. Of course, I'm relying on Yahoo's translating services, so any of you Spanish speakers out there are welcome to confirm/deny. Not that this would be surprising--after all, John Hammond has been mentioning Ilyasova for the past couple weeks and the Bucks' recent moves have certainly made his return more likely. Richard Jefferson's departure cleared the salary needed to go after Ilyasova, and Villanueva's move to Motown created the practical need for him in the rotation.

Keep in mind that while the story mentions a possible announcement on Tuesday, deals cannot officially be signed until Wednesday. On that day we'll also know the level of the cap, tax, and MLE. While the Bucks will easily be over the cap, the MLE will provide an upper-bound for offers that Ramon Sessions can get, while the tax will determine exactly how much breathing room the Buck have to sign Sessions, Ilyasova or any other free agents. For instance, if the tax were at $71 million and the MLE at $5.8 million, then the Bucks could sign Sessions for the MLE and Ersan to a deal starting at under $2 million and remain under the tax (assuming Bruce Bowen is cut before his deal becomes guaranteed on August 1). See the caponomics page for some more details on that.

Even if the Bucks give Ilyasova more than that and Sessions gets an MLE deal, the Bucks would have plenty of time to shave off a million or so over the course of the season since the tax isn't assessed until the end of the season. Even so, the Bucks may be unwilling to go that high for Sessions, especially on a four- or five-year deal.
Bogut: Month in review
I'm a couple days late on this, but Andrew Bogut provided a update on his summer last week:

My time in Milwaukee flew by quickly. I was working out every morning. I kept doing more and more day by day and eventually got to the point of doing every exercise in the weight room that I would have pre injury. I also had a chance to sit in with the coaches during some of the pre draft workouts. It seemed like there was a new group there every day working out.
In that being said we have drafted Brandon Jennings. I think he can really help us. He seems young and has a chip on his shoulder which is always a good thing. He is very quick to say the least, and his work ethic al helps him to be the best player he can be. We also took UK guard Jodie Meeks in the 2nd round. A prolific scorer in college, and has a great SG in Michael Redd to take advice from. Other than that we have had a couple of guys in town. I happen to run into Michael Redd as he came into town for a day for his check up. Joe Alexander, Luc Mbah a Moute and Salim Stoudamire were in working out everyday along with me. RIdnour came to town for a couple of days too. Was a good atmosphere to have in the summer, hopefully we can get more and more of that in years to come.
TrueHoop: Jennings' Minnesota workout
The Bucks were just one of the teams that saw Jennings work out against the draft's other top PGs (sans Rubio), and TrueHoop had an interesting account of what went down in Minnesota a couple weeks ago. This was written by a T'Wolves season ticket subscriber who got to watch the workout first hand. As you might expect it was a mixed bag, but here's one of the highights:

Suddenly Jennings remembered who he was and started moving with the type of swagger that I'd read about. On the first possession of the scrimmage he cleanly picked off a pass and beat Flynn in a footrace for an emphatic two-hander. A few possessions later he took an outlet from Holiday and sprinted down the left side. After beating Lawson with a stutter step, he picked up the ball and put it behind his back to avoid Evans' help defense. Then he flicked a no-look over his shoulder to Jrue for the easy dunk.
Onlookers collectively gasped.
Bucky Channel: The Jennings effect
Over at SportsBubbler, the Bucky Channel chimes in on what Jennings could mean to the Bucks:

Everything Jennings has done since the Bucks drafted him has been pure gold, and not because I'm hoping to watch some sort of massive trainwreck develop over the next couple of months. Yeah, he's going to have some 'splanin to do to whichever one of Ramon Sessions or Luke Ridnour is in Milwaukee next season, but those bridges can be rebuilt quickly enough. Let's lay off Jennings and his big mouth for a second and remember that, and this is the oh my goodness factor, someone is actually making the Milwaukee Bucks somewhat relevant.
I don't think John Hammond or Scott Skiles were thinking of the Bucks' media relevance when they picked Jennings, but you know the guys in the marketing department (and us bloggers) had to be pretty jazzed about it. From a national perspective, Jennings' unconventional route to the NBA will no doubt keep attention focused on him through his rookie year. He's unlikely to be a major impact player as a rookie, but as far as storylines go few guys bring as much of a curiosity factor--success or failure. And among young fans, Jennings' youthful flair and showmanship could spark renewed interest in a Bucks team that hasn't had an exciting young point since T.J. Ford.
The Bratwurst: CV vs. AJ
Brett is back with a post on the effective swap of PFs by the Bucks and Pistons.

Johnson has a reputation as not really knowing what he is doing on defense but having the athletic ability to make up for it. Charlie V has the reputation of not trying all that hard on defense. There is a difference. Give me the guy who is younger, cheaper and (incrementally) more athletic. Lets face it, it’s not like we are rooting for the Lakers or Cavs here. The Bucks aren’t trying to win the championship next year.