SB Nation - Francisco Elson

Here we go again? Bogut to miss 2-4 weeks

Frank Madden — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:04:22 -0000

More photos » by Gary Dineen - NBAE/Getty Images

Sadly, we won't be seeing this for a while.

Just when it was starting to be fun to be a Bucks fan, this happens. Figures, right?

The Bucks announced today that Andrew Bogut will miss up to a month thanks to the so-called "left leg strain and contusion" he suffered in the waning minutes of last night's win over New Jersey. Bogut suffered the injury on a loose ball under the Nets' basket, playing one more possession before walking to the locker room under his own power. It was hoped the injury would be a minor one, but an MRI today said otherwise.

As always seems to be the case when Bogut gets injured, the Bucks' description isn't particularly informative--kind of like the "leg sprain" Bogut suffered in October 2006 (His whole leg was sprained? What does that even mean?) or the misdiagnosed back injury that ended his season a year ago. As you might remember, Bogut took less than a month to recover from his leg sprain, which was initially thought to shelve him for 6-8 weeks. I'm not sure how similar this injury is, but hopefully he again beats expectations and is back in a week or two (and yes, I'm blocking out what happened last year, when the exact opposite happened with his back injury...happy thoughts, happy thoughts).

Bogut's injury comes just as Michael Redd is getting healthy, so if you were looking for an experiment to demonstrate the relative values of each guy, now you'll get it. In Bogut's stead you can obviously expect to see more of Dan Gadzuric and Kurt Thomas, and Francisco Elson might even make an appearance. But after a strong start to the season, Gadzuric hasn't played more than nine minutes in any of the Bucks' last four games, and Thomas hasn't played in three of the Bucks' last five (maxing out at six minutes). The Bucks will probably be going small more regularly as well, so don't be surprised to see Ersan Ilyasova getting more minutes in the pivot. How well the Bucks can hold the fort without Bogut is unclear (see our poll), but it will clearly have a lot to do with Brandon Jennings' ability to continue shouldering the scoring load. All we can say is this: feel better, Drew.

Poll

Andrew Bogut is out...what now?

In Brandon we trust.

357 votes

And thus begins the Bucks' annual downward spiral.

232 votes

589 votes | Poll has closed

Redd out at least two weeks

Frank Madden — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:36:22 -0000

More photos » by Michael Perez - AP

It's a familiar tune for Michael Redd

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Here we go again.

MRIs on Michael Redd's surgically repaired knee revealed a strained patella tendon today, shelving Redd for at least two weeks. Redd looked to be in discomfort after a breakaway sorta-dunk in the third quarter, though he continued to play for a few minutes. He didn't return for the final quarter with what was described as knee soreness. The injury is eerily similar to the one he suffered in January 2007, when he strained the same patella tendon on a late-game dunk against Cleveland. That injury ended up costing Redd six weeks on the sidelines.

Jim Paschke tweets that Charlie Bell will start in Redd's place, with second rounder Jodie Meeks expected to deputize. Meeks struggled to find his shot in the preseason and was inactive for the first two games, but shot the ball exceptionally well in Vegas. Considering he scored 23 ppg at Kentucky, the real question is whether he can defend well enough to win minutes over Bell, who hasn't been able to make shots for about two years now but can ably defend three positions. You can guess what Skiles cares more about. With Joe Alexander and Redd on the shelf for a while and Dan Gadzuric in Skiles' good graces for the moment, the Bucks will likely keep Francisco Elson as their only healthy player on the inactive list.

The Bucks claim Redd will be "re-evaluated" after two weeks, so there's no guarantee he'll be back anytime soon. It's a cruel blow for Redd, who worked diligently to come back after tearing his ACL and MCL against the Kings in January. Unfortunately it's also somewhat predictable at this point. Redd missed almost a month of action last November after what was initially thought to be a minor ankle sprain, and his penchant for injuring himself on attempted dunks has become something of a sad joke among Bucks fans.

Losing Redd's scoring ability should also have some ripple effects through the rest of the lineup. For one, Brandon Jennings will be relied on to continue his surprising scoring pace from opening weekend, and we'll likely see more two PG lineups as well. I really don't like the idea of Jennings playing shooting guard, and I'd prefer if he didn't feel the need to put up 20 shots every night. My guess is Jennings will remain the primary ballhandler whenever he's in the game, but he'll probably be shooting more to fill the void.

As the only remaining guy who can consistently draw fouls, Hakim Warrick will probably see even more minutes and could start if Skiles decides he needs Warrick's scoring more in the starting five than off the bench. Though Kurt Thomas started the first two games, Skiles decided to start Warrick in the second half against the Pistons and it paid major dividends as the Bucks ran riot over the Pistons in the third quarter. Then there's Andrew Bogut, who's taken just 16 shots in the opening two games. The Bucks need a lot more from Bogut even if Redd's around, but hopefully the latest news provides an opportunity for Bogut to become a bigger part of the offense.

Then there's the issue of how the injury affects Redd's trade value. It's one thing to pay Redd $35 million over the next two seasons if he's healthy--overpriced yes, but at least he would provide some much-needed scoring punch. Instead, Redd's durability has become an annual headache that makes his contract an even bigger albatross and almost impossible to deal.

Recap: Wolves 117, Bucks 103

Frank Madden — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:17:49 -0000

Box Score / Recap

Normally our recaps are meant to bring you some level of insight, but that's kinda tough when the game isn't on TV or the radio. So instead we're left to sit around and overreact to the box score (which I'm happy to do). Jim Paschke was kind enough to post some video at Bucks.com (above), and after the jump are some of my generic thoughts.

Skiles' reactions. As you can imagine, he was thrilled.
"We have a lot of work to do.

"We weren’t sharp. We didn’t shoot the ball well, our ball movement wasn’t good, our defense was terrible. We had no answer for how physical they were.

"They had much more intensity. You could feel it in the first four, five minutes of the game that we were going to have to pick up our level of play, and we never did."
Forwards. It stands to reason that the Bucks will want at least some perimeter shooting from their starting forward combination, which suggests that either Ersan Ilyasova starts at the 4 or Carlos Delfino starts at the 3. All summer I've preferred the idea of starting Mbah a Moute and Ilyasova at the 3/4 spots, if for no other reason than both players are young and might amount to more than solid bench players...which is what Hakim Warrick and Delfino have more or less established themselves as throughout their careers.

Well, mark one down for the low-upside veterans. Warrick scored 24 on just eight FGA, making 12/15 from the stripe. He's one of only a few players on the roster (Redd...maybe Bogut and Jennings?) who can occasionally create their own offense, so he's certainly going to be getting minutes every night. The question then becomes whether he's best used with the starters or as a reserve who's expected to help carry the second unit offensively. He's never proven he can reliably defend starting PFs, so that's the other big question.

None of the other forwards put up a nice box score line tonight, though we know how useless the box score is for assessing Mbah a Moute's game. Ilyasova fouled out in 13 minutes, so that's a bit of a red flag--he needs to re-adapt quickly to the way the NBA game is called, because it looks like he just got completely bullied by Kevin Love in the game's first few minutes.
Big Guns Play Sparingly. Bogut and Redd started but combined for only 25 miniutes. I won't bother reading much into their stats since they're mostly just trying to get some burn without getting hurt. In that sense it would at least appear game one was a success.
Point Guards. Brandon Jennings' line was a mixed bag: 6/15 fg, 14 points, five assists, two turnovers, and a -18 differential in 28 minutes. Most of those points came late with the Bucks resting Redd and Bogut. Considering that he's a 20 year old playing arguably the toughest position in the game to learn, I think it's only fair to expect a turbulent start for the 10th overall pick--which from the box score alone would make this a pretty tolerable debut. I'm guessing he'll be a pretty low-efficiency scorer given his inconsistent shooting and lack of finishing strength around the hoop.

Luke Ridnour played just 13 minutes but had a tidy line: 10 points, five dimes, three steals and just one turnover. Don't underestimate the huge advantage Ridnour has at the moment--not only is he a veteran, but he's been working in Skiles' system for a year now. Jennings' should get a lot better as he adapts to the NBA and the team around him, but it's tough to say if it will happen quickly enough to earn the starting PG spot.

On the other side, Jonny Flynn was 0/5 from the field but made a whopping 14/15 from the line to go with seven dimes and three turnovers in 26 minutes. Meanwhile, Ramon Sessions scored 9 to go with six boards, four assists and six turnovers in his Minnesota debut. I'm not sure how they matched up with one another, so I won't bother speculating.
Fouls. The Bucks led the world in fouling a year ago, so it shouldn't be too shocking that the Wolves got to the line for a mind-numbing 56 free throws. I'm guessing the new refs called the game pretty tight, but it's not uncharacteristic for the Bucks to have a significant deficit at the line--something they'll need to improve on if they ever want to be a playoff team. Francisco Elson fouled out in 15 minutes, in case you were wondering.

The flip side of all those fouls is that the Bucks had a +10 advantage in the turnover department, which was of course also a strength last year. Now they need to figure out how to foul less while creating the same number of turnovers. I'm always happy to state the obvious, folks.
Rebounding. The Bucks were a good rebounding team when healthy a year ago and the ingredients are there to continue that this year, but it wasn't there tonight as the Wolves killed them on the glass 49-24. That's partially a reflection of the free throw disparity: instead of taking shots from the field, the Wolves were shooting uncontested from 15 feet. Oh, and there's also that Kevin Love guy--he had 13 boards in just 21 minutes. Dude's a beast on the glass.

Saturday Notes: Open practice today, Minnesota opener tomorrow, all about Ersan

Frank Madden — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:43:09 -0000

Paschketbell: Charlie Bell and Scott Skiles

Bradley Center open practice at 1 pm
Tailgating starts at 11:30 am ($1 food items), the practice starts at 1 pm (free). Get over there.

Sunday opener in Minnesota
The Bucks' open their preseason tomorrow night at 5 pm against the T'Wolves in Mankato, Minnesota. From Charles Gardner comes news that Scott Skiles is planning to start Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut, though it's unlikely that either sees extended minutes. I'd guess for this game we see a veteran-heavy starting lineup of Ridnour, Redd, Mbah a Moute, Warrick and Bogut, but I'll probably be wrong (and as noted previously, I prefer Ilyasova at PF). A year ago these teams opened against each other and the Bucks rolled out Ramon Sessions, Redd, Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva, and Francisco Elson. Bogut and Ridnour didn't play as the Bucks were thrashed 117-79.

Ironically, the Bucks get to face Sessions in his first NBA action since leaving Milwaukee--three days before they face Charlie Villanueva in Detroit. Just as I'm curious to see how quickly Brandon Jennings snags the starting spot in Milwaukee, our buds at Wolves blog Canis Hoopus are seeing if Jonny Flynn can do the same. The big difference is that Flynn has to beat out Sessions, not Luke Ridnour. SnP at Canis Hoopus is pretty unequivocal about the situation: "Sessions is the best guard and point on this team." Considering Flynn was supposedly higher on the Bucks' board than Jennings, the whole situation underscores the teams' differing approaches to developing young guards. Acquire as many good youngsters as possible (Minny) or pick one and groom him to be the guy (Milwaukee). I still prefer David Kahn's approach.

No word yet if there will be any streams of the game, but I wouldn't bank on it. I assume NBA.com will have at least one audio stream.

All About Ersan
Here's my rule of thumb when reading season previews: if it's more than one paragraph in length and doesn't mention Ersan Ilyasova at all, then I know the writer hasn't really done his homework. There's no guarantee Ilyasova starts at PF, but I'd be shocked if his shooting and rebounding ability didn't earn him consistent minutes in the forward rotation. It's no surprise then that both Gery Woelfel and Charles Gardner had features on Ilyasova this week. Gardner spoke to Skiles about the challenges of managing his PF rotation:

"Within our team defense, can he guard some of the bigger power forwards?" Skiles said. "On the offensive end, he can make threes and spread them out a little bit.

"Or if he's matched up with some of those quicker power forwards, can he move his feet well enough to guard them off the dribble?

"That position now, one night it's a 7-foot guy, the next night it's a 6-7 guy, and (it changes) in the course of the same game."

The majority of teams don't have bruising power forwards anymore, which definitely helps a team hoping to feature both Ilyasova and Warrick at the 4. But as confident as he looked offensively, I didn't think Ilyasova's lateral movement looked as good at the Eurobasket as it had previously for Barcelona. Nothing worth a panic, just saying.

As you may remember, Ilyasova had another big reason to leave Barcelona for colder pastures: his wife is from Wisconsin. Woelfel writes:

"She is very excited to be here again,'' Ilyasova said. "It's more easy for her here.

"(But) it wasn't why I came here. ... I see myself as an NBA player.''

Roster shrinking
The Bucks have too many guys on the roster as is, so it's no surprise to see the non-roster invites going home now that the first week of practices is over. Via Gery Woelfel, Dominic James has left camp after signing a one-year deal with Turkish team Mercin. Charles Gaines, Marcus Hubbard, and Mark Tyndale have also been officially cut.

Around the Association: 2009-2010 Milwaukee Bucks: Saving a few buck$

jae — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:00:15 -0000

More photos » by Jason DeCrow - AP

Brandon Jennings desperately tries to hide his excitement after being selected by Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

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This is a story of a team dead set on avoiding the NBA's salary tax. This is a story of a team with a lofty payroll but without similarly lofty win totals. This is the story of the Bucks offseason, and the team it has produced.

It was a busy off-season for Bucks GM John Hammond. High profile and highly paid SF Richard Jefferson was traded to the Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto. Bowen was waived as his salary was only partially guaranteed. Oberto was promptly sent to the Pistons for Amir Johnson, who himself was later traded to Toronto along with Sonny Weems for Ukic and Delfino. Weems had not been under the Bucks' control long himself, having been acquired earlier in the offseason from Denver along with Walter Sharpe in exchange for Malik Allen. In the end, it much ado about nothing, or as close to nothing as the Bucks could manage as all moves seemed to point to getting the team safely under the luxury tax rather than upgrading or even rearranging talent.

Arriving:

Brandon Jennings (Drafted #10 overall after year overseas)

Jodie Meeks (Drafted #41 overall out of Kentucky)

Hakim Warrick (FA, MEM)

Kurt Thomas (Trade from Spurs)

Ersan İlyasova (FA, Turkey)

Carlos Delfino (Trade from TOR)

Roko Ukic (Trade from TOR)

Departing:

Ramon Sessions (FA to MIN)

Charlie Villanueva (FA to DET)

Richard Jefferson (Trade with SAN)

Synopsis:

Salary reduction seemed to be the name of the game. Ramon Sessions, a gifted young point guard with a knack for getting the ball in his hands and then getting it to the hot hand, leaves the team for Minnesota. The Bucks opted not to match a modest by NBA standards offer from the T-Wolves [Oh if only the Warriors had made such an offer, he'd have at worst solidified the backup PG position behind still untested Monta Ellis or provided a means to keep Monta as a combo guard along side Sessions, who plays bigger than his combine measurements would suggest.] Charlie Villanueva was similarly allowed to depart to Detroit rather than incur the wrath of the luxury tax that keeping him well could have resulted in.

From a business perspective these moves may make sense. It makes little sense to pay premium matching dollars for a team that seemed unlikely to vastly improve on their 34 win season. However, these moves mean that staying at that level may be difficult and it looks like another trip back to the lottery. The ever-bizarre nature of the CBA's tax and cap rules have conspired to slice deep into the Bucks' chances for 09-10.

The cupboard isn't entirely bare. Michael Redd can shoot and score. Luke Ridnour is a competent solution at the point (though certainly not good enough to make Sessions expendable). Andrew Bogut is an above average center who hits his shots and grabs rebounds, but he does not appear to be a franchise cornerstone. These returning starters are joined by 2^nd year SF Joe Alexander. Alexander has the athletic tools to excel but showed little as a rookie. He will have to do more, much more for Milwaukee to have any realistic shot at improvement. Hakim Warrick, signed away from the Grizzlies, will likely join Bogut in the front court. Warrick is another top notch athlete, but the net effect is that of a tweener forward, lacking the rebounding ability to solidify the 4 spot and without the perimeter skills to be an effective "3". His high percentage scoring is a plus, but the rest of his game is quietly underwhelming. The most intriguing story may be Brandon Jennings. Jennings showed signs of being an electric playmaker, but whether he can quickly move up to direct an NBA club and whether he can shoot well enough to be a legitimate scoring threat remain to be seen.

Other intrigue? Dan Gadzuric and Francisco Elson give the team a pair of adequate backup centers who both hail from the Netherlands.

Anyone who can get excited about Meeks and the triple-shot of 'meh' in the form of Ukic, Delfino and İlyasova should seek help.

Prediction: 27 wins.

For more on the Milwaukee Bucks check out Brew Hoop:

2009-2010 Around the Association

Introduction
Atlanta Hawks: Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. The Hawks are for real.
Boston Celtics: Sheed in Green + Another Answer
Charlotte Bobcats: They Do Exist
Chicago Bulls: Ring Around the Rose-y
Cleveland Cavaliers: Now or Never
Dallas Mavericks: The Curse of the Dampier
Denver Nuggets: If it ain't broke...
Detroit Pistons: The Return of the Bay Boys
Houston Rockets: Yao-ch!, that's gotta hurt
Indiana Pacers: A One Man Show
Los Angeles Clippers: Warriors South No More
Los Angeles Lakers: Big Brother, Little Brother
Memphis Grizzlies: Going Back to Vancouver
Miami Heat: Need to get the point
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Jersey Nets: The Year of the Yi
New Orleans Hornets: Two first names, one great point guard
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Super Sonics
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia Sixers
Phoenix Suns
Portland TrailBlazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Rewind

Poll

What lesser known Bucks player are you most likely to totally and completely ignore?

Carlos Delfino

33 votes

Ersan İlyasova

268 votes

Roko Ukic

146 votes

447 votes | Poll has closed

Identifying Potential Late Season Pickups

JakeTheSnake — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:00:40 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Though he didn't help them to a championship, Joe Smith was a great late season addition for the Cavs last season after having his contract bought out with the Thunder.

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If you're looking for an evidence to support your claim that the NBA is a league where the rich get richer, look no further than the trend of veteran players signing with elite contenders after having their contracts bought out. Just last year we saw as Joe Smith, Drew Gooden, Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore among others sign with contenders after their cellar-dwelling teams bought out the end of their contracts.

With the cap going down and plenty of free agents hitting the open market, it's safe to assume that several teams will be looking to negotiate buyouts with players. Obviously, there won't be as many players available in the late-season market as there are right now, but there's a good chance that there will be some better talent available to sign for the veteran's minimum in February than there is right now to sign to the low level exemption. Of course, signing someone is contingent on being a contender before they sign. Otherwise, they'll just sign with a team that has a better chance of getting a ring.

After the jump, we'll narrow down the options and see what players could hit the open market later this season.

Beofre we begin, here's a list of all the free agents for the 2010. This is where the pool for our buyout candidates will come from, since there probably won't be any owners looking to buyout more than the last half of a season off of any player's contract. Just to be safe, we'll exclude restricted free agents and players who have options on their contracts. We'll also exclude guards and wings who might be nice additions, but don't address any critical needs in what's already a very deep backcourt.

Now that we've taken care of all the disclaimers, let's start paring down who's left to see what's available.

Step 1: Eliminate anyone on a contending team

Players already on contenders are already doing enough to make their teams good which gives the team no reason to want to get rid of him and the player no reason to hop ship for a team with a shot of winning it all. I'm only including Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, the Lakers, San Antonio, and Denver as true contenders at this point, though other teams could always insert their name into the discussion as the season goes along.

This eliminates: Brian Scalabrine, Shaquille O'Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Steven Hunter, Brian Cook, Chuck Hayes, DJ Mbenga, Josh Powell, and Matt Bonner.

Step 2: Eliminate anyone who wouldn't be desirable even if they become available

Needless to say, there would probably be some venom spewed if these players were brough in as the final piece of the puzzle.

This eliminates: Randolph Morris, Jerome James, Mark Blount, Francisco Elson, Malik Allen, Brian Cardinal, Mark Madsen, Etan Thomas, Mouhamed Sene, Kenny Thomas, Patrick O'Bryant

Step 3: Eliminate anyone who won't be bought out because they're just too good

Even if the player has a 100% chance of walking away in free agency, the negative PR backlash of buying out these players would just be too much to bear.

This eliminates: Carlos Boozer

Step 4: Eliminate all young players

You won't see any of these players bought out because their age still makes them valuable. Besides, do you think the veterans already on the team want to deal with another young player after last year's debacle?

This eliminates: Craig Smith, Amir Johnson, Louis Amundson

So who's left?

A mish-mash of veterans who can give the team something if they think the Wizards have a shot of giving them what they want: a championship. First, let's take a look at the guys with an outside chance of being buyout material if their respective team's find themselves in an unexpectedly down year.

Brad Miller
Kwame Brown (not that he'd come to D.C., but I had to throw it out there...)
Udonis Haslem
Jermaine O'Neal
Al Harrington
Darko Milicic

The chances of seeing any of these fine men bought out are extremely, extremely low. They'd have to be out of the playoff hunt very early and more than likely burn a few bridges with their current team. But in uncertain times, anything is possible so it would be premature to eliminate any of these possibilites.

Then there are the respectable players stuck on floundering teams who have the best shot of being buyout material. Since they have the most realistic shot of winding up on a contender, they deserve the most focus. So after a few hundred words of talking about who won't be bought out, let's take a look at the players with the best shots of being contributors to a contender one by one.

Marcus Camby: Camby is on tap to make nearly $10 million this season from one of the more tight-fisted owners in the league in Donald Sterling. On top of that, his presence (together with Chris Kaman's) creates a logjam in the low post where Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan need minutes to develop. He'll be beneficial at the start of the year as he helps the young guys to understand the league better, but the reality is that the team likely isn't going to go anywhere this season and Griffin & Jordan have to be given the chance to sprout their wings at some point.

The Spurs nearly made a deal for Camby at the deadline last season and it wouldn't be the least bit surprising to see teams inquire about making a trade for him this season as well. The Clippers will probably do all they can to boost his trade value in order to get something useful in return, but it's hard to see anyone giving up a prospect and swallowing the rest of Camby's contract for what amounts to a rental. If Camby doesn't get traded, it probably won't take long for both sides to start talking about a buyout.

Kurt Thomas: San Antonio saved Kurt from lottery land in 2008 when they traded Brent Barry's expiring contract to Seattle for his services. Of course, Barry ended up having the rest of his contract bought out and he returned to San Antonio just in time for their final push last year. Now Thomas finds himself on the other side of the deal, sent to Milwaukee as part of the Richard Jefferson deal. His contract isn't terrible, (he's due to make $3.8 million) which makes it much easier for Milwaukee for the Bucks to work out a buyout without breaking the bank, but it also makes him much easier to trade for than Camby.

Tony Battie: Like Thomas, Tony Battie went from a great situation with a contender to finding himself on a lottery team after being included as part of the Vince Carter deal. He'll be a nice addition to a shallow frontcourt, but I don't think anyone is kidding themselves into thinking that they'll be contenders next season or that the 33 year old Battie has any kind of long-term future with the team. As is the case with Camby and Thomas, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Nets do everything they can to boost his value and get prospect for a late season rental, but in this market, I don't see many teams looking to buy at Battie's price (just over $6 million). Of the thee players listed, Battie probably has the most buyout potential

It will be interesting to see if these players do get bought out where they will land. Camby seems like a natural fit for San Antonio and the Spurs have a knack of getting the players they want. If he hits the open market, I don't think it will take long at all for him to end up in the Alamo, but you never know who might make a push to sign him. Thomas and Battie are much more interesting. If the Spurs do end up getting Camby, his presence along with the addition of Antonio McDyess would eat up most, if not all of his minutes. Likewise, it would be hard to see Battie returning to Orlando now that they have Ryan Anderson, Brandon Bass at their disposal, and they still have Marcin Gortat.

If the Wizards can stay healthy and show that they're an elite Eastern Conference squad next season like they think they can be, it might make sense to wait and see who has their contract bought out after the trade deadline. Not only will the players available at that point likely be better than the ones available for the LLE right now, but they'll come at a cheaper price.

2009 NBA Draft Coverage: In Sam Presti We Trust (Thunder GM)

Mr Pappagiorgio — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:00:21 -0000

As we inch closer and closer to the 2009 NBA Draft, I thought it would be fitting to make very clear of one thing, In Sam Presti We Trust. The moves he's made since joining the organization have been cold and calculated as he attempts to completely rebuild this team, for the long haul, and from the ground up. He hasn't been afraid to trade superstars (Ray Allen), walk away from pricey re-signings (Rashard Lewis), or even walk away from completed trades involving stud players because his future became a little cloudy after Thunder trainers evaluated him (Tyson Chandler). He did all that and more, much more, in just 2 years since being hired by the Sonics. Its a pretty long list that you'll see after you make the jump.

Sam Presti became the General Manager of the Seattle Sonics on June 7, 2007 and since then, not only has he made those tough decisions/big deals listed above, but he's also turned over nearly the entire roster. Just take a look at these names: Ray Allen, Andre Brown, Desmon Farmer, Danny Fortson, Mickael Gelabale, Andreas Glyniadakis, Rashard Lewis, Randy Livingston, Johan Petro, Luke Ridnour, Mo Sene, Chris Wilcox, and Mike Wilks. In addition to those guys, Earl Watson, Nick Collison, and Damien Wilkins were also on the roster when Sam Presti took over the club, however, before the end of the summer, or before the trade deadline next year, its not out of the realm of possibilities for one, two, or even all three of those guys to be moved. Of the three remaining Pre-Presti players, only Nick Collison figures to be around past next year, at least in our estimation.

We've all been exhausting ourselves discussing what the Thunder will do with their #3 pick in next weeks draft, and while all the possibilities are intriguing, one thing we can bank on is that Thunder General Manager Sam Presti will undoubtedly make the smartest move for Oklahoma City with respect towards building this team for the future. He and his staff are looking at all sorts of players, and discussing potential moves with all sorts of teams. By the time the Thunder officially make/trade their pick come draft day, you can trust that the staff will have done their homework, carefully plotted out their move, and figured out the best way to make the most of our draft choice. It could come by using the 3rd pick to select a guy like James Harden (Which we love), Hasheem Thabeet, or even a guy like Tyreke Evens (whom you'll likely be hearing from, fictitiously of course, this week in our continued "My Name Is Series"). Or perhaps it could come by trading that third pick away, possibly with expiring contracts (Earl Watson anyone....please?), or with draft picks, and could be used to add a veteran player from another team in addition to dropping down a few slots and drafting a player like Stephen Curry to help maximize the value of our 3rd overall pick.

Whatever the case, In Sam Presti We Trust, and In Sam Presti You Can Trust. If you don't believe us, just take a look at the entire history of moves he's made since joining the club. Its quite a long list, especially when you consider he only took the job just a little over two years ago, but one thing is for sure, he isn't afraid of wheeling and dealing. So take a few minutes, look over this list, form your opinion about any/all of the moves he's made, and let us know if you Trust in Presti as much as we do.

Also, it's recently been announced that the state of Oklahoma will be releasing a limited edition State specific Nickel for use in the state of Oklahoma only, as part of an advertising campaign to raise awareness about our professional basketball team. The tails side is of course the Thunder logo, but the heads side features our very own Sam Presti, with the words In Sam We Trust. You can see the head side of the Nickel below Presti's transaction history on this post. Of course this is all complete malarkey and isn't actually true, I just had to make something up so that my post header made more sense, or cents. I mean not everybody would have made the connection between In Sam We Trust and In God We Trust which is most commonly found on all forms of American Money. And no, in no way does this post, or post title have anything to do with God or Religion, its just my new catch phrase for anytime someone posts or makes comments in reference to our wunderkind general manager.

Sam Presti's Transaction History (2007-09) Seattle Sonics / Oklahoma City Thunder

(Transaction History From HoopsHype, although any links contained inside stay in the SBNation Network)

TRANSACTIONS:
SEASON 2008-09
March 31 2009 Signed guard Shaun Livingston. March 1 2009 Waived forward Joe Smith. February 20 2009 Waived center Saer Sene. February 19 2009 Traded forward Chris Wilcox to the New York Knicks for forward Malik Rose and cash. Traded a conditional 2009 first-round pick to the Chicago Bulls for guard Thabo Sefolosha. February 17 2009 Traded forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox and the draft rights to forward DeVon Hardin to the New Orleans Hornets for center Tyson Chandler. The trade was voided the following day. January 7 2009 Traded center Johan Petro and a second-round pick to the Denver Nuggets for guard Chucky Atkins. December 31 2008 Signed center Nenad Krstic. December 30 2008 Waived center Steven Hill. December 22 2008 Signed center Nenad Krstic to an offer sheet. November 22 2008 Fired head coach PJ Carlesimo and assistant coach Paul Westhead and named Scott Brooks interim head coach. November 4 2008 Signed center Steven Hill. November 3 2008 Waived guard John Lucas. October 21 2008 Waived forward Derrick Byars and center Chris Alexander. October 16 2008 Exercised the contract options on forwards Kevin Durant and Jeff Green through 2009-10. September 29 2008 Signed guard John Lucas, forward Derrick Byars and center Chris Alexander. September 11 2008 Re-signed center Robert Swift. August 27 2008 Signed guard Kyle Weaver. August 20 2008 Waived forward Donyell Marshall. August 13 2008 Traded guard Luke Ridnour and forward Adrian Griffin to the Milwaukee Bucks for guard Desmond Mason from the Milwaukee Bucks and forward Joe Smith from the Cleveland Cavaliers. August 11 2008 Traded a second-round pick to the Charlotte Bobcats for the draft rights to guard Kyle Weaver. July 18 2008 Signed guard CJ Miles to an offer sheet. July 4 2008 Signed guard Russell Westbrook and forward DJ White. June 28 2008 Tendered a qualifying offer to forward Robert Swift. Draft 2008 Selected guard Russell Westbrook (4th overall pick), forwards Serge Ibaka (24th overall pick) and Walter Sharpe (32nd overall pick) and centers Trent Plaisted (46th overall pick), Devon Hardin (50th overall pick) and Sasha Kaun (56th overall pick). Traded the draft rights to forward Walter Sharpe and center Trent Plaisted to the Detroit Pistons for the draft rights to forward DJ White; traded the draft rights to center Sasha Kaun to the Cleveland Cavaliers for cash. May 8 2008 Named Troy Weaver assistant general manager.
SEASON 2007-08
April 13 2008 Signed forward Ronald Dupree for the remainder of the season. April 3 2008 Signed forward Ronald Dupree to a 10-day contract. March 24 2008 Signed guard Eddie Gill to a 10-day contract. March 11 2008 Signed guard Mike Wilks to a second 10-day contract. February 29 2008 Signed guard Mike Wilks to a 10-day contract and waived forward Ira Newble. February 21 2008 Traded guards Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to the Cleveland Cavaliers for forwards Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble and forward Adrian Griffin from the Chicago Bulls; waived guard Brent Barry. February 20 2008 Traded forward Kurt Thomas to the San Antonio Spurs for guard Brent Barry, center Francisco Elson and a 2009 first-round pick. October 26 2007 Exercised the contract options of centers Johan Petro and Saer Sene through 2008-09. October 22 2007 Waived guard Jermaine Jackson. October 1 2007 Signed guard Jermaine Jackson. September 27 2007 Named Paul Westhead assistant coach. August 29 2007 Named Bill Branch director of pro player personnel and Gerald Madkins and Frank Ross scouts. August 23 2007 Named Scott Brooks, Mark Bryant and Ralph Lewis assistant coaches and Brian Keefe player development assistant. July 20 2007 Traded a future conditional second-round pick and cash to the Phoenix Suns for forward Kurt Thomas and the first-round picks of 2008 and 2010. July 11 2007 Signed forward Rashard Lewis and traded him to the Orlando Magic for a conditional second-round pick and cash. July 5 2007 Named PJ Carlesimo head coach. July 4 2007 Signed forwards Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. Draft 2007 Selected forwards Kevin Durant (2nd overall pick) and Carl Landry (31st overall pick overall pick), center Glen Davis (35th overall pick). June 28 2007 Traded guard Ray Allen and the 35th overall pick to the Boston Celtics for guards Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and the 5th overall pick.

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Team Needs: Center/Big Man

Jeff Clark — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:58:45 -0000

Our team needs are no big mystery. Doc himself laid them out in detail. We need veterans, and we need depth at center, small forward, and point guard. As we roll along, it seems like a good time to review these team needs, starting with backup center.

I couldn't be happier with the progress Kendrick Perkins has made each and every year. He's an established veteran center who plays fantastic defense and pulls down his share of rebounds. He's the perfect compliment to Kevin Garnett and a wonderful fit in the Doc/Thibs system. He's even developed a respectable offensive game. However, he's just one man. And he's occasionally foul prone and has a shoulder issue that is bound to plague him on and off his whole career.

All too often this year Doc had to lean heavily on Big Baby and Leon Powe at center, but both are undersized for the 4 spot, never mind the 5 and now both are free agents.

Patrick O'Bryant was the low risk, high upside gamble of the offseason. The thinking was that if KG couldn't motivate him, nobody could. Turns out nobody could. Enter mid season pickup Mikki Moore, who was supposed to be the anti-O'Bryant (all effort, little talent). That never worked out either. Toss in the oft-injured Scot Pollard from a year ago and we've seen too many big man experiments gone wrong.

We either need another PJ Brown (someone older but reliable) or a taller version of Leon Powe (hard worker, smart player, knows his role). I'm all for taking a flyer on a big man with upside, but not at the expense of getting one of the above.

As a minimum, the guy would have to be able to learn our defensive schemes. It would be great if the guy could rebound and not get in the way on offense. If he's got a good offensive game, that's a bonus I can live with too.

So who can we get? Lets look at some options:

Free Agents: (see my list of potential free agents for reference)

Marcin Gortat - He's big, he's fairly skilled, and he's played very well in support of Dwight Howard for the Magic. He's also the most likely big man to be overpaid this offseason. The Knicks already have their eye on him and seem ready to throw the MLE at him.

Antonio McDyess - If he signed, he would fill the PJ Brown role nicely. In fact, he's still a very effective big man in this league and he would fit in perfectly. He's even friends with Kevin Garnett. Probably my top choice right now and I would imagine his price tag wouldn't be too high. He was very loyal to the Pistons but they are clearly moving in different directions and I imagine Antonio will be open to offers from contenders like the Celts.

Chris Anderson - The Birdman got a look from the Celtics last year and I imagine he would have worked out a lot better than O'Bryant if given the opportunity. Instead he landed in Denver and made a big impression on everyone with his energetic style. Now he's a free agent again. Will Danny be more agressive this time or has that ship sailed?

Rasheed Wallace - I've made my feelings clear on this, but not everyone agrees. He's a big name option and Danny has reportedly shown interest in him as early as last February. A lot might depend on his price tag and motivation.

Radoslav Nesterovic - A true (lumbering) center if ever there was one. He's got touch and can score and pass but he's limited on the boards and defense. Worth a look but I'm not sure if the fit is ideal.

Others: Zaza Pachulia, Robert Swift, Shelden Williams, Francisco Elson, Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox, Drew Gooden

Potential Trade Targets:

It is much harder narrowing down the list of trade ideas, but here are a few names to toss in a hat. An ideal pickup would be Brook Lopez from New Jersey but that's not happening. I get the feeling that Tyrus Thomas could be had, but I don't know if we have what it takes to pry him away. Diop seems like a poor man's Perk; if the Cats want to shed salary, he might be an option. I've been trying to figure out ways to pry Jeff Foster away from the Pacers for a while and nothing has come to me. Same with Nick Collison of the Thunder. I don't think we have what it takes to pick up Joel Przbilla but I think Channing Frye could be had. I'm sure I'm missing more than a few names but feel free to add them in the comments.

Mid Season Pickups (Buyout Candidates):

If all else fails, there's always the same routine we've seen the last couple of years. Wait till after the trade deadline and see who shakes out of the system. Right now I wouldn't be too surprised to see the Clippers save some money on Marcus Camby's contract. I could see the Grizzlies cutting Darko Milicic loose as well.

The Draft:

Doc has stated that he wants vets, and I'm all for that as the first option. However, once we fill that slot, I'm all for taking a big somewhere in the draft. Danny would likely have to purchase a pick somewhere in the late first or early second round to get anyone of impact. I havn't got a clue who that would be, but feel free to research at Draft Express or NBADraft.net.

And hey, there's always Antoine Walker! [ducking for cover]

Going Big with the MLE

Seth — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:56:52 -0000

Today's big ruckus is about Magic center Marcin Gortat, who will likely depart Dwight Howard's shadow this summer for greener pa$tures. Everybody knows the Knicks need frontcourt help, and the Post has the scoop on the possibility of Donnie Walsh using his mid-level exception on Gortat.

The Knicks had no interior defensive presence, and that's Gortat's strength. He also blocks shots and rebounds. (The Knicks were last in blocked shots the past two years).

The Polish big man originally was drafted by coach Mike D'Antoni's Suns in the second round of 2005, but they traded his rights. Gortat probably will not be re-signed because he plays a smallish role as Dwight Howard's backup and the Magic can't pay him accordingly.

Gortat said the Knicks could be an ideal spot. Gortat (four points, three rebounds) played 15 minutes last night as Magic coach Stan Van Gundy often used a twin-tower alignment to combat the Lakers' size.

Magic general manager Otis Smith can match any offer, but said he knows it will be a financial challenge to retain Gortat.

"He's got the best job in America, playing behind my best player, playing 8 to 10 minutes," Smith said. "He goes out and does his job and probably has the best work ethic of anyone in the locker room. Can he start for another team? Yeah he can.

I'm often skeptical of stories that declare New York's intentions without quoting any Knick personnel, but I'm pretty sure Donnie Walsh would be tampering if he said anything about Gortat right now. Weird, too, for Otis Smith (and Gortat, if you read the article) to be discussing this stuff in the middle of a Finals run. That is, unless these words are taken from a past interview, which they very well might be. I digress.

Gortat's a solid big man and pretty much fits the bill as far as the hole in the paint is concerned. He blocks shots, grabs boards, and doesn't try to overextend himself on offense. He's also a 7-foot bald Polish man, which has a charm all its own (and should lead to some excellent Poland-related Knicks trivia, you feel me?). Should he command the full MLE (upwards of $5 million), though? Is there anyone else out there who might better suit D'Antoni and the Knicks? Tommy Dee, for one, has some questions and an alternative in mind:

The Knicks are desperate for a center. If Donnie Walsh believes that Gortat is the answer, then I will trust him. But Gortat, 25, played just over 12 minutes per game this season. In the playoffs, those numbers jumped slightly. Without a real track record, is he worth that kind of money?

I would love to see Walsh go after RFA Ryan Hollins, who I think can be a good shot-blocker and come at 1/2 the price of Gortat. But if Gortat is the guy, I cannot complain too much. He has the ability to block shots. But can he play 30-35 minutes a night? If Donnie thinks so, then I am on board. Bring him here. If not, then spend the money in better places.

Hollins was immensely entertaining as a Bobcat, and gained some legitimacy as a Maverick this Spring. He's also got some serious defensive chops, though he's more of a springy, vicious shot-blocker than a sturdy, astute guy like Gortat. I would tag Gortat as most likely to contribute immediately, while Hollins probably has a higher "ceiling", for whatever that's worth. Now, what else is there in the way of relatively cheap free agent centers? Let's have a look.

Chris Andersen- Birdman found himself back in good graces with relatively focused play this season. Andersen defended and finished with all of the gusto, but less of the insanity as previous years. That said, Denver will probably re-sign him as soon as possible, and he may very well command more than the mid-level. Hard to say.

Stromile Swift- Swift can probably be had on the cheap, and can block shots pretty well, but has failed to make it work on a number of teams.

Theo Ratliff- He'd probably work, but that's sooooo boring.

Francisco Elson- Any black Dutch guy named "Francisco" has my attention. He's also a decent shot-blocker and seems like he has very good manners. That goes a long way.

Hakim Warrick- Warrick's not really a center, but he blocks shots and can definitely run the floor.

Steven Hunter- It seems like everybody who's ever had anything to do with DePaul ends up on the Knicks, so this would be the next logical move. Hunter's also quite tall.

Joel Anthony- He does block shots, but...I don't know, just look.

Jerome James- You know you miss him.

The upshot is that Gortat is one of many big men looking to get paid this summer. Assuming that Hasheem Thabeet is out of reach in the upcoming draft, don't be surprised to see Donnie Walsh go big with his mid-level exception. What remains to be seen is who fits both the defensive needs and the D'Antoni system, and the cost of such a player.

Who you got? Did I forget anybody? Is my understanding of NBA free agency somehow completely flawed? Let me know in the comments.

For your perusal: A list of free agents, salaries, and a cat that plays piano.

Weekend notes: Ilyasova on the Bucks' radar, Allen/Elson likely staying, Bogut's back, draft chatter

Frank Madden — Sat, 09 May 2009 17:27:14 -0000

Tom Enlund writes that Ersan Ilyasova could indeed be in the Bucks' plans this summer. This further confirms what we wrote about the Ersan situation last week, namely that the former second rounder offers the Bucks a solid fallback option should they be unable to replace Charlie Villanueva via trade or draft. Enlund also has a line about the luxury tax being expected to drop to $68 million, which would be something of a disaster scenario from the Bucks' perspective. What's unclear is if the Bucks are feeding him that or if he's just recycling the figure that was floated around a few months ago.
On the more optimistic side, Gery Woelfel still expects the tax to be at $71 million. Looking around at luxury tax talk, the two numbers seem to form an upper- and lower-bound for where the tax is likely to be set. We won't know the cap numbers officially until the free agent moratorium ends on July 8.

However, Woelfel is also the bearer of some not-so-good news: Malik Allen ($1.3 million) and Francisco Elson ($1.7 million) are expected to take their player options for 09/10. I've been assuming that in all the cap scenarios I've mentioned, but I was still holding out faint hope that Elson at least might push his luck in free agency. While the pair make just $3 million combined, the Bucks could have saved over $2 million by replacing them with guys on the rookie minimum. That might not be a preferred scenario either, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Additionally, Woelfel reports that Salim Stoudamire's deal for next year is only partially guaranteed, though that doesn't mean a whole lot--he's a minimum level player as is, so the only way you could save a small amount of money would be by cutting him and picking up a younger player. But if part of Stoudamire's deal is guaranteed then that likely wipes out the majority of any possible saving anyway.
Woelfel also notes that in-state products Jerel McNeal, Wes Matthews, and Marcus Landry will all be in town for workouts in the next week. Both DX and NBADraft.net have McNeal projected at #49 overall, while NBADraft.net has Matthews slotted at #52.
Andrew Bogut blogged on May 1st that he's awaiting another MRI on his back:
To keep you all posted I have still not started working out even though I am itching to do so. Rest is the best thing for me at this stage. I will have another MRI in 2 weeks to make sure the bone has fully healed then go from there.
Andy Katz gets some insider perspectives on the 2009 draft class. John Hammond has said he expects the Bucks to get an immediate contributor from their lottery pick, but it doesn't seem others are expecting as much given the talent available:
"The biggest problem with this draft will be the expectations for players where they're being picked," one NBA personnel source said. "Usually, when you're picking a player in the top 10, you're thinking that you're getting a starter or an impact guy. But you're likely getting a role player. The same kind of role player may be at 7 and 15."
Many players don't like watching the playoffs if they're not participating--but not Charlie Bell. There's pretty much nothing about the Bucks in here, but take a look to see Charlie's take on the playoffs, which you can also get in real time at his Twitter page.
Jim Paschke is now also Twittering.