Milwaukee "Bucking" Up for Improvement, Standing Down for Economy

The 2008-2009 NBA season was an example of hope and failure for the Milwaukee Bucks. Despite the unexpected rally to compete for a postseason spot in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks tumbled as they have for most of the 2000s. The hodge-podge cast of young veterans made for a great number of competitive games, and head coach Scott Skiles certainly made sure of that. In the end, Milwaukee pulled a James Ingram--they gave their best, but their best wasn't good enough.

It's not that the Bucks didn't do enough to put their team in the position to compete. Skiles came aboard as coach after being fired from the Chicago Bulls in 2007, and he has had a great track record in getting teams to compete and win. Richard Jefferson was traded to the team from New Jersey in exchange for forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons; both players were ineffective, but had different cases for being so (in the case of Yi, beyond struggling some with living all-year in a new country and language, he lacked confidence but also was played out of position as a 4-man, instead of his more natural small forward spot; for Simmons, he was finally able to get healthy after spending the vast majority of his previous three years with the Bucks with seriously damaged feet on the inactive list after breaking out with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2004).

Michael Redd then tore knee ligaments midway through the season and Andrew Bogut also sat out of the last two months of the 2009 season with fractures in his back, but the team rallied surprisingly. Jefferson led the charge, but starting guard Ramon Sessions played outstanding along side rookie forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and combo forward Charlie Villanueva, who finally produced consistently for the first time since his rookie season as a Toronto Raptor. With the promise of a winning group, the Bucks still have major concerns, but those which are not as dire as thought.

The economy has hit the Milwaukee franchise hard and the ownership is looking to cut some money off of the team's payroll. One way to do this would be to rid the team of its most expensive players in both Redd and Bogut. Unfortunately, Redd has not had the help necessary to win in previous years with the Bucks and he would fit better in a winning situation, which would be considerate for the Bucks to allow him not to lose while he plays in his prime years. Bogut was recently given a maximum-level extension for $60 million, but that is more based on promise than production, and while Bogut has been serviceable, he has not been worth the investment, and he has also alienated himself from his teammates in the recent past; the Bucks have proven that they can produce without him. The team would also fare better in giving Sessions and Villanueva new contracts that would be fair to the organization and to the players, and specifically in Sessions' case, he should be made the de facto starting point guard over Luke Ridnour, who has played six steady but mediocre years as a starting point guard for the Seattle SuperSonics and the Bucks; Sessions has outplayed Ridnour in nearly every way.

Beyond those issues, the Bucks would be best served to acquire more talent and useful depth at all five positions, and hopefully 2008 top draft pick Joe Alexander can invigorate the wing positions even further with his athleticism, shooting and ball-handling.

2009 was not such a bad year for Milwaukee, but it was not such a great year as well.