jsonline & bucks.com Audio/Articles 05-20-08

[carmelbrownqueen]

Here are some of the articles on Hammonds thoughts on the draft, the new assistants, and some audio of Sampson and an article about him.

First the draft article:

Trading pick a possibility
Bucks GM will view all options
By TOM ENLUND
tenlund@journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 19, 2008

Once the Milwaukee Bucks' draft position is clarified tonight in the National Basketball Association lottery, they will be able to turn their attention to an important question.

Just how much interest do they really have in their first-round draft choice this year?

Because as the Bucks attempt to get back on their feet after winning only 26 games this season, they will have to consider all options to improve and that might include trading their first-round pick.

"We're open to anything," general manager John Hammond said. "And we should be. Don't you think?"

The Bucks will be holding the No. 7 position going into the lottery and will have a 4.3% chance of landing the top overall pick in the draft. But they would be doing well for themselves if they landed either of the top two spots, enabling them to choose Kansas State forward Michael Beasley or Memphis guard Derrick Rose.

They are the clear-cut choices as the top two players available this year, much as last year when Greg Oden went first to Portland and Kevin Durant went second to Seattle.

But when asked if this draft was stronger overall than the one last year, Hammond said that was a "discussion point." Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the overall crop of prospects this year.

That's why, considering the state of the team, if the Bucks don't jump up into the top two, they might give some serious thought to moving their pick. Hammond said he was not opposed to trading first-round draft choices.

"With our situation and where we're at as an organization today, I don't think we can be opposed to anything," he said. "We have to be open to any or all discussions. When we say we're going to explore all possibilities to improve this roster, you would have to be open-minded to anything, including maybe even including the draft pick."

That doesn't necessarily mean the Bucks would be looking to include their first-round pick in a package to move up in the draft.

Trading down could also prove to be beneficial, if they were able to package their first-round pick plus a player in a trade for a lower first-round pick and a solid veteran or two that they liked from another team.

With so many of the players in the draft being so young and considered projects, it might make sense to select such a player lower in the first round. Keep in mind that some of the top rookies this season were Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young (12th overall selection) the Los Angeles Clippers' Al Thornton (14th), Detroit's Rodney Stuckey (15th) and Houston's Carl Landry (31st).

"If you have a top-10 pick, you're going to get a quality player," Hammond said. "And you never know, sometimes you can slide all the way into the 20s and get a quality player."

From the May 20, 2008 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=752466

[carmelbrownqueen]

Sampson moving forward
Bucks assistant grateful for second chance
By CHARLES F. GARDNER
cgardner@journalsentinel.com
Posted: May 19, 2008

St. Francis - Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles didn't hesitate to pursue Kelvin Sampson as an assistant coach, despite the former Indiana University coach's ongoing troubles with the NCAA.

Sampson was formally introduced as a member of the Bucks' staff Monday at the team's Cousins Center training facility, and he said he could not comment on the NCAA's charges that he violated sanctions against him regarding recruiting phone calls.

Sampson will have a hearing in front of the NCAA's infractions committee in mid-June, and he said he would talk more freely about the situation after that time. He is scheduled to appear at the hearing with Indiana officials and two of his former assistants, Rob Senderoff and Jeff Meyer.

Sampson resigned his position at Indiana during the past college season, accepting a $750,000 buyout in February amid charges of five potential major NCAA violations in the Hoosiers' program.

"The first thing is, he's proven to be a very, very good basketball coach," Skiles said. "The other thing is I've been a direct beneficiary of second and third chances in my own life. So I thought this was a perfect opportunity to return the favor, some things people did for me.

"We're all too eager to pass judgment; that's what I think. I don't think it's wrong for me to give insight into a small reason I made the decision. But the big, big reason is he's a hell of a coach."

Sampson said he had been on the "periphery" of the NBA and is excited to jump into the fray, on a newly shaped Bucks staff that also includes Jim Boylan, Lionel Hollins, Joe Wolf and holdover Bill Peterson.

Boylan served as the interim coach of the Chicago Bulls last season after Skiles was fired by the Bulls in late December.

"I'm committed to doing this and learning it," said Sampson, who could be banned from college coaching for a certain period if the NCAA infractions committee imposes a "show cause" ruling.

"I consider myself fortunate to be able to start with a veteran guy like Scott."

Sampson gained some valuable experience in the NBA game during the last two months, when he was brought in as an observer by San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

" 'Pop' called me, and he told me to come down and spend time with him," Sampson said. "It kind of gets in your blood a little bit. I love to coach and I love to teach. It was a blessing for me to be in San Antonio during that time."

Sampson was a high-profile collegiate coach who first ran afoul of the NCAA at Oklahoma, where he coached for 12 seasons and led the Sooners to 11 NCAA tournament appearances.

In a formal written response to the NCAA charges released last week, Sampson reiterated his position that he didn't know he was on three-way calls with Indiana recruits, in violation of NCAA restrictions stemming from his time at Oklahoma.

On Monday, Sampson said, "I can't comment on any of that."

Asked if his reputation was important to him, he responded, "It's very important. Sometimes you take hits that you have to overcome. That's something I just work at as I go forward."

Skiles revealed that he contacted Sampson about a potential assistant's position even before Skiles was hired by the Bucks.

"I just felt like in talking to him, he would be a very valuable member of the staff, and he already is," Skiles said.

Bucks general manager John Hammond said he supported Skiles in his decision to include Sampson on the staff.

"We knew there would be questions asked about that (the NCAA investigation)," Hammond said. "I've known Kelvin for many years. At a certain point it will come to an end and it will be Kelvin Sampson, the NBA coach.

"The circumstances that are involved in the NCAA are completely different than the NBA. I don't want to say they're not factors, but our game is a different game. He's going to get a fresh start here in the NBA, and I think he's going to be a great one."

Twice named the national coach of the year while at Oklahoma (1995, 2002), Sampson led the Sooners to two Elite Eights and one Final Four.

"As you go through life, there's nothing that's guaranteed," Sampson said. "A lot of guys would like the opportunity to coach at this level. But at the end of the day, it's still coaching.

"The players here have embraced Scott and what he stands for. I think there's an opportunity here to really improve this first year."

From the May 20, 2008 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=752475

[carmelbrownqueen]

Audio from Bucks.com:

http://www.nba.com/bucks/multimedia/audio_200708.html

[LUKE23]

If we trade the pick, it had better be:

1. To move up in the draft to take Rose, Beasley, or Mayo
2. In a package to land a player better than Redd/Bogut
3. To New Jersey for 10/21 if Hammond feels the guy he wants will still be there at 10

No other situations need apply. I will be irate if we move this pick for a role player, because IMO we can get a damn nice player even if we don't land in the top 3, on a rookie scale no less.

[old skool]

Hammond was just saying that the Bucks need to consider any proposal.

Who can disagree?

oLd sKool

[Chuck Diesel]

thanks queen

[carmelbrownqueen]

"With our situation and where we're at as an organization today, I don't think we can be opposed to anything," he said. "We have to be open to any or all discussions. When we say we're going to explore all possibilities to improve this roster, you would have to be open-minded to anything, including maybe even including the draft pick."

I can't necessarily disagree with this statement. This isn't a great draft and all options should be considered.. moving down wouldn't be a bad alternative especially if we can move a player and perhaps gain a couple of picks or a pick and vet that makes this team better.

[carmelbrownqueen]

thanks queen

You're welcome.

[bango_the_buck]

Hammond says No. 7 pick would be OK

By Charles F. Gardner

St. Francis - Bucks general manager John Hammond wouldn't mind a little lottery luck on Tuesday night in New Jersey.

The Bucks hold the No. 7 position going into the NBA draft lottery and could move into one of the top three spots, or fall to eighth, ninth or 10th. Last year, the Bucks entered the lottery in the No. 3 spot and dropped to sixth, where they chose 7-foot power forward Yi Jianlian.

"I don't have the lucky rabbit's foot or anything like that," Hammond said at a news conference today at the Cousins Center. "So just go and keep your fingers crossed and hope for good things."

Asked about his expectations, Hammond said, "Walk in at 7, walk out at 7. If something rare happens, I'll be sitting there with a big old grin on my face. Even at 7, I'd feel OK about that."

Memphis point guard Derrick Rose and Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley are generating plenty of hype as the probable top two picks in the draft, so it's certain the Bucks would love to move into one of those positions.

"It seems like the draft is tiered 1-2 right now, a lot of people are saying," Hammond said. "I think in any draft, if you get a top 10 pick, you should be getting a quality player."

He admitted the process is a bit new to him after all those seasons he spent as Joe Dumars' right-hand man in Detroit, where a lottery trip was not an annual affair. But Hammond will represent the Bucks while taking his place on the televised portion of the event from Secaucus, N.J.

Former Marquette star Dwyane Wade is scheduled to represent the Miami Heat, which has a 25% chance of landing the top overall pick.

"He would be a tough matchup in anything for me," Hammond said, "especially in this draft. I'm sure they're hoping for good things, but we all are."

The Bucks have experienced recent success in the lottery, too. They were in the sixth position and moved up to No. 1 in 2005, when they selected Andrew Bogut. They took T.J. Ford with the No. 8 overall selection in 2003.

Milwaukee's chances of landing the first overall pick are set at 4.3%. Other odds for the Bucks are as follows: No. 2 pick: 4.94%. No. 3 pick: 5.79%. Nos. 4-6: Not possible. No. 7 pick: 59.93%. No. 8 pick: 23.22%. No. 9 pick: 1.79%. No. 10 pick: 0.03%.

"Our responsibility is to make it good, whatever happens," Hammond said.

[drew881]

"With our situation and where we're at as an organization today, I don't think we can be opposed to anything," he said. "We have to be open to any or all discussions. When we say we're going to explore all possibilities to improve this roster, you would have to be open-minded to anything, including maybe even including the draft pick."

I can't necessarily disagree with this statement. This isn't a great draft and all options should be considered.. moving down wouldn't be a bad alternative especially if we can move a player and perhaps gain a couple of picks or a pick and vet that makes this team better.

I don't think we can read much into this comment. This is the stock answer for any draft. Every GM wants to listen, and this is simply stating that we are willing to listen. This comment works no matter where we draft from, even if we get the number 1 pick. It can't hurt to say that we are open to anything.

[trwi7]

Hammond says No. 7 pick would be OK

By Charles F. Gardner

St. Francis - Bucks general manager John Hammond wouldn't mind a little lottery luck on Tuesday night in New Jersey.

The Bucks hold the No. 7 position going into the NBA draft lottery and could move into one of the top three spots, or fall to eighth, ninth or 10th. Last year, the Bucks entered the lottery in the No. 3 spot and dropped to sixth, where they chose 7-foot power forward Yi Jianlian.

"I don't have the lucky rabbit's foot or anything like that," Hammond said at a news conference today at the Cousins Center. "So just go and keep your fingers crossed and hope for good things."

Asked about his expectations, Hammond said, "Walk in at 7, walk out at 7. If something rare happens, I'll be sitting there with a big old grin on my face. Even at 7, I'd feel OK about that."

Memphis point guard Derrick Rose and Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley are generating plenty of hype as the probable top two picks in the draft, so it's certain the Bucks would love to move into one of those positions.

"It seems like the draft is tiered 1-2 right now, a lot of people are saying," Hammond said. "I think in any draft, if you get a top 10 pick, you should be getting a quality player."

He admitted the process is a bit new to him after all those seasons he spent as Joe Dumars' right-hand man in Detroit, where a lottery trip was not an annual affair. But Hammond will represent the Bucks while taking his place on the televised portion of the event from Secaucus, N.J.

Former Marquette star Dwyane Wade is scheduled to represent the Miami Heat, which has a 25% chance of landing the top overall pick.

"He would be a tough matchup in anything for me," Hammond said, "especially in this draft. I'm sure they're hoping for good things, but we all are."

The Bucks have experienced recent success in the lottery, too. They were in the sixth position and moved up to No. 1 in 2005, when they selected Andrew Bogut. They took T.J. Ford with the No. 8 overall selection in 2003.

Milwaukee's chances of landing the first overall pick are set at 4.3%. Other odds for the Bucks are as follows: No. 2 pick: 4.94%. No. 3 pick: 5.79%. Nos. 4-6: Not possible. No. 7 pick: 59.93%. No. 8 pick: 23.22%. No. 9 pick: 1.79%. No. 10 pick: 0.03%.

"Our responsibility is to make it good, whatever happens," Hammond said.

I didn't see the mention of him saying if we got a pick 8-10 he was going to beat Stern's ass down.

[smauss]

Personally, I'm just glad to read a report that has some balance on the quality of this roster. It's easy to lay all the blame at the door step of LK or TS or TP but this team has definite talent problems as well. I'm not saying that this team didn't underachieve but there are some major chemistry and talent issues on this roster as well.......

[smauss]

Oh, I almost forgot; Thanks for the articles CBQ, I really appreciate you posting them.

[carmelbrownqueen]

Oh, I almost forgot; Thanks for the articles CBQ, I really appreciate you posting them.

You're welcome.

[MajorDad]

it sounds to me like hammonds is looking for an immediate impact player rather than a project. the Bucks have enough projects and hammonds wants a winning team. It also looks like he's dangling our draft pick if some other team is willing to take simmons or gadz off our hands. it looks like he wants to make some moves to get rid of some bad contracts and take on somebody else's bad contracts. it doesn't sound like hammonds is very excited about this year's draft crop.

[coolhandluke121]

-= original quote snipped =-



I didn't see the mention of him saying if we got a pick 8-10 he was going to beat Stern's ass down.

60% chance Bucks pick 7th, 23% chance they pick 8th. In other words, it's much more likely that the Bucks will move down than move up.

[LUKE23]

-= original quote snipped =-



60% chance Bucks pick 7th, 23% chance they pick 8th. In other words, it's much more likely that the Bucks will move down than move up.

60% chance they stay at 7, and 15% chance they land in the top 3. So it's more likely they stay where they are supposed to be or move up (75%) than move back.

[trwi7]

-= original quote snipped =-



60% chance Bucks pick 7th, 23% chance they pick 8th. In other words, it's much more likely that the Bucks will move down than move up.

I'm fully aware of that. It's just my dream that a GM whose team moves down in the lottery beats the crap out of David Stern. I think Hammond would start out on the right foot with fans if we moved down and he subsequently beat Stern's ass down.

[paul]

I'd love him to throw a ping pong ball at Stern

BTW I love our coaching staff this season. Apart from Skiles we've got Boylan and Sampson, two guys who appear capable of being HC's themselves. Is it wrong that the NCAA infractions don't affect my opinion of Sampson in the slightest?

[MajorDad]

would that be a weighted ping pong ball, a frozen one? or a regular ping pong ball? I have a feeling Stern is not going to allow anybod to actually ever touch his ping pong balls lest we find out the real truth.

ooking at hammonds' words and then reading paxson's words, it almost looks like the bucks and bulls could pull off a deal where we might swap picks and players. I wouldn't mind trading mo or Yi or CV and our pick to the Bulls for their pick and nociani and duhan or deng or heinrich or somebody. I also have to believe there are certain Bulls players Skiles might want Hammonds to trade for.