Even though it has been a bad year for Milwaukee thus far, Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler will provide you with a bi-weekly update on the Bucks ranging from recaps, links and other neat stuff.
Quick Recap:
Monday vs. Boston: (L) Celtics 102 Bucks 86 -
The Bucks did a fine job of hanging around and keeping it close, as they were down 70-68 heading into the fourth quarter. However, the Bucks did their usual thing and started to turn the ball over at an alarming rate, Jeff Green got hot and next thing you know they're down by 12 points in the span of about a minute.
The Bucks were led by John Henson and Brandon Knight in that one. Henson had 16 points on 8-12 shooting but seemed to roll his ankle pretty badly in the second half. Hopefully, he'll be back soon. Knight continues to put up points for this team but his assist totals have been rising to a respectable level of late (6.4 assists per game over his last ten games).
Personal anecdote: this was my first game as a fan this year, so I was looking forward to cheering/saying things I shouldn't (we crushed some pints beforehand). Naturally, a pair of eight year olds (with their dad) sat down right next to me so I had to keep it as PG as possible. I ended not saying much of anything.
Wednesday vs. New Orleans: (L) Pelicans 102 Bucks 98 -
They, again, hung around in this one and actually a rare 49-46 halftime lead. The third quarter, again, was the demise of the Bucks. This time, they actually came out with some energy (the word of the season) but eventually gave up 37 points in the quarter. Alex Ajinca and Luke Babbitt did the majority of the damage for the Pelicans in the third. Not exactly household names.
Brandon Knight had another good game scoring, as he lead the short-handed Bucks with 22. He's averaging 22 and 7 over his last five games. I continue to go back and forth about this guy. I don't think I'll ever see him as a starting NBA point guard but the guy is a high character gym rat that wants to be good. Don't even underestimate that quality. I feel that guys like Knight are few and far between in the Association. I really would like to see him stay long enough to fit in his proper role but I wouldn't hesitate to trade him if the right deal came along.Potential buyers
The Racine Journal Times' and WSSP's Bucks insider Gery Woelfel was on the post game show last night and announced that Herb Kohl had a few different suitors ready to stake their share in the Bucks, one of which could take over at "anytime and clean house." He mentions that the group ready to take over at anytime is led by a former NBA GM.
After some research, there are a few different possibilities here.
First the ideal one: it's a group led by Donnie Walsh.
Walsh is a former GM with the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. As GM of the Pacers, he drafted Reggie Miller with his first draft pick at the helm. That turned out pretty well and the Pacers made the playoffs in 16 of his 17 seasons.
With the Knicks, Walsh cleaned up the mess that Isiah Thomas left and landed Amar'e Stoudamire in free agency and pulled the trade that got Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks. These don't look like great moves at the moment but the Knicks enjoyed a great year last season with the team that Walsh assembled.
Walsh is back with Indiana as a consultant to President of Basketball Operations, Larry Bird. They are currently the best team in the NBA.
The interesting cog that ties this idea together is current Bucks' assistant GM David Morway. Morway was with Indiana during Walsh's first tenure in Indiana and is in touch with today's NBA. Ideally, if Walsh was the buyer, he'd have Morway take over as GM and move John Hammond into a head scout role. By all accounts, Hammond is probably best in that role but one would probably have to convince him to take a demotion.
Now, the less than ideal one: it's a group lead by Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
Dunleavy, Sr., for the most part, has been a trainwreck in any position of power, save for a few years with Portland. He was the GM/head coach of the Bucks in the early-mid 1990s and they were not good, ever.
He seems to be fine with tanking, which is about the only difference we'd be looking at with Dunleavy, Sr.
Woelfel mentions Dunleavy, Sr. in the interview but it doesn't seem as if it's actually him. It's plausible, however, because Dunleavy had interest in buying the New Orleans franchise when they were for sale a few years ago.
Dark horse: Mark Attanasio
Maybe there's a former GM out there that's been talking with Milwaukee Brewers' owner Mark Attanasio about going in on the Bucks. I doubt it but Attanasio hasn't ever flat-out said no when asked about the Bucks.
Links
Here is the link to Gery Woelfel on the Bucks' post game show last night. Hear it for yourself. Interesting stuff indeed.
This is an article from ProBasketballTalk about Mike Dunleavy, Sr. being interested in the New Orleans franchise from two years ago. The team ultimately went to Tom Benson, who also owns the New Orleans Saints football franchise.
Here's a video from Bucks.com of Giannis driving with a Bucks employee. Giannis passed his driver's test on February 11.
The Bucks hosted a basketball clinic for 100 Special Olympics athletes this week. Always nice to see the team doing good things in the community.
What to watch
Giannis at All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, obviously. The Greek Freak will be a participant in both the Rising Stars game on Friday and in the skills challenge on Saturday night. This is the first time the Bucks have had anyone participating in anything at All-Star Weekend in a few years. Good for you, Giannis.
What's next?
With the All-Star break finally here, the Bucks won't be in action again until Tuesday when they'll host Tobias Harris and the Orlando Magic.
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