The news gets even better: apparently his #1 target to replace Larry Krystkowiak has head coach will be Rick Carlisle.
Hammond has been with the Pistons’ front office since 2001-02 (Carlisle’s frist season in Detroit). Hammond was also an assistant coach for the Pistons and Clippers from 1997-2001, working under Alvin Gentry in both locations.
Some moves the Pistons made during Hammond’s tenure:
– Signed Chauncey Billups
– Traded Jerry Stackhouse for Richard Hamilton
– Drafted Tayshaun Prince
– Traded for Rasheed Wallace
– Drafted Darko Millicic ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade (Yikes!)
Well, the Milicic draft aside, Hammond has had his hand in plenty of great moves. Considering they have only had one high draft pick in that time, they have done a pretty good job in filling out their bench with draftees (Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson, Rodney Stuckey). They also did a nice job of letting Ben Wallace walk at the right time, and also turned Carlos Delfino into two future second round picks from Toronto. Basically, the Pistons have been the poster children for responsible roster and salary cap management.
What does this all mean for the current Bucks players? Open season on anyone not named “Bogut”.
If they do in fact hire Carlisle, he likes a slow-paced game that centers around defense. We can pretty much kiss Mo Williams goodbye then, and no matter how much money Yi brings to the franchise, if he can’t either become a rebounding force or move to small forward then he’s coming off of the bench.
Today, I am happy.
UPDATE: The Bucks.com press release.
7 responses so far ↓
1 swilldog // Apr 11, 2008 at 11:28 am
Of course you never say never, but Yi is going NOWHERE. There’s way too much money on the line — not just for the Bucks, but for the city. I’d be shocked if he was on the bench more than 25% of his games played next season (health permitting, of course).
And yes, I too am happy today. Nice to see the Bucks do something right for a change.
2 Doug // Apr 11, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Holy shit! Excuse me, but this is good news. Nice analysis on Hammond, Brett. Hopefully now the Bucks can finally have a 50 win season again. As Bill Johnson said, “If you try to build a team around two foreign big men, you’re in trouble”. Bogut is just finally starting to pan out, Yi should be gone though. I don’t care how many fans over in China there are of him. Screw David Stern and his international marketing bullshit. They’re not spending their money at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI, so fuck ‘em.
3 Doug // Apr 11, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Hey Brett, let’s hear some more analysis on Carlisle.
4 Brett Boyer // Apr 11, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Thumbnail sketch of him (my 10-month old is sick)
– Hard-ass
– Winner
– Play D or hit the road
– Notoriously difficult to get along with
Sometime in early January I wrote a post about how Krystkowiak should be fired and Carlisle the replacement. Look in the monthly archives, it should be one of the first January posts.
5 theruffian // Apr 11, 2008 at 9:32 pm
This is truly awsome news! Totally unexpected. Suddenly this offseason promises to be full of exciting changes.
6 Steve // Apr 19, 2008 at 11:57 am
Great News! This team needs change and if they do hire Carlisle, look for a total roster change. Looking forward the off-season and seeing some major changes next season! This is Wondeful News!!!
Go Bucks!
7 John Hammond // Apr 21, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Thank you for all the kind words. I will do my best to bring an NBA title back to the great fans of the Bucks!
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