The Bratwurst - Milwaukee Bucks Blog

Up to this point I have talked about each player in reverse order of their salaries, but I’m getting away from that because Simmons/Mason and Williams/Redd should really be discussed together.

That leaves only one other $5 million man to talk about.

Dan Gadzuric ($5.7M, 0.625 IPM): My season ticket rep upgraded me to courtside seats for the Feb. 13 game against New Orleans, so I gave my regular seats to a friend who took his father to the game. The game turned out to be a well played, hard-fought 111-107 loss to the Hornets, who had the best record in the West at the time. That game, however, was not Dan Gadzuric’s finest moment. While you should never say that one player cost you a win, on this night Danny G cost the Bucks the win. His 2-8 shooting was highlighted by at least three missed open layups from point-blank range and one missed dunk.

After the game, what was the first thing my friend’s father said to me? Not; “Thanks for giving us the tickets� nor was it; “That was a good game, too bad they couldn’t pull it out.�

No, the first thing out of his mouth was; “Boy, that Gad-zurick really sucks! Can’t even make a layup! Why’s he even on the team? How much are they paying him? What a bunch of bums. No wonder they suck. That Harris is so dumb for giving him that contract.�

I would have preferred; “Thanks for the tickets.�

But he perfectly summed up the problem with Dan Gadzuric. There are some positives that he brings to the court – short bursts of energy, rebounding, shot-blocking, and hard fouls. However, he is so incredibly inept with the ball in his hands that he makes a mockery of the very idea of professional basketball as being something entertaining that is worth paying money to see. If you want to see missed layups, you can go to a 5th grade game for free any time, but to pay money and leave home on a Tuesday night in February to see Gadzuric do it – well, who’s the idiot now? The guy who is doing it and getting paid or the guy who is paying to watch it?

Danny G’s shooting percentage continued plummeting (the last 4 seasons have been 53.9%, 55.3%, 47.4%, 41.6%) and a look at Gadzuric’s 82games.com page for this season and 2004-05 (the season that won him his ridiculous contract) shows that his shooting has fallen apart in every way. He now shoots a higher percentage of jump shots (30% this year vs. 16% in 04-05), makes fewer jump shots (19.6% vs. 27%), and shoots a worse percentage inside (50.9% vs, 59%). Even his propensity to miss dunks has grown (only shooting 84% on slam attempts this season).

At least Gadzuric chipped in by rebounding slightly worse than in past seasons, turning it over more often and getting fewer assists. And he is only under contract for three more seasons.

So what’s the matter here? Well, Gadzuric is older than he looks – he was an older college player, so despite only being a six-year veteran he is already 30. It’s a shame to talk about guys just out of their 20’s as getting “old�, but that is what is happening – he is past his prime, which is what happens to most centers around this age. Danny G was simply never that talented but was supremely athletic for his size. Over the last couple of years he has probably lost a step and a little bit of his springs, and he is simply not good enough at basketball to compensate.

The fact that he is not as explosive off of the floor shows up in the drop in his shooting percentage (and his incredible inability to make the wide-open short ones). Before the season I speculated that perhaps his shooting percentage drop in 2006-07 was due to some sort of hand injury (because he seemed to lose the ball on the way up a lot) but now I realize it is because he has started rushing his shot in order to get it up quickly enough to keep from being blocked.

What’s sad about it all is that I can’t really see where Danny G can improve his game to adjust for his age. He still rebounds and blocks shots pretty well, so he’s pretty useful at that end of the floor but those skills will decline as he continues to age. His turnover rate is up a bit – and I thought it was due to an increase in offensive fouls but according to 82games.com he only committed four of them all season, so it’s not like there is room for improvement there. He’s never going to become a jump shooter, and he fouls at such an immense rate (about 8 per 40 minutes) that he will never be able to stay on the floor long enough to be more than a 10 mpg player.

The only answer is to become a Michael Ruffin clone – get rid of the ball as soon as you get it, never shoot unless you are under the basket or there are less than 3 seconds on the shot clock (Ruffin shot 53% this season without making a single jump shot), and hammer anyone who comes within a few feet of you. I was hoping that Ruffin’s presence would rub off on Gadzuric in this way by showing him how a player could make an impact without doing anything offensively, but why would Gadzuric try to learn anything from him? Ruffin was playing on a 1-year, veterans minimum contract while Danny G is the one with 3 years/$20 million left on his deal!

If I could ask Larry Harris one question it would be: “What in the hell were you thinking when extending Gadzuric’s contract?� It’s as though his logic went like this:

“Okay, I just drafted Andrew Bogut with the #1 overall pick to be my starting center, and he’s getting a 4 year/$18 million contract. Bogut will definitely be a 35 mpg guy by next season (or else I’ve got big problems), so there’s only 13 mpg available for Gadzuric, who is already 27 years old. So if Bogut is averaging $4.5 million per year for 4 years to play about 75% of the minutes at center then to fill in the position for the other 25% of the game it sounds about right to pay …. Lets see, carry the three … um … 6 years at $6 million per. Perfect!�

I have no problem with a player being overpaid for a year or two, especially after playing well for peanuts for a while (like Charlie Bell). But these long term contracts to guys who will never be starters (like Charlie Bell) …. I just don’t get it!

It is a shame to spend several hundred words reaming a player whose greatest sin is having an incredibly effective agent. Gadzuric does still try hard on the court, and for all of his failings the team was outscored by the same amount this season with him on the court or off – so it’s not like his offensive failings killed the team, it just reduced the value of all of the good things he did by being a high-energy pest on the court.

But as time goes on he is not going to get any better, and unless he stops trying to be someone that he isn’t on offense then his usefulness will continue to decline over the next three years. And I can’t imagine any other team wanting to take on his contract, so those three years are going to be in a Bucks uniform.

It’s not really his fault that Krystkowiak is gone, but he certainly didn’t help matters.

Responsibility for Coach K’s dismissal: 5%

Up next: Yin and Yang at Small Forward