The Bratwurst – Milwaukee Bucks Blog

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Knicks are putting together an offer sheet for Ramon Sessions that will be structured in such a way to make it unlikely that the Bucks will match it.

The most the Knicks can offer Sessions in the first year of his contract would be equal to the midlevel exception, meaning that no matter what the offer is the Bucks can match it. However, with the Knicks set to drop under the salary cap next year, they could theoretically offer Sessions a deal with enough of a balloon payment in successive years as to cost the Bucks all of the cap space they are currently projected to gather next year. Not to mention, the Bucks would be unlikely to match any offer for Sessions that runs longer than two years, since by then they need Brandon Jennings to have taken the reins.

The bottom line is that we had better be ready to say goodbye to Sessions — there just isn’t much reason to expect the Bucks to bring him back at this point. With the cap dropping this year, and likely to drop even further next year (assuming there isn’t a season-killing lockout instead), the Bucks’ payroll right now is too large for what this season is going to turn out to be — a year long audition for guys to surround Bogut in 2011.

Meanwhile, word is the Bucks are pursuing Hakim Warrick. After losing Sessions and buying out Bruce Bowen, they will have a little money to use below the luxury tax, and I guess it is a good sign that Herb Kohl is letting Hammond use it. I don’t have any problems with Warrick — he’s turned himself into a much better shooter than he was when he entered the league and he’s still a spectacular athlete. They need an experienced, athletic component in the frontcourt, and for $2.5-$4 million he would be an adequate addition. Cleveland is supposed to be in the mix for him, but is limited to the $2 million biannual exception, so the Bucks would be able to offer more money.

But seeing this pursuit makes me wonder about John Hammond. Specifically, what was he thinking on draft night, 2008?

This offseason has seen the Bucks add Amir Johnson and (potentially) Walter Sharpe, two long, thin eye-poppingly athletic players who Hammond likely had a lot to do with their being drafted by the Pistons in the first place. Now he is pursuing Warrick. Clearly, Hammond likes these types of players. he wants to grab a bunch of “next generation” type of athletes — the sort of guy who is big, fast, and coordinated and could develop into a sort of multi-threat “point power forward”. Basically, he’s looking for someone to blossom into the next Kevin Garnett. Nothing wrong with that strategy.

So why would he have taken Joe Alexander over Anthony Randolph last year, especially the day after acquiring Richard Jefferson?

It’s not like Randolph was that much of a stretch — I had him ranked as the #5 prospect last year (behind Beasley, Rose, Love and Richard Hendrix — who I still maintain should have gotten a chance somewhere. He is about to sign a contract in Spain). Randolph fits Hammond’s style perfectly. He’s a great, raw athlete whose pretty good numbers at LSU would have been fantastic had he only been a better shooter at age 18. Now it’s looking like he’s a potential superstar, assuming Don Nelson ever lets him off the bench.

So in all of these efforts to find the poor man’s KG, Hammond might have passed on one last year. For Joe Alexander, who is 3 years older than Randolph, and for all the talk of his shooting ability, had the exact same FG% as Randolph their final year in college. That’s why I had Randolph ranked as the #5 prospect and Alexander as #27.

The Malik Allen deal makes some sense in that the Bucks save some money. They certainly couldn’t have found some more interesting guys to pick up in the deal.

The Bucks got Sonny Weems and Walter Sharpe in the deal. Weems will likely get bought out — his contract only has $175,000 guaranteed. Weems is a highly athletic guard who apparently could potentially wind up in the NFL should his hoops career peter out. According to his former coach, George Karl, it’s headed that way:

“Sonny is an athletic player that’s got to learn how to play basketball,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “At times it looks like he’s taking that step, and then at times it doesn’t look like he’s taking that step. He has 10 days here at summer league. He’s going to have to figure out his niche. He’s got the talent to play in the league. The question will be: Does he have the mind to play in the league?

Since the Bucks need to eliminate someone from their roster in order to make room for Brandon Jennings, Weems is clearly as good as gone.

Walter Sharpe is another story.

Despite being a 2-year veteran, he is a total enigma. He is supposed to be a highly athletic 6’9″ power forward who was originally drafted by John Hammond at Detroit. He had been traded to Denver this offseason in a cost-cutting move by the Pistons. Along with Amir Johnson, I’m seeing a trend with Hammond’s player evaluation style — he wants to stockpile athletic big men, hoping to eventually mine a mini-Kevin Garnett.

He’s supposed to have lottery talent. However, to say Sharpe had a checkered college career would be an understatement, as his resume includes:

– Getting kicked off of the Mississippi State team for transgressions that included missing team flights and practices, and being academically ineligible.
– Winding up at UAB.
– Before playing for UAB he was arrested along with 4 teammates for disorderly conduct and, in a really bizarre incident, shot with a small-caliber bullet in the abdomen — an incident which he tried to hide from the police and medical workers.
– Playing half a season for UAB before being declared academically ineligible.
– Being diagnosed with narcolepsy, which actually explains a lot.

As far as I can tell, Sharpe’s contract is guaranteed this season. He is big and athletic with a good handle, and Detroit had been trying to shift him to small forward, a transition that I would expect to continue in Fort Wayne this year. A good look at Sharpe can be found at this Nuggets blog, Roundball Mining Company. The odds are heavily against him ever developing into much of a player, but if he does the rewards could be great.

With these moves in place, the Bucks now find themselves far enough below the luxury tax to be able to match a full midlevel offer sheet to Ramon Sessions. But would they do that?

Despite theoretically having the necessary cap room, I think that if Sessions gets a full midlevel, maximum length (5 year) contract, they will let him walk. They didn’t draft Brandon Jennings to sit him forever, and while having Sessions around for the next two years while Jennings develops would be nice, his presence might cause more problems than it would solve if the two are equal players in 3 years. If Jennings turns out to be good, then Sessions winds up being an overpriced backup.

Honestly, last year I got the feeling that Scott Skiles didn’t really think much of Sessions’ game. He often breaks off plays to penetrate, his jumper is shaky, and his defense was very spotty. If they really thought Sessions was a long-term solution they wouldn’t have drafted Jennings in the first place.

However, this illustrates the problem with drafting a young point guard. You need to take a couple of years to let him develop before you really know what you have, and if the answer is “a total bust” then you might have set your franchise back 5 years before its all said and done.

UPDATE: I notice from Gery Woelfel that Walter Sharpe will be out for the year with a torn ACL. Not often you see an injured player get traded. From what I read, Sharpe’s contract is guaranteed this year but those facts may be incorrect — he may have a buyout. So he wont be stashed in Ft. Wayne this season after all. His is an interesting story, but I doubt we ever see him on the BC court.

ESPN is reporting that Charlie Villanueva will sign a 5 year, $40 million deal with Detroit.

Honestly, I don’t see that working out so well for the Pistons. It might not do much for the Bucks either, but that’s another story.

I just don’t see Villanueva as that valuable a player for a team that needs him for 30+ minutes per game. He can do some great things on the court, don’t get me wrong. But when it comes down to it he is inconsistent and defensively challenged. Sort of like Ben Gordon, who the Pistons also signed tonight.

So the Pistons, who added 190 pound Austin Daye and the next Jud Buechler in Chase Budinger in the draft, just blew their $25 million in cap space and now go into the season with the following rotation:

Rodney Stuckey at point (okay start)
Richard Hamilton and Gordon at the two (Hamilton couldn’t handle having Iverson on his team, now he’s supposed to share the position with a guy who just got a 5 year contract for about the same money?)
Tayshaun Prince at small forward, backed up by Budinger.
Charlie V, Jason Maxiell and Daye
Kwame Brown and, if they resign him, Antonio McDyess?

Yikes! See what I mean about Villanueva being a great $4 million player and a lousy $8 million player? It sucks to lose him for nothing, but seriously, is he worth that?

Considering who the Bucks are — a 35 win team that is a long way away from being a title contender — I’d rather have Johnson given the contract situation.

Even though last year was seen as a sort of disapointment for Amir Johnson — he fouled way too much but he is young, a shot blocking maniac (even though he averaged about 8 fouls per 48 minutes, he also averaged a shot block per foul, compared to Charlie V’s 0.44 blocks per foul). Looking at +/- stats is a little misleading because Villanueva played more meaningful minutes than Johnson last year, but with Johnson on the floor the Pistons outscored their opponents by 5 points per game and were outscored by 2.3 ppg without him. The Bucks were outscored by 2.2 ppg with Charlie V and outscored by 0.8 ppg without him last year. Johnson has a reputation as not really knowing what he is doing on defense but having the athletic ability to make up for it. Charlie V has the reputation of not trying all that hard on defense. There is a difference. Give me the guy who is younger, cheaper and (incrementally) more athletic. Lets face it, it’s not like we are rooting for the Lakers or Cavs here. The Bucks aren’t trying to win the championship next year.

NBA.com is also reporting that Josh Childress will visit the Bucks. He is a restricted free agent who doesn’t want to return to Atlanta and a pretty nice player, and it’s possible that a sign-and-trade could be in the works here (Childress signed to a 5 year/$30 million deal and traded for Luke Ridnour and Mbah a Moute?) Atlanta is not over the salary cap and thus would not have much incentive to make a trade such as that, except that they would get something for Childress.

Childress will be 26 this year, so should be in his prime. I doubt anything will come of it, though, because of the damage that would cause to the efforts to get under the salary cap.