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.