The Bratwurst – Milwaukee Bucks Blog

Meet the newest member of the Milwaukee Bucks, and a potential candidate for Scott Skiles new best friend, Jon Brockman. Hopefully he can flourish into a Big Baby Davis type body who can provide solid minutes off the bench.

This t-shirt from Philly Phaitful features Dr. J, Dr. Julius Erving, twirling the ABA ball on his finger.

The more amazing thing is that I still want to buy this shirt despite Dr. J being involved in one of the weirder situations ever in Bucks’ history. I’ll let Wikipedia summarize…

When he became eligible for the NBA draft in 1972, the Milwaukee Bucks picked him in the first round (12th overall). This move would have brought him together with Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Instead, the 6′ 7″, 210 pound Erving signed a contract with the Atlanta Hawks before the 1972–73 season.^[1]

As attorneys tried to reach an agreement among three teams in two leagues, Erving joined Pete Maravich and the Hawks’s training camp, as they prepared for the upcoming season. Erving enjoyed his brief time with Atlanta, and he would later duplicate with George Gervin his after-practice playing with Maravich. He played three exhibition games with the Hawks until, because of a legal injunction, he was obliged by a three-judge panel to return to the ABA Squires. The NBA fined Atlanta $25,000 per game for Erving’s Hawks appearances because Milwaukee owned his NBA rights.

So yes, Dr. J could have made everyone feel the high-flying deer. Who knows, maybe Lew Alcindor can’t leave town if Dr. J is around and the Bucks win 5 titles. Or maybe Dr. J blows out his knee, and this t-shirt is never made. Oh the possibilities!

What if LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh formed a boy band instead of a basketball team (the minimum-salaried vets would sing backup of course)? It would probably look just like this.

There is some absolutely excellent anti-Lebron James clothing out there. My personal favorite has to be this shirt about “The Decision” on ESPN.

Hat tip to SlideRuleJockey on RealGM for linking me to a whole collection of anti-James shirts.

The Lakers just finished off the Bucks on a last second shot by Kobe Bryant in overtime, and as one could predict, the Bucks hashtag on Twitter is a alive with allegations at the NBA is rigged, or at least Bryant is heavily favored. The call the anger is centered around is a blocking foul called on Andrew Bogut that turned into a three-point play for Kobe Bryant putting the Lakers down one.

So the question stands, is the NBA rigged against Milwaukee? I have to say no. I just can’t believe it.  Maybe it’s denial because I simply love the NBA too much, but I think there is also plenty of evidence to support that the NBA is not rigged against Milwaukee.

The Lakers in Milwaukee routinely brings out a large number of casual fans. Enough that it annoys Andrew Bogut (a tweet from last year that I believe started his progression towards making Squad Six). Those casual fans are going to judge a book by its cover, and tonight was the night for which they’ll likely base their opinion of the NBA for the year (with the exception of watching highlights of Jennings’ 55). Regardless if that’s right or wrong, there are a few things they will certainly miss.

1. The Bucks routinely give up more free throws than they take. Yes the spread was a lot tonight, but the Lakers are good team that can get to the line. The Bucks, as a product of their Scott Skiles style of defense, are a team that commits a lot of fouls. The stats on 82games confirm that through 22 games the Bucks have committed 100 more shooting fouls than their opponents which results in at least a 200 free throw deficiency.  The Lakers taking 16 more free throws than the Bucks isn’t that astounding, considering that usually give teams at least 9 more free throws a game. Not to mention how many times the Bucks get in the penalty early in a quarter, turning non-shooting fouls into free throws. No sign of the game being rigged because of the free throw discrepancy.
2. The Bucks had chances to win, despite any rigging by the refs. Bogut could have made the free throw near the end of regulation. Michael Redd could have had a better shot selection. Ersan Illyasova could have made at least one of his free throws in the closing minute.
3. The block/charge call is the hardest call for a ref to make.  It just has to be. It’s often enough a split second decision, not to mention a call that quickly result in a five-point swing (two points the other way vs the three point play). It’s simply not a call you can make correctly every time down the court.

I think the ref made the wrong call on the play, but I don’t think the game is rigged. It’s simply a call refs get wrong, frequently.

But does the casual fan care? Probably not. It’s easy to pass off that the game is rigged in the post-Donaghy era. It’s easy to hate the NBA if you live in Milwaukee right now, the Bucks haven’t been a great team for a lot of reasons since 2001. And famous ESPN writers are suggesting the series against Philadelphia to get to the NBA Finals might not have been completely honest.

Brandon Jennings gave the casual fan in Milwaukee a reason to care this year, just enough of a push to finally leave home on a frigid night and see the Bucks take on the defending champs. With that, the Bucks still couldn’t fill up the arena, drawing only 16,309. The casual fan in Milwaukee has been so put off by the team’s struggles of the past few years that the Bucks couldn’t manage to sell out the arena against either of the game’s biggest stars (drawing 16,625 against Lebron). Disheartening for a team that has given fans so many reasons to care this year. So many reasons to believe things are headed in the right direction.

Unfortunately the casual fans that came out for their first game of the year tonight were treated to what had to be the nightmare scenario for Bucks’ management, a closing seconds lost after a couple close calls. One has to assume it would have be better for future sales had the Bucks been blown out by 20, but Brandon Jennings matched Kobe basket-for-basket.

The complaining about the refs and the NBA playing favorites on Twitter are pale compared to the choice words I heard on my way out of the stadium tonight. Fans vowing never to come back, and asking themselves why they paid attention to the NBA at all this year seemed to be everywhere to be found. This depressed attitude amplified by the fact that they live in a city where it’s a Wednesday night with a temperature below 20 degrees, nearing the end of a Christmas shopping season where more people than ever in my lifetime don’t have the financial wherewithal to buy something for their loved ones.

And it’s a shame that there is a good chance they won’t come back. Now more than any season since Andrew Bogut was drafted, the Bucks are holding up their end of the bargain. Night-after-night they’re playing hard, looking more and more like a complete team, and giving fans a reason to come to the Bradley Center. In a city that can’t seem to get its act together around schools, transit, or jobs, the Bucks are finally providing a welcome escape. In a city that’s bitterly cold every winter, the Bucks are providing a welcome distraction.

It would be a shame for the casual fan to miss this year’s Bucks team because of a bad call. The game surely wasn’t officiated at a level that is the pinnacle of the profession, but it’s certainly not the world Tim Donaghy says it is.

See you at the Bradley Center.

All too often I encounter NBA-related clothing on the internet, frequently in the style of t-shirts.  It’s time to give that clothing its due and spotlight it.  Here’s the first of what hopefully will be many t-shirts you will almost consider buying.

Zombie Sonics

Remember the Seattle Supersonics?  That team that used to feature the Glove and the Reign Man before Clay Bennett whisked them away to Oklahoma City?  They’re back, at least on this t-shirt.

Now led by Kevin Durant, the team plays on the youngest team in the league in OKC.  Some sportswriters refuse to refer to them by they’re new name (the Oklahoma City Thunder) and instead prefer different incarnations, Zombie Sonics apparently being a favorite of Tree & Leaf Clothing.

Enjoy yourself, starting at $23.99.

Despite meeting the President yesterday, something which Jodie Meeks was quite excited about, the Bucks were downed by the Washington Wizards in the closing seconds of the game.

More amusing though was Brandon Jennings mocking Joe Alexander on Twitter this morning.  It has to be tough not to be Joe right now, when you know you have almost no chance of being a Buck next year, your words were sort-of twisted to say that you were demanding a trade, and you still have to sit through every game.  Actually life can’t be all that bad, he is getting paid $2,583,360 this season.

That said, getting mocked by this year’s rookie after being the subject of much mockery last year can’t be much fun.  Joe also appears to have a thing for getting photographed sleeping.

In other news, Jennings is excited Obama knows who he is.

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.

ESPN is reporting that the Bucks have a couple of deals in the works to try and dump the salary of Richard Jefferson.

The two potential deals, they report, are Jefferson to Cleveland for Wally Sczcerbiak or to Portland for Raef LaFrentz.

Both of these deals are outright salary dumps, with Sczcerbiak having an expiring $13 million contract and LaFrentz and expiring $12.7 million deal. LaFrentz is injured, and 80% of his salary is being paid for by insurance. Jefferson is owed $29.2 million over the next two years.

If the Bucks pull off one of these trades, they will drop to only $40 million committed to salary for next year, making it easy for them to afford to re-sign either or both of Ramon Sessions and Charlie Villanueva if they choose. They will also be able to withstand the potential drop in the salary cap that may be coming down the pipe next year.

From Cleveland’s perspective, I’m not sure why they would make that trade. Since LeBron James plays 40 minutes per game at Jefferson’s primary position, why bother adding him? Is it really logical to pay two small forwards — James and Jefferson — a combined $30 million next season when one of them is the most dominant player in the game?

Portland, though, might be a more intriguing option. They have been looking for a small forward for some time, and are apparently trying to work out a deal for Gerald Wallace as well. However, Wallace is better, younger, and paid less than Jefferson; so Charlotte is trying to make a trade that would include some of Portland’s younger players. The Bucks could do the trade on simply a 1-for-1 basis (or maybe with one other Portland player thrown in), causing less damage to the Blazer’s core roster. Jefferson also has a reputation as a solid character and would fit in the Portland clubhouse well (not a knock on Wallace, there’s nothing wrong with him either) and would be a good complement for Brandon Roy. Since LaFrentz’s contract is covered by insurance, the Bucks would likely have to chip in some cash to make up the difference between the money the Blazers are not playing LaFrentz and what they would have to pay Jefferson.

Hopefully John Hammond gets one of these trades done. The team has played pretty well without Bogut and Redd, but the writing is on the wall: if Richard Jefferson is your best player, the best you can hope for is to be a really well-coached team that is pretty competitive most nights. The team is that, at least. But there aren’t going to be many more wins this year with Jefferson or without him — certainly not enough to justify the massive (and possibly luxury tax-inflicting) contract he has. The Bucks are better off moving Jefferson and playing Joe Alexander more for the rest of the year.

Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons for nothing. Thanks, Larry Harris.