2009-10 NBA Season Preview: Milwaukee Bucks

Depth Chart:

C: Andrew Bogut/Kurt Thomas/Dan Gadzuric/Francisco Elson

PF: Hakim Warrick/Ersan Ilyasova/Walter Sharpe

SF: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute/Joe Alexander/Carlos Delfino

SG: Michael Redd/Charlie Bell/Jodie Meeks

PG: Brandon Jennings/Luke Ridnour/Roko Ukic

Head Coach: Scott Skiles (2nd year)

2009-2010 Team Salary: $67.6 million

Projected 2010-2011 Team Salary: approximately $50.9 million

Off-Season Grade: Barely Pass

When the Bucks gave away Richard Jefferson to the Spurs for the expiring contracts of Kurt Thomas, Fabricio Oberto, and Bruce Bowen, I laughed at general manager John Hammond saying he didn’t just pull the trigger on the deal as a salary dump. Coincidentally enough, Hammond decided to release Bowen to save money when they couldn’t trade him to another team. That’s not a salary dump? Trading undoubtedly your most consistent player from a year ago for three aging players who just so happen to become free agents next summer? Right, and Megan Fox is just average-looking.

That trade was only the beginning of a whirlwind of an offseason in Milwaukee. Oberto was immediately dealt to Detroit for Amir Johnson, who was then sent to Toronto along with Sonny Weems (who was acquired from Denver along with Walter Sharpe in exchange for Malik Allen) for Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic. The Bucks also signed free agent forward Hakim Warrick and brought back Ersan Ilyasova from Europe. You still with me?

The most interesting offseason moves Milwaukee made were actually the ones they didn’t make. Instead of extending the qualifying offer to Charlie Villanueva and possibly trying to work out a sign and trade deal with another team, the Bucks let Villanueva become an unrestricted free agent, netting them nothing in return. A similar situation occurred with restricted free agent Ramon Sessions. Milwaukee let him leave without giving much effort to re-signing him or trying to swing a sign and trade to get some asset in return.

Drafting Brandon Jennings with the 10th pick did make Sessions expendable. Jennings is loaded with potential but I question how he will handle extended playing time in his rookie season and how he meshes with hard-nosed, defensive-minded head coach Scott Skiles. Jodie Meeks could prove to be one of the steals of the second round.

2009-2010 Outlook:

With eight new players on the roster, it will be interesting to see how this team gels during the preseason. There are a lot of question marks at forward where there is no certain starting combination. Second-year player Joe Alexander will have to become more of a factor after a very disappointing rookie season.

The ultimate fate of this team rests on the health of Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd. Bogut has been dealing with a back injury that put him in street clothes for the final 31 games of last season. He hasn’t gone through any contract drills this offseason and a back injury is nothing to take lightly. As for Redd, he played in just 32 games and is always good for a sprained ankle that will sideline him for a decent chunk of the season. This team CANNOT afford to lose Redd or Bogut for an extended period like they did last year. If they do, the season will be even more painful in Milwaukee than it is already likely to be.

Looking Ahead to the Summer of 2010:

Next offseason will solely depend on what Redd does. The lefty sharp-shooter has an $18.3 million player option for 2010-2011. If he chooses to exercise the option, (which is likely since he won’t receive that sort of money elsewhere) Milwaukee will have very little flexibility in free agency. If for some reason Redd declines his option, the Bucks could be players next summer, potentially being some $20 million under the cap. Since that is unlikely, continuing to collect young players through the draft or via trade is the method Hammond must take to try and improve the Bucks.

2009-10 NBA Power Ranking: 29th