Hammond, Bucks making the right moves
Posted: Aug. 14, 2008
No.
Luke Ridnour is not as good a basketball player as Mo Williams. And Damon Jones can’t even dribble.
Still, this is a very good move.
Wait a minute, G., you’re talking out of both sides of your mouth!
What I mean is the point guard position on the Milwaukee Bucks has been upgraded because of one simple fact:
Williams and Michael Redd just did not work. At all. We're talking about no chemistry whatsoever, no conversation on the court, and they barely even passed the rock to each other.
So what should we make of John Hammond's latest restructuring project?
Smile and be happy, folks, smile and be happy.
If you're scoring at home, that makes 11 new bodies at 4th and State, including Hammond, the Bucks' not-so-new GM, and Scott Skiles, the team's latest savior at the head coaching position.
In order, Hammond has added Richard Jefferson (A+); Joe Alexander (B); Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (C-); Tyronn Lue (C+); Malik Allen (C+); Luke Ridnour (B-); Damon Jones (C-); Adrian Griffin (D+) and Francisco Elson (C-).
Gone are Williams, Yi Jianlian, Bobby Simmons, Desmond Mason and Royal Ivey.
Add it all up and you get . . .
Cap room and a playoff berth.At least, we know they now have cap room after jettisoning the remainder of Williams' contract, which was valued at $43 million over the next five years.
With a starting lineup that should look like Ridnour (PG), Redd (SG), Jefferson (SF), Charlie Villanueva (PF) and Andrew Bogut (C), the Bucks will have an infinitely better roster. And now that the team has a coach who can actually lead on this level, the future is vastly improved.
And that means Hammond is doing his thing, one piece at a time.
After suffering through four torturous seasons, the Bucks have righted their ship and fans can now see a product that is worthy of the tickets they have been purchasing.When you put two players with the scoring abilities of Redd and Jefferson on the floor at the same time, you need a point guard with a certifiable passer's mentality and Ridnour has proven, at least when he was a starter in Seattle, that he can dish the rock and run a team. After all, he had Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis on the wings with the Sonics.
Williams is a hybrid guard and he should work well for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have put the basketball squarely in the hands of their franchise player, LeBron James. Mo can shoot and he can run, but directing an NBA team from the point guard position takes vision, and he has yet to prove that he has that on this level, although his numbers are more than respectable in comparison to other starting point guards in the NBA.
Redd and Jefferson will both average more than 22 points per game this year, and the point guard will have the "chore" of dishing the ball in an orderly fashion. Skiles likes to run, but he also insists that his team play defense (that should be fun), and that type of philosophy takes thinkers on the court, not players who just react instinctively.
Ridnour, Lue and, I guess, Jones (although Ramon Sessions will be squarely in this mix), should be able to handle this task, and all three can really hit an open jumper, which should be more readily available with Jefferson joining Redd, Villanueva (break-out year) and Bogut in the lineup.
A perfect point guard would be Chris Paul (love this kid!), but the Bucks drafted the 7-foot Bogut with their No. 1 pick instead of Paul - rightfully so - and that has worked out rather lovely.
Sans Paul or a Leandro Barbosa, the trio of Ridnour, Lue and Jones will just have to make it work at the point . . . even though Hammond may not be finished.
But for now, the 11 new faces at 4th and State will surely bring a smile back to yours.
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ghoward@journalsentinel.com
