JS: Hammond Q&A

[James1980]

McGinn would have asked him point blank why he should not be fired.

Exactly, McGinn would have said your plan was to make the playoffs this year and you have the worst record in the league, why shouldn't you be fired?

[emunney]

What would have been worse: signing Mayo, Zaza, Neal and Delfino to the contracts we signed them to, or, immediately after giving Gooden the amnesty, signing him to a three year contract at max level?

[paulpressey25]

What would have been worse: signing Mayo, Zaza, Neal and Delfino to the contracts we signed them to, or, immediately after giving Gooden the amnesty, signing him to a three year contract at max level?

I guess I'll wait until the trade deadline to see if we use the tiny cap space then, but using amnesty on Gooden last summer was really premature.

It is amazing how useless and redundant that ZaZa, Delfino and Ridnour have been.

[worthlessBucks]

Woelfel tonight on WSSP said he talked with a couple Bucks officials who think the team can be back competing quickly. Once they get the stud in June, they've got their core of Henson, Knight, Giannis and draft pick.

The same Bucks officials who thought the team would compete favorably for a playoff spot this year probably. Add in the pick and LD returning to coach again, we should be in the lottery comfortably again next year.

[sergio1620]

It's simple, it really is. But its almost is beyond words how delusional this franchise is. The bucks organization will never, I repeat, ABSOLUTELY NEVER, be successful with management like Hammond and ownership like Kohl steering the ship. Like I said before, I wish I didn't care. But I do. In addition, to being comically incompetent I am shocked at the smugness and arrogance of Kohl and his cronies. They honestly believe, that intelligent fans, like us, are going to buy the bull**** they are shoveling. You know what that is? That is disrespecting your fan base and will, unless ownership and the front office changes, ultimately be the final nail in the coffin of this moribund franchise.

[Ayt]

Bizzaro is upset because Hammond didn't flat out say that Knight sucks and shouldn't be playing PG, and proclaim that Giannis is our PG of the future. Bizarre indeed.

Please, Max. This is grossly undermining my disdain.

Let's just put it this way: John Hammond is the messenger of the entire mess @ Bucks headquarters. I believe he is decent at one thing, and one thing only, drafting. Beyond that, I believe he is a colossal failure. And, whether or not that is because of excessive influence from Kohl and cronies I no longer care. He and our inept Head Coach hand-picked the veterans to compete this season. And, now, Hammond backpedals and averts all responsibility for the quagmire he assembled by blaming injuries. They stumbled into the only acceptable strategy for this trainwreck of an organization and they can't even embrace it. They've let a washed-up vet like Butler own the current Bucks conversation because he's from Racine and because he has a pathetic beat reporter like Woelfel backing him up. The same pathetic beat reporter who routinely defames Sanders on Twitter while lauding Ersan's improved defense for holding Josh **** Smith to 2-9. I currently loathe the Bucks organization because, beyond the draft, I completely disagree with their entire philosophy of player acquisition and player development.

And, yes, I loathe Brandon Knight's game. It's fool's gold - and, that's being nice. And, yes, I firmly believe Giannis and Wolters should be our PG's. I firmly believe Brandon Knight should be traded. And, if we can not find an acceptable trade partner I firmly believe he should be moved to a role as a 6th man and used like Ramon Sessions. And, frankly, if you find that bizarre I have nothing else to say to you.

The direction we're heading in right now is we are going to try to build through the draft.


In every interview Hammond has done the past week he's clearly stated multiple times that we are rebuilding now, even going as far to cite the OKC model that he used to downplay publicly for years. You need to calm down. You are ranting and raving like a lunatic.

The OKC model goes well beyond just being terrible and having a couple high draft picks.

I'd say Hammond is more likely to follow the Clippers model before they became good when they were the laughing stock of the league and a joke in all of sports.

[WEFFPIM]

1. John Hammond is in a position in this league he has no business being in. I know that. We all know that. The only people who don't know that are the ones in charge. And that ****ing sucks.
2. Nothing about what he said here should be a surprise to anyone here if you've been paying attention. The Pacers' model was the goal this year...veteran roster to make the playoffs with a group of young players working beside them to develop and eventually take a bigger role in later seasons.
3. That plan derailed with...yes, a boxcar full of injuries...and in the span of about six weeks shifted course to a full rebuild. He acknowledges that, as have all of us. It is foolhardy to say that the injuries to the veterans have not led to increased minutes for the youth.
4. His goals for the second half of the year are exactly what we all want from him. It could all be lip service, but since when has John Hammond ever used lip service? He's always been up front with his thought-process, which is partly why we know he's been so below average at constructing a roster.

If this interview has changed your mind about John Hammond in any fashion, I can't help ya. Because there's nothing in here we didn't know about already. The initial plan, however flawed it was, never got a chance to materialize (thankfully). There is now a new plan in place, one we all approve of, and Hammond seems to as well.

You are completely permitted to question whether Hammond is the guy to pull that off, God knows I am. But this interview shouldn't be why.

[breakchains]

Interesting interview: http://nba.sport24.gr/article/2611315/t ... nba-greece

Two points relating to some of the discussion in this thread:

1) Hammond firmly states they intended to "make the playoffs" and that injuries changed everything, including Giannis's playing time.

2) For bizarro: he firmly states that Giannis is a cornerstone/building block.

I like that Hammond understands Giannis's feel for the game. That and his multiple comments about Knight not playing the point position ideally gives me a ray of hope that they don't see Knight as this teams PGOTF.