JS: Hammond Q&A

[bizarro]

40 games into our 19 year olds rookie season, while hes averaging 6ppg.....its the fans role to publically scream about giannis being a savior... it doesnt need to be coming from the coach or gm. we saw what happened with jennings when he got annointed and id prefer a more cautious approach with giannis. it will encourage him to work harder and that humble nature he has now may stick around thru the process.

further... it encourages the mentality that we ARE still aways away from being a contender. we dont have that piece yet. giannis has the POTENTIAL to be a star..... he sure as fck isnt yet. the idea we would proceed as if its a given would be insane..... it could harm the process. he shouldnt say it about giannis anymore than hed say it about embiid or anybody else at this point.

Big difference between "piece" and "star." I've not seen one poster on this forum say that Giannis is ALREADY a star. But you have to be certifiably blind to not be drooling over his potential.

so what everybody is upset about is hammonds definition of "piece"? are you suggesting hammond thinks giannis has the "potential" to be a good role player? he still on the fence about that?

we need a couple stars to compete. who gives a fck if giannis is a piece that doesnt become star. hes being cautious because thats the OBVIOUS nature of the discussion about giannis right now. its the discussion of his star potential..... he wasnt refering to whether giannis may ever find a role somehow.

GOS, there's a thing in recruiting and scouting that separates the good evaluators of talent and the not so good. Just as there is with the players. Then, sometimes, out-of-nowhere a player separates himself from the pack as a legitimate 5-tool prospect. These come around once in a Blue Moon. The Jordan's. The Lebron's. The Kobe's. The Kershaw's. The Gretzky's. The Hakeem's. etc. And, there is no way you get in the way of this type of player. You give him the keys and open the doors to unleash his full potential. If Giannis develops his jump shot, he has every potential to be in this class. He doesn't need his hand to be held. He needs to be given the keys. And, meaningless Vets like Butler need to take a seat. Negligible talents like Brandon Knight need to be moved to the 2nd unit or traded outright. The thing is, if Giannis develops like many of us think he could or, better yet, should...players won't give a **** about cold weather; segregated city; small locker rooms...they'll come to Milwaukee to play with Giannis. He has the rare ability to make everyone around him better. And, if you can't see that, I'm sorry. And, please don't go touting meaningless stats like PPG. Particularly, where Giannis is concerned. They mean nothing given Drew's complete inability to use him appropriately on offense.

[bizarro]

He throws guys together based off of stats

Agreed with everything you wrote, and I feel like this is even giving him too much credit. If he DID look at stats, he almost certainly wouldn't have signed any of the dopes who ended up here.

the dopes who ended up here were all that was available to us. looking back we shouldnt have spent any money. no decent player comes here thru free agency except for the occasional dunleavy type guy. we have to sign 5 dopes to find one guy who revitalizes himself. what a waste.

GOS, this is simply flat out FALSE. The 'dopes' who ended up in Milwaukee, landed there because of the continued failed quest for irrelevancy: The 8th seed. They targeted, in their estimations, veterans who would come for more playing time to help Kohl's pathetic cause. There were many many different routes any one of us would have taken. In my case, namely, I would have signed lesser known D-League and young prospects who hadn't gotten a shot elsewhere. I would have used these young players as a means of playing youth from the get-go and sorting out any valuable prospects. Rinse and repeat until a viable core is developed through the draft and in this manner and trades (when need and value arises) AND then and only then, when the core is established and a legitimate play-off contender has arrived do I target specific veterans. In other words, I would be the Philadelphia 76ers of today. That's a GM who gets it. With a young progressive coach who runs a legitimate offense.

[UWM_Brew_Buck]

I get annoyed when they say stuff like Brandon is a good PG but you have to take it with a grain of salt. It is not like he is going to come out and say that he is terrible (which he is) or that Giannis needs to be our savior. What they really think is what is most important but you can't take what they say to the public as gospel.

What I don't get is that how the FO can create a win now team that "mortgages" the future but ends up with the worst team in the league and continue to have job security. We are terrible but some guys were injured, heck we even signed an injured player but that is not our fault somehow. Boston is doing better than us and they went for a clear rebuild and have had Rondo hurt for months. The Bulls just traded Deng and lost Rose for the season how come they are .500 ?

We have a terrible coach and have had a terrible off season of free agent signings luckily for us it has created the best possible future we've had in a long time. Unfortunately for us the guys who thought that this team would be making the playoffs will be the ones doing a rebuild. One can only hope that Kohl sells the team and a complete cleaning of house is done. Keep Hammonds and make him head of scouting

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

GOS, this is simply flat out FALSE. The 'dopes' who ended up in Milwaukee, landed there because of the continued failed quest for irrelevancy: The 8th seed. They targeted, in their estimations, veterans who would come for more playing time to help Kohl's pathetic cause. There were many many different routes any one of us would have taken. In my case, namely, I would have signed lesser known D-League and young prospects who hadn't gotten a shot elsewhere. I would have used these young players as a means of playing youth from the get-go and sorting out any valuable prospects. Rinse and repeat until a viable core is developed through the draft and in this manner and trades (when need and value arises) AND then and only then, when the core is established and a legitimate play-off contender has arrived do I target specific veterans. In other words, I would be the Philadelphia 76ers of today. That's a GM who gets it. With a young progressive coach who runs a legitimate offense.

its not false. its true..... and your confusing 2 discussions into one. my post was only to discuss who we could have spent that money on.

bottom line is it went like this....
we were 100% pursuing the 8th seed. we were linked to the pursuit of damn near every free agent available. and the guys we got were the only ones who would take our money.
perhaps the only "mistake" we made was not locking up teague for 4/50..... or some other ridiculous number that the hawks wouldnt match.

you knew we were going to try and win. my point and whats sad is that this was all that is available to us in an offseason when we have double max salary space available.

this seasons free agency period literally falcon punched the senator into building his team thru the draft. no decent free agent even glanced our way.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

Because Hammond looks like an absolute FOOL for saying that Giannis is "POTENTIALLY a piece" when anyone who's watched this kid play basketball knows that he's "DEFINITELY" a piece, building block, whatever you want to call it!

i am not ready to call giannis a DEFINITE top 3 player on a seasonal 50 win playoff contender. his POTENTIAL hasnt earned that yet. thats what i would define as a piece btw.

if you want to call him that then fine. you may even be PROBABLY right. but probably means potentially.

i dont want my gm to talk like a silly excited fan.

this whole discussion is queer that were splitting hairs on what piece means.... ripping hammond because he may have used it to mean something than you arent.

[Rockmaninoff]

its not false. its true..... and your confusing 2 discussions into one. my post was only to discuss who we could have spent that money on.

bottom line is it went like this....
we were 100% pursuing the 8th seed. we were linked to the pursuit of damn near every free agent available. and the guys we got were the only ones who would take our money.
perhaps the only "mistake" we made was not locking up teague for 4/50..... or some other ridiculous number that the hawks wouldnt match.

you knew we were going to try and win. my point and whats sad is that this was all that is available to us in an offseason when we have double max salary space available.

this seasons free agency period literally falcon punched the senator into building his team thru the draft. no decent free agent even glanced our way.

I remember lots of people on here upset that the Bucks didn't overpay Teague. Thank gosh that didn't happen. They'd be locked into mediocrity for years.

I thought this was an alright interview from Hammond. He can't really say what he thinks, so he chooses his words to offend the least amount of people in priority from his employer, down to us. He's really damned if he does, damned if doesn't with the fans, at this point.

[randy84]

Compare and contrast Hammond and Ainge. Which GM do you think is doing it the right way?

http://bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_ ... _cs_future

[Ayt]

Ainge is playing chess. Hammond is trying to figure out how to open the box that contains the checkers board.

[paulpressey25]

Compare and contrast Hammond and Ainge. Which GM do you think is doing it the right way?

http://bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_ ... _cs_future

You read that interview, and Ainge almost comes off as if he doesn't even have time for the questions because he wants to get back on the phone to help improve the team with another deal or move.

(Cue Hammond Phone jpg from prior page)

[bizarro]

Compare and contrast Hammond and Ainge. Which GM do you think is doing it the right way?

http://bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_ ... _cs_future

How refreshing.

For all the Hammond defenders: This is a GM who came out and spoke very direct truth and sense. He traded young guys who were playing well or had potential to make way for other young players to play. He maximized the improved play of Crawford to garner another draft pick. Wow, what a concept. The Celtics don't know what they have in Pressey, so they throw him to the wolves. What do the Bucks do? They hold tight to Brandon Knight, insist he play out of position and miraculously learn feel and instincts, and play Luke **** Ridnour over Wolters or Giannis at the point. They allow meaningless vets like Butler feature stories in the JS. The Bucks have no clue. NONE.

[raferfenix]

If there were an online petition along the lines of 'fire John Hammond and Kohl's cronies to Save Our Bucks' how many signatures do you think we could get?

[bizarro]

its not false. its true..... and your confusing 2 discussions into one. my post was only to discuss who we could have spent that money on.

bottom line is it went like this....
we were 100% pursuing the 8th seed. we were linked to the pursuit of damn near every free agent available. and the guys we got were the only ones who would take our money.
perhaps the only "mistake" we made was not locking up teague for 4/50..... or some other ridiculous number that the hawks wouldnt match.

you knew we were going to try and win. my point and whats sad is that this was all that is available to us in an offseason when we have double max salary space available.

this seasons free agency period literally falcon punched the senator into building his team thru the draft. no decent free agent even glanced our way.

I remember lots of people on here upset that the Bucks didn't overpay Teague. Thank gosh that didn't happen. They'd be locked into mediocrity for years.

I thought this was an alright interview from Hammond. He can't really say what he thinks, so he chooses his words to offend the least amount of people in priority from his employer, down to us. He's really damned if he does, damned if doesn't with the fans, at this point.

Can y'all just stop it with the: Hammond can't say what he thinks!?!? That's just utter nonsense. This is what he thinks. And, it's right in line with the convoluted ideas and execution of the Bucks FO for the past decade. He is a grown man in a supposed decision-making position in the NBA. Case and point: Look at the Ainge interview. Ainge also speaks his mind, he's simply a more gifted and intrepid GM. Hammond is a total clown. He should be moved into scouting and talent. He is not fit to be a GM.

[bizarro]

Ainge is playing chess. Hammond is trying to figure out how to open the box that contains the checkers board.

Then, Hammond finally gets the checkers box opened and his first thought:

"Wait a minute?!?! These are those things from the Connect Four box!"

[randy84]

Ainge is playing chess. Hammond is trying to figure out how to open the box that contains the checkers board.

Then, Hammond finally gets the checkers box opened and his first thought:

"Wait a minute?!?! These are those things from the Connect Four box!"

Four plus four = 8th seed baby! Get me more checkers.

[clownparade]

i dont know how much weight to put into it, but he did talk a bit about how their new plan is building through the draft and it can take a few years. its good he didnt say they expect to be in the playoffs next season, but since they change their "plans" every 6 months who knows. atleast for now it appears a full rebuild

also, was anyone else irritated by the questions asked? that one in particular, saying you were almost a .500 team last season, when we can we get back to that level of play? as if...around .500 is the championship for this franchise. why not ask, the team has 8 wins, when can we be a title contender? how long do you expect to take?

why the hell is he asking when can we get back to .500. WHO CARES ABOUT 8th SEED!

[Max Green]

i dont know how much weight to put into it, but he did talk a bit about how their new plan is building through the draft and it can take a few years. its good he didnt say they expect to be in the playoffs next season, but since they change their "plans" every 6 months who knows. atleast for now it appears a full rebuild

also, was anyone else irritated by the questions asked? that one in particular, saying you were almost a .500 team last season, when we can we get back to that level of play? as if...around .500 is the championship for this franchise. why not ask, the team has 8 wins, when can we be a title contender? how long do you expect to take?

why the hell is he asking when can we get back to .500. WHO CARES ABOUT 8th SEED!

The bar has been set so low for this franchise and the local mainstream media does nothing but perpetuate it. The Bucks really need their own Bob Mcginn covering them. It would be nice to see a local journalist hold them accountable like Mcginn does the Packers organization.

[Rockmaninoff]

Can y'all just stop it with the: Hammond can't say what he thinks!?!? That's just utter nonsense. This is what he thinks. And, it's right in line with the convoluted ideas and execution of the Bucks FO for the past decade. He is a grown man in a supposed decision-making position in the NBA. Case and point: Look at the Ainge interview. Ainge also speaks his mind, he's simply a more gifted and intrepid GM. Hammond is a total clown. He should be moved into scouting and talent. He is not fit to be a GM.

With the mess that is the organizational structure of the front office, I just find it hard to separate what is and what isn't Hammond. It's confusing that an organization like the Blazers would want to interview him if he's completely awful.

Ainge is a smart guy and good at his job, but he also has autonomy and the understanding of a hands-off owner.

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

its not false. its true..... and your confusing 2 discussions into one. my post was only to discuss who we could have spent that money on.

bottom line is it went like this....
we were 100% pursuing the 8th seed. we were linked to the pursuit of damn near every free agent available. and the guys we got were the only ones who would take our money.
perhaps the only "mistake" we made was not locking up teague for 4/50..... or some other ridiculous number that the hawks wouldnt match.

you knew we were going to try and win. my point and whats sad is that this was all that is available to us in an offseason when we have double max salary space available.

this seasons free agency period literally falcon punched the senator into building his team thru the draft. no decent free agent even glanced our way.

I remember lots of people on here upset that the Bucks didn't overpay Teague. Thank gosh that didn't happen. They'd be locked into mediocrity for years.

I thought this was an alright interview from Hammond. He can't really say what he thinks, so he chooses his words to offend the least amount of people in priority from his employer, down to us. He's really damned if he does, damned if doesn't with the fans, at this point.

Can y'all just stop it with the: Hammond can't say what he thinks!?!? That's just utter nonsense. This is what he thinks. And, it's right in line with the convoluted ideas and execution of the Bucks FO for the past decade. He is a grown man in a supposed decision-making position in the NBA. Case and point: Look at the Ainge interview. Ainge also speaks his mind, he's simply a more gifted and intrepid GM. Hammond is a total clown. He should be moved into scouting and talent. He is not fit to be a GM.

hes a clown because he said giannis is a potential piece for the future? or....
hes a clown because he didnt rip into knights decision making and said instead that he still needed to work on it? or..
hes a clown because hes not a gifted speaker? or...
is it all from the past win now stuff thats been mandated?

i still dont get where all the vitriolic responses are coming from in this article?

[Max Green]

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.

[bizarro]

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.