Official Milwaukee Bucks Thread

[Dean]

Didnt you just say you wanted a defensive big?
How is Brandon Wright on Defence? I understood he was more offensive oriented?

[Ty-Land]

I was under the impression he is solid on defence. Perhaps I'm getting confused with somebody else. I haven't seen any of his games, only going on others recommendations though.

[Dean]

Hmm, maybe i got it wrong then..

Ill look for a draft profile later..

Edit:
NBA Draft.net rates him 9/10 on D, doesnt give much of a report on it though..

http://nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/brandanwright.html

[3P]

If they get a big man wouldn't they trade CV? They would still have a few backups and CV could get them someone pretty good.

[Ty-Land]

I think they would give CV another year to prove himself. Even if he isn't in the starting 5, he would be an excellent 6th man off the bench, bringing some inside-out offense and rebounding presence.

Just have to wait and see what happens though.

[Slamduncan]

Doesn't it seem like the tj trade was bad, I mean the raptors arent playoff material, and now they are going. I mean, every team that tj has been on has gone to the playoffs.

[-Young Buck-]

#1. complete. Bucks fire Stotts.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2798530

[scrub]

Well he made the playoffs last year with a not so great team and this year they have had a lot of injuries so I feel a little sorry. What are the Bucks' fans thoughts?

[-Young Buck-]

What are the Bucks' fans thoughts?

Im happy as hell, its good getting rid of this dumbass. Maybe we can get a coach that can actually teach a team to play defence, and use Bogut in a scoring way. Too often Bogut would just be the "garbage man", when he could be so much more then that.

[3P]

I love the move. He made dumb calls which you can't get away with a bad team. The only thing is who will be the new coach. Hopfuly the new coach will go inside to Bogut more and stress D. Also he better give the game-winning shot to Redd not Willams.

[Ty-Land]

TERRY STOTTS FIRED!!!!!!!!!!!



Thank you God, Thank You Allah, Thank You Buddah, Thank You Tom Cruise (or whoever is the head of that cult), Thank You John Lennon (the real god).

Been waiting for this day since late november. I believe Larry K will be the interim head coach, then hopefully we can get a real decent coach over the offseason.



Yeah, I am really happy.

[Slamduncan]

WAHOOOOOOO!!!! The age of Stotts is over!!!!!

[DatYellowGuy]

I honestly think the Bucks need a star not named Michael Redd. Sure Redd is a great shooter, but that seems like all he can do. He doesn't do anything else but score and in todays NBA there are just too many players that are more than one-dimensional.

[BigKaboom2]

How many great shooters are there in the NBA? Maybe eight or nine.

[-Young Buck-]

Bucks hire Larry Krystkowiak. Hmmm he was already on our bench ? That cant be good can it?

ESPN.com's Andy Katz reported that Krystkowiak met with University of Utah officials on Tuesday to discuss their head coaching vacancy. He appeared to be a front-runner for that position, but the timing of the Stotts firing changed that. The Bucks gave Krystkowiak a multi-year contract but terms were not available.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2798530

[Ty-Land]

Bucks hire Larry Krystkowiak. Hmmm he was already on our bench ? That cant be good can it?

ESPN.com's Andy Katz reported that Krystkowiak met with University of Utah officials on Tuesday to discuss their head coaching vacancy. He appeared to be a front-runner for that position, but the timing of the Stotts firing changed that. The Bucks gave Krystkowiak a multi-year contract but terms were not available.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2798530

Well, he coached Montana to a 42-20 season, so that's a positive. He was the big man coach, isn't meant to be a 'nice guy' style coach like Stotts, and is tough on defence.

The negatives are he has no NBA coaching experience, and we don't know how well he will coach at this level. I'm happy for him to be interim, but to sign him long term is a bit suspect. Either way I think he is more suited for this squad than Stotts is.

I'm hoping he gives guys like Greer, Noel, Ilyasova a chance to play.

Would love to see Ersan start a few games alongside Bogut and CV. See how this young frountcourt can play together.

Regardless, Stotts is gone so there is hope for a better future. Hopefully Larry K and Larry H can lead us there!

[Dan's Brain]

A multi-year contract for somebody unproven on the pro-level is a little un-nerving. Shades of Rick Pitino.

But hopefully he can get more out of Bogut and Villanueva.

[Ty-Land]

A multi-year contract for somebody unproven on the pro-level is a little un-nerving. Shades of Rick Pitino.

But hopefully he can get more out of Bogut and Villanueva.

Well he took Montana to the NCAA tournament for 2 years, which hadn't been achieved before. In the last tournament they were 15th seed I believe, and defeated number 5 seed, and eventually lost to the number 4 seed (can't remeber who).

As for getting Bogut and Villanueva involved, for the Montana team he coached to a 42-20 record, the leading scorer and shot taker was a big man. So good news for them, hopefully a more inside out game rather than a Outside chucking game.

[Andrew]

I'm a little surprised because the Bucks' record is in no small part due to the injuries they've endured this year but given the blade usually falls on the coach when a team goes through a rough year it's not exactly the shock of the century either. Definitely good news for Bogut, though it remains to be seen if Krystkowiak will utilise him any better.

A multi-year contract for somebody unproven on the pro-level is a little un-nerving. Shades of Rick Pitino.

To his credit, Rick Pitino did lead the Knicks to back-to-back playoff appearances in the late 80s, even advancing to the second round in 1989 before taking the Celtics job in 1997. Of course, it was a fairly thin professional resume for someone given as much clout as Pitino received at the time, even taking the title normally reserved for Red Auerbach.

[Dan's Brain]

Rick Pitino did lead the Knicks to back-to-back playoff appearances in the late 80s, even advancing to the second round in 1989

Ah. Well there you go, obviously didnt do my research.

But the Bucks do need to keep this low-key. Rick Pitino was heralded as the second coming of Red when he joined the Celtics if i remember rightly. And i remember Larry Krystkowiak from his year and a bit with the Bulls, and i'm pretty sure i liked him.

[Andrew]

Ah. Well there you go, obviously didnt do my research.

I always knew snippets from Dazzling Dunks & Basketball Bloopers would one day come in handy. I did have to research his record with the Knicks though, I couldn't recall if they made the postseason during his tenure.

I agree Krystkowiak's hiring should be kept low-key, though I don't think it will have quite the same fanfare as Pitino's hiring. Aside from moderate success in his brief stint with the Knicks in the 80s he's also an accomplished collegiate coach so it was easy to paint him as the saviour of the Celtics given his coaching credentials and the expectation that he'd have a keen eye for the right talent coming out of college, having so much experience in the NCAA. Krystkowiak of course doesn't quite have the same reputation so I'd say the bar will be set lower.

[Ty-Land]

I'm a little surprised because the Bucks' record is in no small part due to the injuries they've endured this year but given the blade usually falls on the coach when a team goes through a rough year it's not exactly the shock of the century either. Definitely good news for Bogut, though it remains to be seen if Krystkowiak will utilise him any better.

But even since all our starters are back and healthy we have hardly won. Something like 3-9 since Redd returned. Further, in the 05-06 season we had a good start to the season, but played under .500 from the new year onwards.

This season we started poorly, played well in december and early january, but then crumbled with injuries. Sure, the loss of Simmons, Mo, Redd and CV didn't help his cause, but players were giving up. Quality defenders like Ruben Paterson and Charlie Bell were terrible.

We ended Bostons losing streak, going down by 17, there was no defence at all, no perimetre defence in any sense of the word. Constantly playing 3 guard lineups (such as Boykins, Mo and Bell - nobody taller than 6'3), playing Patterson at the 4, playing the inexperienced Noel for 20 minutes. These things can't be overlooked.

At the start of the season the objectives were to spread the offence with Bogut in the post, CV inside out, Ruben being a cutter and Mo and Redd doing there thing. Game after game Ruben has been in the post, CV on the bench, Bogut failing to get the ball even when wide open, Mo and Redd taking the offence on their back being given the green light to score. We have not won a game ths year when we have shot under 48%. That's why Stotts had to go.

Now it gives the team a chance to play Bogut, and feed him. Get CV minutes and push him on D. Use Mo as a facilitator, which he does well when asked to/given the chance to. Use Redd-Bogut 1-2. Give Ilyasova a chance to shine.

All the games I have watched this year of the Bucks it has been clear this is not the team for Stotts to coach. We need a strong coach who uses the inside, promote defence and control the different players. Hopefully Larry K will do that.

[Andrew]

That's certainly true, though I thought perhaps the amount of injuries might have bought Stotts some time; at least until the end of the season. There's no question his performance left something to be desired and as I said it's hardly the shock of the century. I just thought he'd probably finish out the year, though with Krystkowiak coming in for the final stretch it will give him time to experiment with lineups and develop a different mentality in preparation for next season.

[Ty-Land]

Well Stotts was apparently given time. After the All Star Break when all the injured players (excluding Simmons of course) returned, he was expected to get the team back to .500 ball. It started well, then the team lost a couple of close ones, and then it ended with a loss to the Raptors with Bogut being ejected and flipping off a fan.

At the game, a respected poster at RealGm who sits near Bucks owner Herb Kohl heard him say 'I have had enough of this shit.' Stotts was given time. He failed. I feel sorry for him seeing he tried hard and seemed to be a very knowledgeable and nice guy. But I am relieved he is gone, seeing the teams performance this year, with or without injuries, has been incredibly frustrating.

As a passionate supporter of the team, this is the best thing t happen to the club since landing the number 1 pick. Hopefully it will lead to better times, starting from now, but especially next year with another high pick and hopefully a decent free agent signing.

[3P]

I hate this move. Now the Bucks can't bomb the season and get Oden.

Also why did they sign an unproven guy to a multi-year contract? Sure he might have had success in the NCAA and the CBA, but those are not the NBA. He better not dissapoint or the Bucks just ruined another few seasons.

I wish they hadn't fired Karl now. Sure he might have messed up the team, but atleast he could coach and stress D. Also his 30-30-30 plan works well.

The Bucks better have the right man or the franchise will be over or out of Milwaukee soon. There is no fan support here now and this might be the last chance.