c2c basketball

Bucks Ballers is the Milwaukee Bucks’ team report written by Pat King.

Team reports are articles written by the General Manager of each franchise. Whether it is weekly, monthly, or after every trade or game, c2c’s team reports are an inside look to each franchise. Maybe an explanation of a trade or a week in review of how the team has faired in games, either way, these are the words of the league and owners.

Brace yourselves.

The Milwaukee Bucks are a new team. Glancing at the roster, it may not seem like it, but trust me, they will be a whole new ball club. After dabbling in a couple of trades (acquiring Baron Davis, who later landed Ben Gordon, and the 14th pick), the Bucks made their largest move of the off-season: signing Hall-of-Fame coach Gregg Popovich. Popovich was the highly-coveted unsigned coach, the same one who built a dynasty with the Spurs. When asked about his motives in coming to Milwaukee, we got much more from Pops. “Milwaukee was a team I felt was right on the cusp last year, a team that if they had that one more scorer, could have competed in that up-for-grabs Eastern Conference. The put up a battle against the eventual champion Nets, and the core was a great one. Rashard Lewis and Boris Diaw are two guys that I believe do the little things it takes to win, and surround those guys by role players Derek Fisher, Drew Gooden, and Nazr Mohammad, and I think you’ve got a competitor. This leaving alone the fact that they landed Ben Gordon and Luis Scola while losing primarily just Richard Jefferson from last season’s squad. I love the direction this franchise is headed, and I’m excited I was the one they picked to guide it to the Finals.”

Dealing Richard Jefferson was a move GM Patrick King said simply had to be made. “RJeff was a great player, but he had to be in a better situation to be the player that he is. He has to be a number one scorer, and he wasn’t that here. He took a lot of shots, and shot a poor percentage. I love the guy, but Milwaukee just wasn’t the right situation for him. Turning him into Ben Gordon will be great for us, because Ben is a better defender and a better scorer, and he has the potential to be an all-star while sharing the ball with Shard.” King has also committed to developing the young guns in the organization, Johan Petro and newly acquired Luis Scola. Both will play an integral part in the team’s success, or lack-thereof.