A Real Head-Scratcher

The 2013 offseason has been among the more interesting in the history of the NBA.

Usually during the offseason, teams attempt to get better; they look to make that one big acquisition that will kick them over the top, and guarantee them a top seed in their conference. The summer of 2013 has been the complete reverse. Teams are tanking, throwing away their already talented rosters in order to obtain a higher draft pick in the much heralded class of 2014. It should come as a surprise to no one that the Bucks are taking the reverse route.

General Manager Hammond and Co. have become the laughing stock of the offseason, in both fan circles and media outlets. Grantland deemed the Bucks current plan hilariously bad, whereas other have said that the Bucks simply do not know what they're doing. Looking back at the Bucks "illogical" moves, though, the insults might not be justified.

First of all, the Bucks drafted Giannis Adetokunbo. A project player for a team that is at least several years away from being competitive. Scouts agree that Adetokunbo's potential is through the roof, though he is a bit of an unknown quantity. Many have shredded this pick, as Giannis is so raw and has very little experience playing against upper level competition. Adetokunbo has exactly what the Bucks need, though; huge potential. No pick that the Bucks were going to make would kick them over the top this year, yet fans and media alike are casting that to the side. A player with star potential down the road is a match made in heaven for a young team like the Bucks.

Next, the Bucks let Monta Ellis walk and signed OJ Mayo. Hammond offered Ellis a lucrative contract, but the shooting guard decided he wanted more. Instead of caving to the demands of Ellis, Hammond decided to move on. By all accounts, that is a smart move in and of itself. Hammond decided to sign a shooting guard to replace Ellis, and he found that in Mayo. He is not the run-and-chuck guard that Ellis is, though he is not as explosive either. Still, Mayo is a more efficient guard offensively and defensively, and is younger than Ellis.

Following that, the Bucks gave an offer sheet to Atlanta guard Jeff Teague. The point guard is considerably more efficient than current Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings, shoots higher percentages, and averages more assists. He may not be the flashy street-baller that Jennings is, but he is definitely an improvement. Not only is he a better overall guard, sources close to Teague have said that he actually wants to be in Milwaukee. Whether that is because his former Atlanta coach Larry Drew is the new Bucks coach, or because he actually wants to be in Milwaukee should be irrelevant; he wants to here. That should be music to Bucks fans' ears.

Former Bucks point guard Luke Ridnour is coming back to Milwaukee, as well. This excerpt from Grantland explains why this is a good move:


“Luke Ridnour is one of the most underrated jump shooters in the league. Out of the 45 NBA players with at least 350 midrange attempts this season, Ridnour ranks first in efficiency, hitting 49 percent of his shots. He was unbelievably accurate from the right baseline, where he made 56 percent”

Oh, and on top of all of that, Hammond acquired a coach with playoff experience and a great repertoire with players. No longer do the young players have to worry about inconsistent minutes from Scott Skiles or random, full game benchings from Jim Boylan. The Bucks now have a coach that the players will connect with and believe in.

Let's make like the media, though, and ignore all of that. Ignore the fact that the Bucks have made sizable improvements at each of their back court positions, while adding a forward with star potential. Ignore the fact that they have acquired one of the most efficient back up guards in the NBA. Forget that a new, better coach is taking the helm.

What matters is that the Bucks are not tanking. They have decided to build around the young nucleus that they have; Larry Sanders and John Henson. This is what people are laughing at. What it all boils down too, though, is that only one team will get Andrew Wiggins. Only one team will get Jabari Parker. Of all of the other teams that are throwing the 2013-14 season, only two are likely to truly reap the benefits, and that is only if Wiggins and Parker: a) decide to leave college after this year, being one and done players b) aren't busts

The draft is a huge gamble, which makes sense considering that he is called the lottery. The Bucks have decided not to take the huge gamble, and have actually improved.

Will the Larry O'Brien trophy be in Milwaukee this year? No, not even close. Realistically, the Bucks will probably not do better than the sixth seed in the playoffs. Consider that they have the talent to be a sixth seeded team with a young nucleus, and a potential star at the small forward spot, and the Bucks are not as far away as people are writing them off to be.

Giannis the Greek

The 2013 NBA Draft will be a defining moment for the Milwaukee Bucks franchise. Experts are not expecting this draft to rival the star studded draft of 2003; this draft is merely a group of solid, if unspectacular, players. This draft is not vital to the Bucks organization because of the importance of striking gold in a prospect. Instead, this was the draft for owner Herb Kohl and general manager John Hammond to determine if the franchise would begin the long and agonizing rebuilding process, or try to make a win now move. If the Bucks first round pick was any indication of their intentions, the Bucks are going to start from the bottom.

Going into Thursday night's draft, everyone anticipated the Bucks selection to be a guard. Various mock drafts predicted the Bucks to take Georgia's Kentavious Caldwell Pope or Germany's Dennis Schroeder. Either of these would have made sense, given the Bucks uncertainty in the back court. JJ Redick and Monta Ellis, the only shooting guards on the roster, are unrestricted free agents and will be testing the market.

As the first round got under way, Bucks fans couldn't help but notice the drop of Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore. The widely heralded two guard has drawn comparisons to Ray Allen (which should make veteran Bucks fans cringe) and considered to be the surest bet star of anyone. McLemore was projected to be a top three pick, but slid to Sacramento, who took him with the seventh overall selection. One can seriously hope that Hammond was not asleep at the wheel, and did actually make an attempt to trade up. For whatever reason, though, the Bucks held on to their 15th selection.

With the 15th pick in the Draft, Milwaukee selected the 6'9" forward out of Greece, Giannis Adetokunbo. Giannis is only 18, and won't turn 19 until December. Amid much speculation about where he will play for the next several years, Hammond confirmed that Adetokunbo will be on the Bucks roster come October.

Adetokunbo is described by scouts as being exceedingly raw. He has a very slight frame, and looks like he is running on toothpicks. That being said, others compare his body type to Kevin Durant. His 7'4" wingspan resembles that of Mr. Incredible. Draft Express reports say that he can go from basket to basket in four dribbles, which speaks to his incredible length. His ball handling skills are unheard of considering his height, and he can use his athleticism to succeed on both ends of the floor.

The knocks on Bo are, quite frankly, out of his control. Scouts and GM's two complaints are that he is super raw, and he has not gone up against strong competition. With age, he should overcome the raw aspect of his game. His freak athleticism should mask a lot of that anyways. If two words describe Adetokunbo, they are "project" and "potential". If you need more incentive to like Bo, though, read this excerpt from a column by Andrew Sharp of Grantland:


"However it happened and whatever it means, we need to mention Giannis Adetokunbo here, because he should probably be everyone's favorite player for the next few years. For one thing, he looks like he's 13 years old. For another, he's built like Kevin Durant and has apparently only scratched the surface of his talent, so, hey, who knows what happens from here?

But mostly, it was his answer after a reporter asked about his family's struggles in Greece, and what getting drafted means to them: "This moment I'm very happy. And I think in the past, make me sad. We struggled a lot in the past to have a better life, and now that I get drafted in the NBA, for sure we're going to have a better life. And I think now my mother and my father at home, they will be very happy to see me drafted, because four years in sadness and poverty is very difficult. Maybe after four years, maybe today it's the happiest day of their life to see me drafted, to see all that work and effort that they gave then, he work out. He worked out, a good thing." Seriously, that kid is just the greatest. Go Bucks.


The Bucks did not move up to select a guard early in the draft. They did not flip any pieces for established guards. After a trade they ended up with South Dakota State guard Nate Wolters, though he is not the starting guard that they so desperately needed. Kohl and Hammond, it seems, have acknowledged that rebuilding is the right way to take the franchise.

The rebuilding process might might not be as daunting as it would be for some other franchises though. It is crucial for small market teams to hit on first round draft picks, and the last four years have resulted in very solid player. Larry Sanders will hopefully anchor the defense for years to come; point guard Brandon Jennings is the point guard of the future; Tobias Harris looked like the small forward that the Bucks needed, before being flipped for several months of Redick; and John Henson showed a lot in limited minutes last season. If the Bucks struck gold on Adetokunbo like they did on Sanders, it is reasonable to think that the Bucks could be solid contender in 3-4 years.