The State of the Milwaukee Bucks

The last decade for the Milwaukee Bucks has been a tough one for the franchise. The Bucks went from having a great team to having a team that barely can make the playoffs. They used to be a team that would constantly make the playoffs with guys like Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, and Glenn Robinson. Now they are barely able to do even with good players such as Jennings and Ellis. No doubt the interest in the team has gone down in the last decade. Attendance at the games has gone down in the last few years despite General Manager John Hammond putting together some good trades to put some decent teams together. I don't put any fault on the general manager from the last 5 years in Hammond. He's a great GM for the Bucks. For one he drafted both Brandon Jennings and Larry Sanders, who have been to big keys to the Bucks most recent success. He's made some great trades as GM of the Bucks. He made the trade to get John Salmons in the 2009 season that propelled the Bucks to the playoffs. He traded for Richard Jefferson one year. He traded for Monta Ellis which has proved to be a great trade as now the team is in the playoffs because of what they got in that trade. It could be a Larry Harris issue perhaps because he made some pretty bad trades as a Bucks GM. He made the trade to get Keith Van Horn. Yet he made some good moves signing Michael Redd to an extension. That was good for the Bucks because he was the franchise player til Jennings and Bogut got there. It was rough for Redd because his Bucks career ended with injuries and he's never really gotten back to that. He also drafted Andrew Bogut with the number one pick in 2005. Both those moves were good moves, but later blew up in the Bucks face because they got hurt. Not to mention another bad move, when at that GM Ernie Grunfeld traded Ray Allen in 2003. The Bucks success then would have continued and they wouldn't have been caught up in the mess they are currently in. It could be a coach issue. Over the last decade, the Bucks have struggled to keep a head coach long term. Terry Scott, Terry Porter, Larry Krystkowiak are among the failures.  Scott Skiles was the longest tenured in this time spending four years as coach. After the playoffs, the Bucks have to make a decision on whether or not Jim Boylan is the long term fit. I don't think he's the long term fit with this team partly because of the issues Brandon Jennings has with him. If Boylan comes back as coach, Brandon Jennings is gone. Jennings has been a constant complainer with Boylan as coach. He has called out the team by saying there are no all stars on this team. In my opinion, there is all star potential on this team with JJ Reddick, Larry Sanders, Monta Ellis and Jennings. There are good players on this team it's just the downfall of being in a small market that getting all star votes hurts a team. Maybe Ellis and Reddick come back they didn't give up on this team. Larry Sanders is an all star in waiting. Larry Sanders is the future of this team not Jennings or Ellis. Yeah Ellis along with Reddick and Jennings are good pieces. In order to win in the NBA, you need a big man that can dominate the boards and that's what Sanders has done this year. He has been a force defensively for the Bucks this year no doubt. Another thing with the Bucks, maybe Herb Kohl's time as owner is closing it's door. He's not gonna own the Bucks forever. The Bucks really need to look into finding a new owner that can keep the team in Milwaukee long-term. The last thing you want for this team is to move somewhere else like the Sonics did. They need a owner who is dedicated to doing that. Not that Herb Kohl isn't, it's just that I think his time as owner is running out. I'm one of those people who wants to see Mark Attanasio as the Bucks owner. Well at least as a part time owner. He has been asked it before by the media. The Bucks need a guy like Attanasio. He already has a team in Milwaukee in the Brewers. He has clearly turned them around and interest in the Brewers has gone up since he has owned the team. He would be a perfect fit. If the Bucks are going to hire a new owner they need him or a guy like him. Does all this losing hurt the Bucks in the long term for the new arena? No, it doesn't the Brewers were a horrible team in the 1990s and yet by 2001 opened Miller Park. With the right moves and good interest, the new arena will happen. A new arena doesn't only affect the Bucks but it affects the teams around them in the Bradley Center. It affects Marquette Basketball because they play there. It affect the Milwaukee Admirals as they play there as well. It could affect the Milwaukee Mustangs if they ever get back into the Arena League. It affects the city of Milwaukee because of live concerts. Getting a new arena in Milwaukee is a huge move because it affects Milwaukee in all those areas. The big issue with the arena is finding where to build it and getting the money to build it. That's always going to be an issue. It was an issue with Miller Park. There's a luxury tax on the cities surrounding Milwaukee that helped build Miller Park. That's the kind of thing that's gonna have to help build it. There are a lot of issues with the Bucks and if they can fix them and make it a winning atmosphere it can help the team in the long run.