2014-15 Milwaukee Bucks Preview
The team was sold in April to investment firm executives, Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry. Then, the two were the recipients of a power play gone horribly wrong.
Jason Kidd enjoyed a first-round playoff victory with his Brooklyn Nets last season, his first as an NBA head coach. During the summer, he decided he wanted more control of personnel and took it to ownership.
His idea was rejected and long story short, Kidd is the new head coach of the Bucks, replacing Larry Drew, who got one season and that one season netted the worst record in the NBA.
“I’m a coach and that’s what it’s all about,” Kidd said on the day he was introduced as the Bucks coach. “As a player, you’re going to be criticized and as a coach, you’re going to be criticized even more. Today is all about Milwaukee.”
Kidd sidestepped every question about his ugly divorce from Brooklyn. Another little blemish on Kidd’s hiring was that Drew was still under contract to coach the team, but all that is in the past. The timeline was murky and Lasry admitted the way it was handled was botched.
“We were asked to keep it confidential and we did and I think it was obviously, in retrospect, that was a mistake,” said Lasry. “We’ve learned a lot about process and that was our fault.”
With that semi-settled, the Bucks were horrendous last season. They finished with the worst record in the league during a season where a handful of teams were actively trying to be bad in order to secure better draft status.
One of the nice byproducts of being the worst team in the league is that high draft selection. The Bucks won the second pick in the draft and used it on Duke forward Jabari Parker, perhaps the most NBA-ready player available this past June.
“I feel like I can contribute right off the bat,” said Parker. “I feel like I’m going to be able to grow with that organization, and I’m trying to be a throwback player, only stick with one team. This might bite me in the butt years from now, but right now I just want to stick with whoever’s rolling with me.”
Parker will be the focus of the Bucks for years to come. He’ll walk into the NBA and be able to score in a variety of different ways, but he’s far from complete. There have been conditioning and weight issues, plus, he’s a turn style defensively.
He’s not the only promising youngster on the Bucks’ roster. Giannis Antetokounmpo and his now 6-foot-11 frame will be the shooting guard in just his second season. Brandon Knight came over from the Detroit Pistons just before last season and Larry Sanders will try to put an ugly 2013-14 campaign behind him.
There are solid veterans in town like Ersan Ilyasova, who, like Sanders, will try to justify his large contract after a down campaign. O.J. Mayo is at something of a crossroads in his career. Zaza Pachulia is a great backup big man and Jerryd Bayless enjoyed a resurgence in Memphis and Boston the last few seasons.
But expectations are still justifiably low in Milwaukee. The roster is pretty young and the talent is still growing.
However, the Bucks are excited about their potential.
“The staff is excited, our owners are excited, the players are excited so when you see this much excitement, normally something good happens,” Kidd said at Media Day. “Everybody’s ready to go.
“There’s a process, there’s a learning curve we all have to work through. We’re going to turn that corner. It’s going to be exciting. We’re in this together.”
2013-14 Results: 15-67, 5th in Central; Missed playoffs
ADDITIONS: HC Jason Kidd, G Jerryd Bayless, F Jabari Parker, F/G Jared Dudley, G Kendall Marshall
PROJECTED STARTING FIVE:
PG- Brandon Knight SG- Giannis Antetokounmpo SF- Jabari Parker PF- Ersan Ilyasova C- Larry Sanders
KEY RESERVES: G O.J. Mayo, G Jerryd Bayless, F/G Jared Dudley, F Khris Middleton, F John Henson, C Zaza Pachulia, G Nate Wolters, G Kendall Marshall
FRONTCOURT: Parker is potentially dynamic. He can shoot, slash and play down low. Parker has athleticism when he’s in shape. There were some questions about his conditioning prior to the draft, but in his preseason debut, Parker showed plenty of athleticism, even flying high with some thunderous dunks.
Parker is a candidate for Rookie of the Year. He should see plenty of action for Kidd and he might be the Bucks’ primary offensive weapon without playing a minute of NBA action.
Parker was embarrassingly bad defensively in his only season at Duke. He’ll have help behind him in the form of Sanders, but Parker definitely needs a lot of work in this area.
Milwaukee has to be overjoyed with Parker’s attitude. That draft-night comment about staying with the Bucks forever was nice, but he’ll have to produce and endure through the trying times.
Sanders signed a four-year, $44 million contract after a great 2012-13 season which saw him get votes for both Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player.
He stunk in 2013-14.
Sanders played only 23 games last season because of a thumb injury, which he suffered in a night club fight. He was cited, missed the rest of the season with a fractured right orbital bone and suspended five games for violating the league’s drug policy after a positive test for marijuana.
It was a forgettable campaign, but Sanders is only 25. He can rebound from the poor season and get back to the 2012-13 Sanders where he averaged 9.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg and 2.8 bpg.
Ilyasova’s numbers also dipped last season. He went from 13.2 ppg to 11.2 and 7.1 rpg to 6.2. Ilyasova’s 3-point percentage went from 46 percent in 2011-12, to 44 percent in 2012-13 and then all the way down to 28 percent in 2013-14.
Ilyasova is 27 so, like Sanders, can bounce back. If he gets back to that production from two-three years ago, Ilyasova can become a potent, and versatile power forward.
BACKCOURT: Antetokounmpo grew two inches over the summer. He’s incredibly versatile and athletic. He can do things at his size, including play some point guard, that the league hasn’t seen in some time.
At 19, Antetokounmpo is very young. The learning curve and upside are astronomical. He’s called the “Greek Freak” for good reason.
Antetokounmpo played well in the Bucks Summer League and represented Greece in the FIBA World Cup this summer. It was in the Summer League where Antetokounmpo played some point guard.
“I’m not going to lie; it’s not the position I really feel comfortable,” Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It’s a challenge for me. That’s going to help me a lot. When you handle the ball a lot you learn and it will help me at the other positions. And coach may put me at point guard at times this season, so I’m really excited.”
Knight emerged last season under Drew. Every major statistic, with the exception of 3-point shooting, improved, including fewer turnovers. At 22, Knight is still growing into his role as a leader. His 17.9 ppg number may not last, but Knight is only in his fourth full season. There’s a lot to like about his game.
BENCH: As Mayo begins his seventh pro season, he’s at an interesting point in his career. Two years ago, Mayo was fantastic in Dallas, averaging 15.3 ppg. Last season, Mayo dipped to 11.7 ppg and his playing time dwindled. He fell out of the rotation by winter and this season, no action is guaranteed.
Pachulia started 43 games last season when Sanders was hurt and also when Sanders was ineffective. He averaged 7.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg. Pachulia is a sturdy banger.
Bayless played great with Memphis in 2012-13, then was traded from the Grizzlies to the Boston Celtics midseason. In Beantown, Bayless scored 10.1 ppg and shot 39.5 percent from beyond the arc. He could remain a great combo guard off the bench.
Dudley played for the Los Angeles Clippers last season and by the time the postseason came, he was a DNP-CD. Dudley admitted he was injured last season and played through it for the good of the team. He’s a solid leader, a nearly 40 percent career 3-point shooter and very unselfish.
Middleton saw a lot of playing time last season for this depleted Bucks team. He averaged 12.1 ppg and shot 41 percent from long range. Middleton’s time may shrink with Parker as the future, but he can score. Every bench needs that.
Wolters was a pleasant surprise last season, averaging almost 7.0 ppg. He broke his hand in March and missed the rest of the campaign. Wolters was a favorite of Drew, but is there enough time for him with Knight, Mayo, Marshall and even Antetokounmpo playing some point.
Marshall was all but out of the league when he got a life preserver last season. The Los Angeles Lakers were down so many point guards, he started 45 games and averaged 8.8 apg, which tied for second in the NBA. Was he a product of Mike D’Antoni’s system? Probably, but Marshall will get a chance to earn a reserve job with the Bucks.
Henson was another player who blossomed under Drew. He averaged 11.1 ppg and 7.1 rpg. If Ilyasova tumbles, Henson can do the job. If not, he’ll get plenty of minutes.
COACHING: Kidd was a disaster early in his Nets’ run. He figured things out, stopped embarrassing the team and guided Brooklyn to a first-round upset of the Toronto Raptors.
Then came the mortifying coup attempt and now he’s teaching a young roster. It might be a better fit for him. There’s no expectation of success in Milwaukee, whereas Brooklyn was perceived to be a title contender before last season.
In theory, Kidd should be a good coach. He was an elite point guard and one of the game’s best minds. Outside of New York and an overpaid roster full of aging, or overrated players, Kidd could do some nice work with the Bucks.
OUTLOOK: Milwaukee is not going to the playoffs. The talent has improved and it’s an interesting nucleus, but it’s not strong enough to hold off the rest of the Eastern Conference.
But, Parker is a potential game-changer. He can galvanize the organization, which, despite the ugly Kidd hiring hiccup, is headed in a good direction under new leadership.
It won’t be substantial this season, Bucks fans, but improvement should be made.
Categorized in: NBA
Tags: Bucks, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Bucks