Bye Bye, Dead Redd: Milwaukee Bucks Need to Clean House

I want everyone who reads this to know, I'm an extreme Milwaukee Bucks fan.  All I want is for the Bucks rise atop the NBA once again.

It's obvious to all of us that the Milwaukee Bucks are in serious trouble.  They are arguably the worst team in the NBA, or atleast the bottom five.  I have come up with a few tips that should help point them in the right direction.  But before I do that maybe we should all take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

In the 03-04 season the bucks record was 41-41 and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Detroit Pistons.  Due to transactions in the previous seasons the Bucks were without draft picks in the 04 draft.

In the 04-05 season the Bucks record was 30-52 and did not make the playoffs.  In the 05 draft the Bucks played the lottery and won big by getting the first overall pick.  They used that pick to select Andrew Bogut of University of Utah.  They also selected Ersan Ilyasova with the 36th pick.  Note that Monta Ellis was selected with the 40th pick.

The 05-06 season saw the Bucks return to the playoffs with a 40-42 record.  Only to be eliminated once again by the Detroit Pistons.  A transaction that sent Desmond Mason and the Bucks first round pick to the Hornets in exchange for Jamaal Magloire, left the Bucks without a first round pick.  Milwaukee selected David Noel with the 39th pick.  

The 06-07 season saw the Bucks dip in production and their record as they scratched their way to a 28-54.  In the 07 draft the Bucks selected an unproven and undersized power forward in Yi Jianlian with the 6th pick.  They also selected Ramon Sessions with the 56th pick.

Do you remember this? I hope so because one man was responsible for all of this.  Larry Harris; the former general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks.  I despise this man, so does every Bucks fan that cares an ounce about their team.  I'm proud to say that he is no longer influencing the Bucks franchise no longer.  But I can't in good conscience condemn him for the complete destruction of the Bucks.  Some fault lies on the players and some on the front office.  Sen. Kohl has been meddling with the affairs of the GM position whether he admits to it or not.  He repeatedly impeded Larry in his attempts to improve the team.

Now lets shine the light of justice on the players.  Since the season that saw Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson guide the Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals the Bucks defense has gone down hill.  It's as if they see playing defense as uncool, or as a luxery they can't afford.  Many people have joined the team and have tried to instill some sort of attemp at defending i.e. Ruben Patterson, Desmond Mason and Brian Skinner.  What has become of them you ask?  They are sent away from the team, Cast away almost.  For doing something that might better the teams image and record.  All of them were traded away or simply not resigned.

With that being said, let me enlighten you all by reveiling some ideas for this franchise.

1.This step has to be done first.  Sen. Kohl must choose a general manager that he feels comfortable with.  He has to sit back and realize why there is a GM in the first place, to make deals and to improve the team where ever possible.  May I suggest "The Sports Guy" Bill Simmons.

2.The new GM needs to get his priorities straight.  What I mean by that is he has to come to the conclusion that the Bucks are a extremely young and extremely inexperienced team.  He has to follow the formula for success which the Spurs have perfected.  Experienced players + Good coaching + Talented young players = Championship caliber team.

Let me break it down for you in terms of the Spurs.  They are lead by their team captain and the face of the franchise, Tim Duncan.  He knows what to do in all situations and is a guiding hand for young players as well as a role model for players around the league.  Also the Spurs have a collection of other experienced players in Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, Micheal Finley, Kurt Thomas, Brent Barry and Damon Stoudamire.  Most importantly, they all play defense.  Greg Poppovich is one of, if not the greatest coach active today in the league.  He commands respect and has proved himself time and time again.  Finally the other piece of the puzzle of success is the talented young players.  For the Spurs, it's players like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.  They are both gifted all stars that can do it by themselves at times in a game.

The Bucks only have a third of the triangle of success, they do have some talented young players. Mo Williams has become their point guard of the future and the Bucks have locked him up for several years.  Andrew Bogut has started to play like a center that people would want on their team.  He rebounds, scores, blocks and plays good defense in the post.  Charlie Villanueva is a big man with big potential, he can knock down the three aswell as score down low in the paint.  Also if given a chance, Yi Jianlian can become a instrumental part of the Bucks organization.  At 7 feet tall he is big enough to take on centers and power forwards on the defensive end.  On the offensive end the rookie is good at hitting deep twos and driving to the basket and getting fouled.

3.The next GM MUST clean house.  The roster has obviously not worked out the way sen. Kohl has hoped.  It has failed time and time again to produce a winning season.  As much as I love Micheal Redd and appreciate everything he has done for this team and community.  I feel that it is best for both of them to part ways.  Winning a championship for the Bucks will take a few years to accomplish and trading Redd will help serve as a jumping off point to propell the Bucks toward a new future, and I can not sit here and write that Redd should stay with the Bucks and wait for a championship.  Instead I would try and make things easier for him by trading him to a team that stands a better chance of winning a championship in his career as a thank you for all he has done.  Continuing with this trend of overhauling the roster, we must eliminate the unneeded players.  Players like Charlie Bell, Dan Gadzuric, Awvee Storey, Desmond Mason, Bobby Simmons and Jake Voskuhl.  However, unloading these players will be tricky because of their inflated contracts.  For example, Dan Gadzuric has a contract that is paying him 36 million dollars in six years. Gadzuric hasn't started more than 20 games in his career and was a second round pick.  Trading players like these will not only improve our team but will also give us more cap room.

4.Learn from the former GM's mistakes.  1st round picks are the life line of your team, they are essential for building a championship team.  Without them you can't build a future for your franchise.  If you are going to trade them away, you must be sure of what you are getting in exchange.  When you do use them be sure of who you are drafting and what talent level they will bring to the team.

This is by no means the only way the Bucks can improve, but I think it is certainly something that they should consider.  If you do not agree with some of these ideas, or have some ideas of your own I would be happy to hear from you.