Lineup:

• Chris Dennis
• Adam “Big A” Maritato
• Brian Peoplis

Topics:

• Milwaukee Bucks Basketball (beginning- 12:52)

• Badger Basketball (13:00 – 16:20)

• Marquette Basketball (16:20 – 21:00)

• Milwaukee Panther Basketball (21:00 – 29:25)

• WST Headlines and Shout Outs! (29:40 – End)

With the trade deadline looming on Feb. 19 only 18 days away, the Milwaukee Bucks are faced with a slight problem. What do they do? Should they be buyers, sellers, or just stay the course?

Faced with this same problem last year with the likes of Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions, the Bucks chose to stay the course and hopefully make the playoffs.They fell short, and in the offseason, Milwaukee lost both guys in free agency and acquired nothing in return. They could have made a move to acquire a pick or a young talented piece but instead they chose to “compete” for a playoff spot.

Now, here we area again, a year later and in the same position. Wondering the same questions. We have expiring contracts in Luke Ridnour, Hakim Warrick, Kurt Thomas, Joe Alexander, Francisco Elson, and the newly-acquired Jerry Stackhouse. Together they amount to $18.3 million in expiring contracts.  

Some contracts we will just let expire, while some have too much value not to acquire something in return for. Both Ridnour and Warrick definitely have the most value. These guys are solid contributors and would be very useful to team in the playoffs looking for a scorer off the bench. Some may value Thomas’ defense, but he is slow-footed, and all he is good for is low-post defense.On offense, he can knock down the open 15-18 footer, which works well for a high pick-n-roll situation. Alexander has no value because of injuries ,and his expiring contract is his only value to the team (I won’t get started on him).

As of today the Bucks stand 20-25, which is only three games behind Chicago and Miami for the seventh and eighth seeds. General Manager John Hammond has insisted that he wants to win now.  The Bucks must decide what to do, and I’ll examine each option.

Stick with Team as Is

They are 20-25 as stated. They started the season rolling to an 8-3 record out of the gate. Then Michael Redd came back and threw off the entire offense. Some may ask, how a 20 ppg player can throw off an offense?

Well, he is like a black hole, every time there is a ball swing, he keeps it.  He does a crossover between his legs, and then you know it’s going up. He fails to get teammates involved, and that hurts the chemistry. Milwaukee is 5-13 in games he has played in, while 15-12 in games that he hasn’t.

Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut also have greater success while Redd is off the floor. Bogut is finally looked at as the team’s No. 1 option on offense. He has a great face-up post game and is showing a little ability to hit a 10-12-ft jumper.

Bogut and his running mate, Jennings, have developed a chemistry in the high pick-n-roll game. Jennings is so quick that it is hard to get an angle on him defensively, and he can get into the paint and create for himself or for a teammate.

I do think the Bucks can challenge for a playoff spot by holding on to what they have. But, is it worth it to be the eighth seed in the playoffs? I say yes, because you get invaluable experience for a team full of young players who don’t know how different the level of play is in the playoffs.

Trade Away Players

If we fail to win a few games before the deadline, our hand may be forced to make some trades for younger talent and picks. I think Hammond would be more willing to pull the trigger on some of these guys.

Unlike last year, there are not as many young players who would gain some trade interest. I think a team that needs either a scoring or point guard coming off the bench would be in the race for Ridnour.

He hits open shots, runs the offense well, and rarely turns the ball over. If the Bucks could receive a young talent or late first-round pick for him, I’d do it. One team who may need a backup is the Utah Jazz.

Hakim Warrick is of equal value although his stock is expiring less than Ridnour’s ($3.6-6.5 million). He is an offensive-minded player off the bench and has proven he can score since he has been in the league.  He’s also proven that he plays no defense.

One team that may like him is the Atlanta Hawks. I think he would fit well coming off the bench for them, while also not ruining their cap space for FA next offseason.

Kurt Thomas may be traded for a second pick to a contender who is short a backup big man.  Again, injuries in the next 18 days will play a factor because new needs may arise.

Alexander and Elson would only be throw-ins for a trade just to make the money work. I can’t see either drawing ANY interest. Stackhouse is here to stay in Milwaukee. Hammond had him in Detroit and sees him as a veteran leader. He can also be Hammond’s eyes in the locker room.

I’m sure Jerry is telling him who is good for the team and who isn’t. You don’t want bad chemistry guys around your young talent (Michael Redd).

Trade For Players

This is the least possible option for Milwaukee. We have no pieces that anyone would want in exchange for a big name. Jennings would have to be involved, but that’s not happening.

Caron Butler would be the only guy who could draw interest. He is from Racine, so he’d basically be home, and the Wizards are looking to blow up their team.  If we could give them an expiring and our first they might be intrigued. Would I do it? Probably not. I don’t see this happening at all or any other scenario where the Bucks acquire a star player coming to fruition.

The best option for me is to stay the course and try to gain cap room for this offseason and next season when Redd and Dan Gadzuric come off the books. One thing’s for sure, it will be an interesting two weeks for Bucks fans everywhere.

Let me hear your opinion!  Comment on the article, and I will respond. Thank you.

The Milwaukee Bucks could not continue the win streak Monday night in San Antonio.  Michael Redd looked like he hadn’t picked up a basketball since his injury against Detroit earlier in the season as he went 1-6 from the charity stripe.

While the Bucks looked flat in the first half,  Spurs fan favorite Matt Bonner ignited his team by sinking several three pointers on his way to a 23 point, 6 rebound night.  The Bucks ended the half up by two but couldn’t sustain the lead as Tim Duncan and George Hill hit several shots to expand the lead.

Rookie Brandon Jennings looked human as he converted on just 6 of his 21 shots and committed 5 turnovers.  Ersan Ilyasova and Hakim Warrick probably should have shot more often as they combined for 35 points while shooting 65% from the field.  The Power Forward tandem also converted on all of their combined 8 free throw attempts.

For the majority of the game, the Bucks lacked the energy and discipline on the defensive end that has carried them to their surprising start.  Next stop is New Orleans to take on the Chris Paul-less Hornets (6-9, Home 5-2, away 1-7).

Notes:

Andrew Bogut:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Andrew Bogut is eyeing an early return and will be out anywhere from four to eleven games, depending on how his body responds during recovery.

(LRMaM) Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is still listed as day to day.

Bucks v.s Spurs Highlights:

With the recent injuries to “Redd and Gimpy” (Guard Michael Redd and Center Andrew Bogut) many Milwaukee Bucks fans figured that the season was going to slowly fall back into the proverbial basement that they have seemed to get comfortable in the past few years.

Nuh Uh!!

Not anymore. Not with this bunch, and certainly not with rookie sensation, Brandon Jennings.  If there are still any doubts about how good he is, and even scarier, how good he can be, they should have been squashed with last night’s performance.

A Bucks team without Redd, Bogut and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute played well enough to win against an also short-handed Charlotte Bobcats team, 95-88.

Takin' Over.

The Bobcats began to key in on Jennings after his excellent first quarter, which allowed for Jennings to show his ability as a facilitator.

Jennings racked up 7 assists during the ball game while setting up teammates, Carlos Delfino (9 points, 6 rebs, 5 assists), Ersan Ilyasova (13 points, 7 rebs) and Hakim Warrick (16, 9 rebs).  Luke Ridnour also hit some big shots down the stretch when the Bobcats began to make a push late in the fourth quarter.

I’m choosing not to focus on the fact that the Bucks allowed their opponent to shoot a season-high 51 % from the field while they shot just 41%.

I’m choosing not to focus on the fact that the Bobcats attempted twice as many free throws as the Bucks did, but managed to convert only 60% of them.

I’m also choosing to overlook the fact that the Bucks turned the ball over more times than the Bobcats did, and when you add up all these mistakes, it’s astonishing that we won.

I’m going to focus on the fact that, despite all of that, The Bucks are adding another notch to the Win column.  Excellent. Now the Bucks need to forget about last game and focus on doing it again.

After last night’s win, the Bucks immediately boarded a plane headed to Memphis, TN to take on the Grizzles (4-8, 3-2 Home, 1-6 Away).

Don’t let the record fool you.  This team is capable of scoring in a variety of different ways and without Andrew Bogut, it’s going to be frustrating going against the likes of  6’11 Power Forward, Zach Randolph and 7’1 budding Center, Marc Gasol.

The Bucks will also have their hands full with scoring Gaurd OJ Mayo and high-flyng Forward Rudy Gay.

The Bucks schedule is starting to look a lot tougher and with the recent injuries to three key starters, the Bucks will need everybody every night to try to weather the storm.

We have Brandon jennings, therefore I Believe.  Do you?

Highlights from last night’s win at Home against the Bobcats:

Andrew Bogut and Carlos Delfino each poured in 21 as the 6-3 Bucks beat up on the hopeless 0-12 Nets, 99-85.  Rookie Sensation Brandon Jennings had 19 points and 8 assists but also had 8 turnovers.

Nets were lead by CDR (Chris Douglas-Roberts) and rookie T-Will (Terrence Williams) who both reached career highs in points with 31 and 20, respectively.

Bucks have one more home game against the recently acquired Stack Jack (Stephen Jackson) and the Charlotte Bobcats before they hit the road for four games.

The Bucks are indicating that veteran guard Michael Redd should be returning in two games from his minor knee injury.

Bogut is expected to miss two to four weeks with a leg strain and a contusion. That’s right, I said contusion, not concussion. Essentially, Bogut is expected to miss two to four weeks with a leg bruise.

Remember the Green Bay Packers old punter, Josh Bidwell? Well, he had testicular cancer and ended up losing one of his balls. And he still has more balls than Andrew Bogut.