Tag Archives: Milwaukee Bucks

Herb Kohl, Milwaukee Bucks

Part II – Senator Kohl and the Legacy Still to be Written

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SaveOurBucks

George Steinbrenner, Jerry Jones, Mark Cuban and Al Davis.

Collectively that may be the Mt. Rushmore of “hands-on” owners in professional sports.
Those four represent owners who are (or were) the face of their franchise. They took an open and active role in all aspects of franchise operation, right down to wanting to be involved in the calling of actual plays on the field.

In Part I last week, we examined the track record of Bucks’ General Manager John Hammond, and the fact that many of his player personnel moves tended to look like losers very quickly after they were made.  Hammond apparently agrees with our take, since said players acquired or signed to a new contract have been so often traded by Hammond shortly thereafter. However, the question that has dominated the Bucks fan base the past two decades is exactly how responsible is the team’s general manager for the overall record and talent base of the team at any given moment?

Herb Kohl, Milwaukee Bucks, Save Our BucksSenator Herb Kohl has a long-standing reputation as a “hands-on” owner, similar to the NFL’s Jerry Jones and Al Davis, MLB’s George Steinbrenner, and the NBA’s Mark Cuban.  While their respective franchises have had varying degrees of success, the fingerprints of their involvement in the management of their teams are obvious, often to the point of detriment.  This article will explore how Senator Kohl’s reputation for this first came about, illustrate some of the historical instances of “meddling” and finally discuss how Kohl, much like his college roommate Bud Selig, has an opportunity for civic immortality if he is able to successfully navigate the Bucks to a long-term future in Milwaukee.
Continue reading

Milwaukee Bucks arena issues

Milwaukee Bucks Task Force Meeting & Post Meeting Viewing Party

Next week Tuesday March 11 the Cultural & Entertainment Task Force is holding the 2nd Public Listening Session this time downtown at the Boys & Girls Club on 6th Street at 6pm to 7:30pm.

SaveOurBucks.com ‘s own Paul Henning will be attending, we’d love you to join him to voice or just show your support for a new arena project (or entertainment complex as they are calling it now).  That same night the Bucks take on the Twolves on the road at 7pm. After the meeting there’ll be a viewing party at The Loaded Slate to watch the game. Paul has reserved the back room which has a projection screen, there will be food & drink available for purchase.  Paul will also have a limited number of FREE SOB t-shirts while they last.

Continue reading

The Trade Deadline – Our Thoughts

Ramon Sessions, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, Save Our Bucks

Ramon looking pleased during his first stint as a Buck; wearing #7, before Ersan wore #7, but after Ersan wore #19. Now Ramon wears #13, after Luke Ridnour had been #13 for the Bucks, twice. Confused?

Immediately after last week’s trade deadline we sent out a couple tweets regarding the Bucks trade of Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour to Charlotte for Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien. On the surface, it was a good deal. The team dealt two players that didn’t fit, for two players that might fit better, and in the process saved $3.5 million in contract liabilities.  Additionally, neither Sessions nor Adrien have guaranteed contracts for next season, so it may open up another roster spot for a new rookie moving forward.

Had this trade been made by a brand new Bucks front office we probably would have applauded it as a nice minor move, and not had much further to say. However when you put the trade into a larger multi-year context, we were struck by how the trade fit a revolving-door pattern that has been going on with the Bucks front office for many years now.

Giving an opinion on Twitter, while using only 140 characters, can be a challenging task, and a few of you let us know that you didn’t think this was our best work. The issue with our tweets was that we didn’t do a good job of laying the foundation for our thoughts on the trade as part of a larger, overall dysfunctional pattern of player asset management.

In today’s Part I we’ll look at how the Bucks roster under John Hammond has been a high-speed, revolving door of players who never seem to work out. In next week’s Part II, we will examine how much autonomy John Hammond or any Bucks General Manager has under the front office structure employed by Senator Kohl.

Continue reading

Kelly Dwyer does it again, talking Bucks FO disasters and #SaveOurBucks

Milwaukee Bucks, Larry Sanders, Save Our Bucks, yahoo!

Getty Images

Another great piece from @KDonhoops over at yahoo! sports, this time focusing on something we’ve talked about quite a bit, the Milwaukee Bucks falling backwards into this disastrous season and calling it a strategy.   Continue reading

Bill Michaels Interviews Save Our Bucks Paul Henning

Bill Michaels, Save Our Bucks, Milwaukee BucksPaul Henning had a great interview with Bill Michaels recently, listen here.

From the draft, to Herb Kohl and his advisors, to George Karl, lots of great stuff in here.

Accelerated Tanking – A David Stern Legacy (Part II – Predictions and Fixes)

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Save Our BucksWe hope you enjoyed Part I of Accelerated Tanking – A David Stern Legacy.  In Part II we will examine the flaws with the draft lottery, and suggest some improvements. The 2013-14 season has been dominated with talk of “tanking”.  We believe that come June there will be pressure from some quarters to scrap or modify the current lottery system, having a new commissioner onboard may conceivably allow that to happen.  Is there an event in the near future that will lead to reform? The tipping point may occur on May 20, 2014 in New York City at the ABC/Disney Times Square Studio: Continue reading

Accelerated Tanking – A David Stern Legacy (Part I)

david.stern.1985We thought we’d use the retirement of David Stern to examine one of his legacies, the NBA draft lottery. The lottery was created by Stern thirty years ago as a response to the Houston Rockets engaging in “tanking,” in an effort to obtain the #1 overall draft pick. In Part I of this article, we are going to address why the lottery was created, why “tanking” isn’t a dirty word, and how smart franchises use the draft lottery to their advantage.  Part II will examine some of the tanking controversies created this season, and offer suggestions on how to correct them. (Editors note: We are going to put a number of terms in this article in quotes, due to them still being “controversial” depending on your perspective on the matter).

Continue reading

Kelly Dwyer on Larry Drew, the Milwaukee Bucks and #SaveOurBucks

Milwaukee Bucks, Larry Drew

Photo : NBA

Kelly Dwyer has written another solid piece on the Milwaukee Bucks in his regular Ball Don’t Lie column over at yahoo! Sports.  This one isn’t directly about saveourbucks.com but covers many topics that SOB is all about – including Larry Drew’s role and frustration levels with his team, GM John Hammond’s failings, and the general failure and impatience of the Milwaukee Bucks front office that has led to the catastrophic current Bucks outfit. Continue reading

Who is the Bucks “Bob McGinn”?

Most of you are familiar with Bob McGinn, the widely read Packers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MJS).  Whether you agree or disagree with his opinions and conclusions, he’s known locally and nationally for excellent coverage of the team.

Due to his skill, he’s highly compensated. A few years ago, Milwaukee Magazine ran a blurb about some dissension in the MJS newsroom over a supposed salary that broke the “six-figure” mark, and had many other reporters at the paper somewhat envious. He earns his money though, as he’s a dogged reporter who loves his assignment, and is always setting the agenda for coverage of the team.

We thought of McGinn as we read Charles Gardner’s recent interview with John Hammond. We’ve talked at length about the lack of critical coverage of the Milwaukee Bucks, and some of the reasons for it.  We’re going to use Gardner’s recent interview as guidebook for how he, and other journalists, might be able to cover the Bucks in a manner that would be more productive and interesting for the reader, ala how McGinn covers the Packers.  With that as a backdrop, let’s discuss the interview with Hammond, and how it might have been improved upon. Continue reading

Bradley Center, BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee Bucks

Which comes first? Ticket Sales or the Product?

SaveOurBucks.com celebrates two-months in existence today, and with that milestone we want to address the topic of ticket sales and home-game attendance.

A few folks have asked why SaveOurBucks.com is not aggressively advocating that people buy tickets to Bucks games. Some who pose that question, do so from the standpoint of believing ticket sales to be the best way to keep the team in Milwaukee. Another small subset of fans, who are not comfortable with the “tough love” approach of this website ask:

“The Bucks are playing the young guys like you asked for.  Why aren’t you (and others) packing the Bradley Center now?

Let’s hit these issues head-on in a comprehensive discussion of ticket sales and our Milwaukee Bucks. Continue reading