MVN - Most Valuable Network

Bucks happy Elton Brand opts out

Milwaukee Bucks players, management and fans should all be ecstatic over the news of Elton Brand opting out of his contract with the L.A. Clippers. Of course, it’s not for the reason you may think.

Elton Brand is a very good player and puts up great numbers as a power forward but he would be a bad fit with the Bucks. Michael Redd, Richard Jefferson and Andrew Bogut will be taking the majority of shots on the offensive end of the floor and that wouldn’t sit well with Brand.

No, the reason that everyone involved with the Bucks should be happy is a bit more complicated. Brand and the Miami Heat have a mutual interest. If Brand were to sign with the Heat, that would make Udonis Haslem expendable. Haslem is the sort of defensive-minded, rebounder that the Bucks have been lacking. Haslem is happy getting his points off of offensive rebounds and there will be plenty of opportunities for Haslem on the Bucks.

The Bucks have the perfect piece to send to Miami for Haslem as well, Mo Williams. Miami had interest in Williams when he was a free agent last off season.  Williams has literally shot his way out of Milwaukee. He and Michael Redd are not able to exist together in the same backcourt. Both want to be the ‘man’ and with Redd being signed to a max-out contract, it’s just not in the cards here for Mo. The trade would then allow Ramon Sessions to be the starting point guard and Charlie Bell would serve as his back-up.

A starting five of Session, Redd, Jefferson, Haslem and Bogut would be talented and versatile enough to compete with the upper-tier teams in the Eastern Conference. It would also give Bucks’ fans a reason to keep coming to the Bradley Center.

Changing a losing culture

When John Hammond was hired to replace Larry Harris as the Milwaukee Bucks General Manager many people didn’t think it was possible to turn around such a downtrodden franchise so quickly. After his first draft as GM, I’d say Hammond is well on his way to revitalizing a once proud franchise.

Hammond had gone on record and said the most pressing need for the Bucks was to get a small forward that was healthy and could play at both ends of the floor. He accomplished that goal by bringing in Richard Jefferson from the New Jersey Nets for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. The trade benefited the Bucks in several ways. First and most importantly, it gave the Bucks that small forward that Hammond’s was seeking. Jefferson averaged a career-high 22.6 points last season for the Nets. He played in all 82 games which is key since both Yi and Simmons missed significant time to injuries. Perhaps most importantly, Jefferson brings playoff experience to a team which is lacking that more than anything else. Jefferson has made the playoffs six times in his career, including two trips to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.

Some people might think that Hammond gave up too much to get Jefferson but when you analyze it a bit more, you realize it was in the best interest of the team to pull it off. Although Yi may turn out to be a superstar, he was not Hammond’s pick and he had no interest in Yi long-term. It was also doubtful that Yi would sign a contract with the team in a few years when he became a free agent. Trading Bobby Simmons was nothing more than a salary dump. He was a bad contract on a team filled with them. Along with Simmons, Dan Gadzuric, Mo Williams and to a degree Michael Redd had all bogged the Bucks down with outrageous contracts. Jefferson has 3 years and about 42 million left on his contract but this move shows that the Bucks are trying to compete in the Eastern Conference immediately and not waiting out bad contracts or for young players to mature.

There are still several more moves yet to be made and I will cover that over the summer. For now, it’s nice to see the team bringing in quality talent and trying to change the fortunes of the Bucks.

Why is the NBA afraid of China?

All-Star balloting has recently begun and there are four Bucks on the ballot. Yes, only four and one of them isn’t even a starter. Mo Williams, Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villanueva are on the ballot while Yi Jianlian is mysteriously missing.

It’s quite simple why Yi isn’t on the ballot. The NBA fears a circumstance similar to Yao Ming’s rookie year. Yao was voted as the All-Star starter over a dominant Shaquille O’Neal. This was due to online voting made available by the NBA.

The system is obviously flawed and needs to be changed. Every starter should be on the ballot; if not every player. At the very worst, each team should have a representative for each position similar to Major League Baseball.

David Stern has been pushing the international scene since 1992 and the original Dream Team. It is now a global sport that the rest of the world is on par with against the United States. I would love to see the All-Star format changed and have an international squad play a US team to change things up.

Yi will undoubtedly play in the Freshman-Sophomore game, but he should at least be given the opportunity to play in the big game. The NBA should be embracing its global appeal and not be trying to hide from it. Would it be fair if Yi was voted a starter? Obviously not from a statistical or talent point, but if that’s what the fans want to see, then they should be given that right.

I have no doubt that Yi has the talent to one day make an All-Star roster. He is just the latest in a long line of great international talent to come to the NBA. This was Stern’s vision so many years ago; it’s just shameful that he’s now turning a blind eye to that vision.

Only smiles after a Bucks win over the Mavs

So far this season I have gotten on just about every Bucks player. There will be none of that right now. Milwaukee won their biggest game of the season thus far with a 97-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night. Milwaukee stayed perfect at home and improved to 7-4 on the season. Any time the Bucks can be an elite team like the Mavs, I will get off my soap box and not criticize any of the players or coaches.

Michael Redd the Bucks in scoring with 27 on 7-11 shooting and also went 12-15 from the free throw line. Andrew Bogut had a big game scoring 16 while pulling down 14 rebounds. Mo Williams did what a good point guard does; get his teammates involved first and then scores second. Williams dished out 10 assists and scored 19.

It was a great display of what this team can accomplish playing solid team offense. In fact, the Bucks pulled out the win attempting only four shots from three-point range. I love watching the Bucks when they play this way. Beautiful, flowing offense that gets the whole team involved coupled with just enough defense to beat anyone in the league.

Milwaukee will host the 76ers on Tuesday night and look to keep their great play going. They have no beaten three very good teams in a row and need to avoid a let-down against a very bad Philadelphia team.