Bucks Association - Washington cruise to the 'W'

[Ipsofire]

Hey, this is my first attempt at an association story so any help in how I present it and such is welcome.

I simmed the 2007-2008 season just, so I am around the same time frame as real life. The story will start in the off-season with player re-signings the draft, coach signings and free agency.

I will post a recap of the 2007-2008 season in a bit.
I hope you all enjoy it.

Peace.

[Ipsofire]

nba.com/bucks



2007-2008 Recap:


Your 2007-2008 Milwaukee Bucks Starting 5: Career numbers

Mo Williams –11.3(ppg), 3(apg), 4.6(rpg)
Michael Redd – 20.1, 4.2, 2.1
Desmond Mason – 12.8, 4.5, 1.6
Charlie Villanueva – 12.6, 6.2, 1
Andrew Bogut – 10.7, 7.8, 2.6

6th Man: Yi Jianlian

Month by month:

November 07: 6-8
The season started well with 2 straight wins, but we then fell into a 4 game skid. The highlight of the month was beating the Dallas Mavericks 114-96.
December 07: 7-9
A tough month as we couldn’t string any good games together a 2 game winning streak was the highlight. We had some tough games facing the Celtics, Pistons, Nuggets and Bulls. We failed to win any of those games. All our wins this month came against team that finished under .500.
January 08: 9-8
The month started badly losing 5 of 6 games, but we picked ourselves up and went on a 5 game winning streak beating the Suns, Jazz, Hawks, Warriors and Hornets. We then finished the month 3-3.
February 08: 4-7
A really poor month for the team as they just weren’t on the same page at all, low point of the season came when we lost to the Grizzles who finished the season with a poor record of 28-54.
All Star Game: West 113 - East 115
Mo Williams was the only Buck invited to the ASG he finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Williams shoot the ball badly going 1-3, but finished perfect from the line going 8 for 8.
All Star MVP: Jermaine O'Neal 22 points and 10 rebounds
March 08: 6-8
Record wise it was a poor month, but the team played some good basketball. Michael Redd made the record a respectable with two game winning shots one against the Hawks and another 2 days later against the Orlando Magic. Some tough losses against the Heat and Bulls really knocked the team chemistry.
April 08: 2-8
A awful way to end the season, 2 losses to Indiana and 2 to Boston in the same week really killed us. Redd had his biggest point outburst of the season going for 40 against the Raptors in a win.

Overall Record: 34- 48

Notable Trades:

Orlando J. Nelson – Toronto J. Calderon
Seattle N. Collison – Phoenix R. Bell
Orlando J. Calderon – Charlotte E. Boykins
Chicago L. Hughes – Utah A. Kirilenko

End Of Season Awards:

Most Valuable Player: LeBron James
Rookie Of The Year: Michael Conley
6th Man: Zydruans Ilgauskas
Defensive Player Of The Year: Marcus Camby
Most Improved: Randy Foye
Coach Of The Year: Pat Riley

All NBA 1st Team: Kidd/Wade/LBJ/Garnett/Gasol
All NBA 2nd Team: CP3/Iverson/McGrady/Duncan/Ming
All NBA 3rd Team: Nash/Carter/Artest/Bosh/Howard
All Defensive 1st Team: Kidd/Wade/J. Smith/Bosh/Camby
All Defensive 2nd Team: CP3/B. Wells/Artest/Garnett/Howard
All Rookie 1st Team: Conley/J.C.N/Durant/Horford/Oden
All Rookie 2nd Team: Pruitt/N. Young/Brewer/Jianlian/Hawes

[Ipsofire]

NBA Playoffs:
Conference Quarter-finals:

West:
#1 Los Angles Lakers (4)(3) Los Angles Clippers #8
#4 San Antonio Spurs(3)(4) Houston Rockets #5
#3 Phoenix Suns (1)(4) Dallas Mavericks #6
#2 Utah Jazz (3)(4) New Orleans Hornets #7

East:
#1 Boston Celtics (4)(0) Cleveland Cavaliers #8
#4 Detroit Pistons (4)(3) Orlando Magic #5
#3 Chicago Bulls (4)(3) New York Knicks #6
#2 Miami Heat (4)(2) Atlanta Hawks #7

Conference Semi-finals:

West:
#1 Los Angles Lakers (2)(4) Houston Rockets #5
#6 Dallas Mavericks (4)(3) New Orleans Hornets #7

East:
#1 Boston Celtics (4)(3) Detroit Pistons #4
#2 Miami Heat (4)(3) Chicago Bulls #3

Conference Finals:

West:
#5 Houston Rockets (4)(2) Dallas Mavericks #6

East:
#1 Boston Celtics (2)(4) Miami Heat #2

NBA Finals
Houston Rockets (3)(4) Miami Heat
Finals MVP: Dwayne Wade 21.8ppg, 5.1rpg, 6.3rp

[Ipsofire]

Bucks Player Stats:

[table]Player Stats:
Player Points Per Game Rebounds Per Game Assists Per Game

Redd 25.1 2.6 1.4
Williams 16.4 5.1 7.2
Villanueva 10.2 5.6 0.8
Mason 9.6 4.1 0.8
Jianlian 9.1 4.0 0.6
Bogut 7.0 8.9 2.7
Bell 6.7 0.7 1.7[/table]


Thoughts On The Season:

This years record improved by 6 games, but once again we are no where near the playoffs. How much longer is owner Herb Kohl going to put up with poor results? The question everyone is thinking “Is this the team that will get us back to the playoffs?” Going into the off season you can expect changes, but when the start of the 2008-2009 comes around as long as Redd is still wearing the number 22 jersey the Bucks will have a chance.

[Cartar]

Nice start

[Ipsofire]

Nice start

Thanks alot!

Start of the off-season will be up later today.

[Mark.]

Nice start, any trades or shake up looming? What were Orlando thinking lol, getting Calderon for Jameer was a great move, but then trading him for Boykins is ludicris

[Ipsofire]

Nice start, any trades or shake up looming? What were Orlando thinking lol, getting Calderon for Jameer was a great move, but then trading him for Boykins is ludicris

Few trades shall be coming, nothing to major yet though

[Ipsofire]

nba.com/bucks






Coaching Change:



Kohl answering the reporters questions

Earlier today at a press conference held at The Bradley Center Bucks owner Herb Kohl announced the release of Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak and Assistant Coach Sean Jackson. Both contracts had expired and the Bucks organization chose not to re-sign them. “After a disappointing season we have decided not to resign Larry and assistant Sean. We feel that the players were not enjoying playing under Larry as he is a more defensive minded coach and we have players that like to run the floor.” Kohl said. Kohl went onto announce that taking over head coaching duties would be Gabriel Kennedy and his assistant is Kenny Barber, both have been signed to 6-year contracts. “Kennedy is a young coach with lots of ideas and an attack first mentality.” One reporter asked about the GM situation and Kohl told him “For now Hammond will remain as the General Manger of the Milwaukee Bucks, but I hope to see him be more aggressive in trades and with the draft. The fans deserve a team that can get back to the playoffs, every home game the fans were giving us 100%, where as the players were responding with mediocre performances”

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Sign and Release:

Going into the off-season the Bucks had 5 players with expiring contracts. The Bucks have decided to only re-sign 2 of them. They re-signed David Noel to a 1.09m/6-yeal deal and Royal Ivey to a 620k/-year deal. The remaining 3 Michael Ruffin, Jake Voskuhl and Awvee Storey have been released into free agency.

[Ipsofire]

1st Round Draft Order:

#1 Toronto
#2 Philadelphia
#3 Memphis
#4 Portland
#5 Minnesota
#6 Seattle
#7 Sacramento
#8 Milwaukee
#9 Golden State
#10 Indiana
#11 Denver
#12 Washington
#13 New Jersey
#14 Charlotte
#15 Los Angles Clippers
#16 Cleveland
#17 Atlanta
#18 New York
#19 Orlando
#20 Detroit
#21 New Orleans
#22 Chicago
#23 Dallas
#24 Houston
#25 San Antonio
#26 Phoenix
#27 Utah
#28 Miami
#29 Los Angles Lakers
#30 Boston

[Ipsofire]

Draft Day:

In Milwaukee’s draft room the GM Hammond and new coach Kennedy, they were both looking though numerous scouting reports.
“So if the other teams do what we think they are going to we will draft Small Forward Sheldon Kelly yes?” asked Hammond
“I would, Masons getting old and from the first week of me being here Bobby Simmons is lazy and he has a bad attitude towards the game.”
Hammond thought for a moment
“I agree, read the scouting reports out to me” Hammond replied.
“Urmmm NBA comparison Caron Butler, very good perimeter defender, can score in bunches and he is NBA ready. Weakness poor rebounder lacks the aggressiveness to go get the ball.”
“That’s good; we have Bogut cleaning the boards for us anyway”
Kennedy asked “What should we do if Kelly’s gone? What direction do you think we should go? Personally I am thinking another big man”
“If my memory serves me correct the only good big man in the draft are projected as top 5 picks?
“Correct”
“We would be very lucky if one of them fell to us, anyway which big man do you have you eye on?” Hammond asked
“Cam Richmond 6’11”, 262lbs from Pittsburgh many scouts are calling him the next Tim Duncan. He is a goof free throw shooter for a big man and he is a very good post player both on offence and defence.”
“Nice, very nice, if we end up drafting Cam what are we going to do about Villanueva and our first round pick last year Jianlian?”
“Personally I think Jianlian did a good job coming off the bench last year and I think Villanueva should be traded I have always thought he was an over-rated player”
Hammond was quite shocked at the response, but just nodded as he got the call the draft was about to begin.

Toronto surprised no one selecting SG T. Porter with the first pick he is the prospect with most talent and potential, he is an explosive scorer. The draft moved on and it was now time for Milwaukee’s selection.
In the draft room Hammond and Kennedy were just staring at each other they were in a situation they didn’t think they would end up being in both Kelly and Richmond were still on the board who to take?
“Richmond!” Kennedy said
“He is top 5 talent and he has fallen to 8th this would be a draft steal come on, he’s the next Tim Duncan he will give us points, rebounds and defence! He’s the one”
“I couldn’t agree more he is the man for us I am just thinking about what to do with Villanueva” Hammond said with a smile.
"With the eighth pick in the 2008 NBA draft, the Milwaukee Bucks select Power Forward Cam Richmond” David Stern announced the Bucks decision to the world.

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Draft Recap Top 10 Picks:

#1 T. Porter SG
#2 R. Huffman PF
#3 E. Cardinal SF
#4 G. Kemp PG
#5 J. Bradley C
#6 D. Torres SG
#7 L. Terrel SF
#8 C. Richmond
#9 D. Carnes C
#10 J. Townsend

[Ipsofire]

nba.com/bucks




BREAKING NEWS:
June 18th 10:33


Nba.com/bucks can exclusively announce that Villanueva has been traded away. Late last night Hammond agreed on a deal with Grizzles GM Chris Wallace that will send Charlie Villanueva to the Memphis Grizzles in return for PG Jarvis Crittenton. This trade makes room for newly drafted Cam Richmond to step into the PF battle with Yi Jianlian. Crittenton will be the back up point guard for Mo Williams. The Bucks ranked 29th overall in assists last year averaging a poor 17.4 a game Jarvis should help spread the ball to team mates off the bench. All Star Point Guard Williams had this to say “I am really looking forward to working with Crittenton at training camp and during pre-season he is a very exciting player and should be able to put up productive numbers off the bench”


Villanueva will now be playing basketball in Memphis. Crittenton the new backup PG in Milwaukee.

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June 18th 17:47

It’s been couple of days for Hammond who has now completed a second trade. The Bucks have traded Bobby Simmons and the 2nd round draft pick in the 2009 draft to the Charlotte Bobcats for Jared Dudley. Hammond had this to say “Dudley is a young SF, we have an ageing Desmond Mason as are starter bringing Dudley in now seems perfect he will get a couple years experience sharing playing time with Mason and he can blossom into our full time starter when Mason decides to call it quits” Simmons was a bright spot on the roster, but new coach Gabriel Kennedy was not impressed with his attitude towards the game of basketball and he also says that “he is lazy”. Keep your eyes and ears open as Hammond is beginning to develop a trade fetish.


Jared Dudley will play back up to Desmond Mason, Hammond is hoping he can develop into there future starter. Simmons was not a popular player with Bucks managemet

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June 20th 13:21

Hammond has done it again. Hammond is doing what Herb Kohl asked for, Kohl wanted Hammond to be more aggressive trading players and Hammond responded with two trades he can now add a third to that as he has traded Charlie Bell to the Washington Wizards for 3-point assassin DeShawn Stevenson. Stevenson will play a big role coming off the bench as Redd’s backup. The Bucks are looking for more points from the bench going into the season and they think that Stevenson’s 3 point ability can do that for them. Coach Kennedy says he is excited to have Stevenson on the team as he brings a lot of confidence and a play to win mentality.


Stevenson the newest Buck is going to bring his three point abilty to team that already boasts Michael Redd, DANGEROUS. Washington will be Bell's 9th team 7 years.

[Ipsofire]

I will post a recap of what happened in the pre-season later.

[Ipsofire]

I forgot to post this yesterday, its the players that were signed in free agency.



nba.com


Free Agent Signing:

There were some big names in free agency all have found new homes. Here we will give you a run down of the teams that singed them.

Miami Heat sign Corey Maggette, the champions improve there squad adding explosive scorer Maggete to there already dangerous roster.

The Sonics sign former All-Star center Jamal Magloire.

Utah Jazz release Deron Williams only to pick him up in free agency 5 days later.

Eddie Jones signs with the Sonics.

The Pistons improve there bench by adding Chris Duhon.

The Bobcats sign Delonte West.

The Spurs sign Ron Artest. Big 3? Make that 4!

Lakers sign veteran Juan Howard

New Jersey Nets sign Emeka Okafor! Why did you not resign him Bobcats? Do you not want to make the playoffs?

Steve Francis signs with the Dallas Mavericks

[Ipsofire]

any thoughts on it so far?

[Martti.]

I think you risked a lot in the first two trades. Giving up a lot for youth.
Stevenson's a great pick-up, so i think you won that deal.

But i see youth is what you're going for. Good rookie pick-up.

Miami's the powerhouse in the East now.

Can't wait for the regular season!

[Cartar]

This is interesting, Spurs and Heat got now amazing lineups. I like the second and third trade, but not first one

[Ipsofire]

nba.com/bucks




Coaches Blog: Pre-season

So, yesterday was our final pre-season match we lost that gave us a 2-6 record not good, but hey it is only pre-season.

We started pre-season against the Jazz, we lost quite badly 105-87, but Redd and Mo both put in big games Redd went for 32 and Mo had 14 points with 11 assists. If we had consistent play from the other starters we would be in the playoffs no questions asked.

Our next game against the Wizards was again another defeat. Washington’s “Big 3” combined for 87 points! Gilbert had 34, Jamison 31 with 14 rebounds and Butler had 22. We didn’t have a chance, but Redd had another nice game with 27 the rookie Richmond gave us 12 points 8 boards and 3 blocks he had a nice game.

We next faced Detroit and we came away with the surprise win 98-91. Redd was big again with 28 and Richmond had his best game of the pre-season with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. For Detroit Hamilton kept them in the game with 28 points, but our defence was solid in the final minutes.

After the game I had a call from Hammond, he simply told me that he has singed Theo Ratliff from free agency. I was happy with this, it would allow Andrew to rest in some game and Theo can also be a mentor for Andrew.

Hopefully we will see him do this in a Bucks uniform


Guess what, we got our second win of the pre-season. Against who I here you ask? The Los Angles Lakers, it was a battle it came down to the final possession Kobe had the ball pulled up for the three and misses! YES we won 99-97, I have to say I was shocked I didn’t think we could do it, but lead by Redd, again, who had 27 points. We were lucky we played LA on a night Bryant didn’t turn up he only scored 12 on 5-15 shooting.

LeBron James and his Cavaliers bought us back down to earth, they won 111-93. LBJ had 28 with 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Redd dropped 24 points, but only shoot 8-20 from the floor. Mo showed us why he is an All Star with an 18, 7, 6 performance. Apart from them no one else turned up for us.

We faced the Wizards for the second time; we lost for the second time this game was a shootout 117-115. For them Agent 0 dropped in 30 points handed out 7 assists and grabbed 7 boards, he also shoot 13-17 from the foul line. For us Redd had 36 shooting 6-8 from behind the arc, it’s a shame though that one of those two misses came when he went for the game winner. Off the bench Stevenson exploded for 17 in 11 minutes.

Different team same result. The Boston Celtics this time handed us another defeat. Ray Allen scored 42, Paul had 27 and KG had 19 and 13. We didn’t have a chance to come away with the win. Redd gave us 33 points, if it wasn’t for him we would have probably lost every game this pre season. Mo backed him with 14 points and 8 assists.

The final game of the pre-season saw us face-to-face with the Lakers again, different outcome though Bryant came and he played with 30 points, 11 assists and 5 boards. Redd gave his all again with 33, Mo had 13 and 9 and Bogut cleaned the glass for us with 14 boards, but it just want good enough losing 113-95.

See you for the season opener against the Bobcats!

[Skills]

Aha that's the same Ratliff pic I used for my dynasty.
You're off to a good start! It's just you got ripped off dealing away Villanueva.
The Spurs' lineup is just mind blowing right now.
Anyway, good luck with this.

[kibaxx7]

Wow West Finals... seeds #5 and #6... nice to see Miami champions again... Is Shaq still over there? Shaq-Haslem-Marion-Maggette-Wade, I love it.

[Martti.]

Wow West Finals... seeds #5 and #6... nice to see Miami champions again... Is Shaq still over there? Shaq-Haslem-Marion-Maggette-Wade, I love it.

How can Shaq be there, if Marion's there?

[Ipsofire]

THE SEASON OPENER


Bucks 92
Bobcats 82

Milwaukee travel to Charlotte to face the Bobcats both teams first game of the season. The Bucks came out strong they played for the win and the Bobcats let them take it.

Charlotte did not play good basketball they didn’t have the lead once as the Bucks rolled to the first win of the 08-09 season.

Milwaukee were led by big man Andrew Bogut who finished the game with 22 points, 15 rebounds and a player of the game award. Redd backed him up with 20 and all star guard Williams had 10 points and 14 assists.

“We played very good defensive basketball” said Kennedy “We forced them in to committing 17 turnovers we only had 4. If we can produce numbers like that consistently we will be a team that will surprise people and make the playoffs.”

Rookie Cam Richmond who only played 18 minutes due to foul trouble finished with 5 points and 3 blocks. "Them refs would have probally called a foul if I had breathed too loudly. I dunno what game they were watching, but there wasnt alot of contact happening in the paint. They need to let us play fans are here to watch us play not the refs runining the game by sending people to the line every minute"

“My shot just was working tonight, 1-8 from 3 point is not what I want” said Redd. “But if Andrew can keep backing me up with numbers like that I can take a night off sometime you know what I mean”

As a team the Bucks shot a poor 5-23 from downtown.

The Bucks next game is away to the Washington Wizards if they want to come away with the win they will need to shoot the ball better as Agent 0 is likely to bring his A game.

[Ipsofire]

Wow West Finals... seeds #5 and #6... nice to see Miami champions again... Is Shaq still over there? Shaq-Haslem-Marion-Maggette-Wade, I love it.

There lineup is:
Wade-Davis-Marion-Haslem-Mourning

Maggette is the 6th man

[Dan's Brain]

Looks like you got yourself a pretty outspoken rookie there. Somewhat Joakim Noahesque

[kibaxx7]

How can Shaq be there, if Marion's there?

Hehe you're right! Well, I would move Marion to Power Forward and start Davis or Maggette at Small Forward