As the Bucks continue to make more headlines off the court than on, they find themselves in the curious position of being less organized than their co-Milwaukeean Brewers. That says a lot for Ulice Payne, Doug Melvin and Ned Yost, but not much about ... um, who exactly?
Ernie Grunfeld is apparently now working for the Washington Wizards. Michael Jordan used to before he became so very interested in the Bucks, but suddenly Herb Kohl isn't interested in his cash anymore. George Karl is still the coach for another year, but will he be around if the senator finds a qualified buyer who promises to keep the team in town? And if so, will we still recognize any of the players?
After missing the playoffs in 2002 and lasting for only six games this year, it's anyone's guess how, when or where the team currently known as the Milwaukee Bucks will make another postseason appearance. And you thought the big question this offseason was the status of Gary Payton.
Starting with the opening of free agency on Tuesday (signings cannot occur until July 16), of course, it is. But The Glove's 2003-04 address has been relegated to backburner status in the last few weeks. With the trade of Sam Cassell (and Ervin Johnson) to Minnesota on Friday, Payton has nary a Big Three member to play with anymore, unless he ends up signing with the T-Wolves, apparently one of his preferred options.
Payton may be the focus, but he's also merely the beginning. Joe Smith has now been acquired to play power forward, allowing Tim Thomas to focus exclusively on small forward, his natural fit. Thomas would surely qualify as trade bait, too, if it wasn't abundantly clear that no team on earth is willing to take on his contract.
Anthony Peeler, also acquired in the Cassell deal, will be cut, leaving Michael Redd and Desmond Mason to split time at two-guard.
If Payton stays, he'll run the point in front of rookie T.J. Ford, who slid to the Bucks at No. 8 in last Thursday's draft. In keeping with tradition, there is no center. But second-year players Marcus Haislip and Dan Gadzuric will get to play one on TV -- where fewer games will appear now that Jordan's ownership bid has been canceled.
So what -- as they say in corporate board rooms -- is the net net?
Karl, to the degree which he's had input in the process, continues to make over the team in the image he prefers -- an athletic, running group that doesn't rely solely on jump shots. If Payton stays, the defense will presumably improve, especially if Gadzuric and Haislip get stronger in the offseason.
But these are no longer the high-scoring, freewheeling Bucks of two years -- and, yes, it seems like much longer -- ago. Cassell may have pouted and failed to fully abide by the team concept, but he made key jumpers amidst all the frowning. Redd was not able to do the same in his first playoff series against New Jersey.
More than ever, the Bucks seem to be pinning their offensive hopes on Thomas, who not only hasn't developed as hoped, but gets along with Karl like Donald Rumsfeld does the press corps.
Where will Cassell's 19.7 points per night be generated? The answer isn't Redd and Mason, who themselves are trying to replicate Ray Allen's former production. There may be some abundance there, but unless it's combined with Thomas scoring in the low 20s, the Bucks will be less effective offensively. And we all know how effective they are defensively.
That leaves two options; the first is to simply get better at defending and rebounding. Karl, no doubt, feels this will be a natural outgrowth of the Smith addition, re-signing Payton, and the emergence of Gadzuric and Haislip. The second option is to sign another free agent.
Financial considerations were the main motivating factors in purging Allen and Cassell over the last four months. The Bucks are now under the luxury tax threshold, and if Payton doesn't return, they'll be in a better position in relation to the overall free agent market.
But what free agents could the Bucks sign? Jason Kidd isn't coming to Milwaukee. Neither are Gilbert Arenas, Jermaine O'Neal nor Elton Brand.
If the Bucks do dip a toe into the market, they'll likely go big. Payers like P.J. Brown, Keon Clark, Juwan Howard and Kenny Thomas could probably be had for the $4.9 million midlevel exception. None is a marked improvement over Anthony Mason and Jason Caffey, neither of whom is expected to be back.
We return, then, to Karl and the dearly departed Grunfeld's February formula: shed salary and somehow re-sign Payton. It's actually starting to look possible. The Bucks have more money to offer him, and Western Conference teams like Minnesota and the Lakers have only the exception. A sign-and-trade is possible, but do the Wolves want Payton now that they have Cassell? And do the Lakers really feel Payton offers them something that a healthy Shaquille O'Neal (and possibly Arenas) does not?
With Cassell gone and Thomas placated at three, Payton may now assume the role of Disgruntled Buck. Either he gets the money to play somewhere he doesn't want to be, or he takes a hefty pay cut to move somewhere that better suits him. Either way, he's not fully happy.
In other words, he fits right in.
Sports shots columnist Tim Gutowski was born in a hospital in West Allis and his sporting heart never really left. He grew up in a tiny town 30 miles west of the city named Genesee and was in attendance at County Stadium the day the Brewers clinched the 1981 second-half AL East crown. I bet you can't say that.
Though Tim moved away from Wisconsin (to Iowa and eventually the suburbs of Chicago) as a 10-year-old, he eventually found his way back to Milwaukee. He remembers fondly the pre-Web days of listenting to static-filled Brewers games on AM 620 and crying after repeated Bears' victories over the Packers.
