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Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Quote:
Sources: Bucks lure Hammond away from Dumars' side to be new GM
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Updated: April 11, 2008, 12:17 PM ET
Various teams have tried in recent years, but it's the Milwaukee Bucks who have managed to lure John Hammond away from the Detroit Pistons to be their new general manager, according to NBA front-office sources.
Hammond's first task in Milwaukee, according to sources, will be hiring a veteran coach. Sources told ESPN.com last month that Larry Krystkowiak's dismissal at season's end was considered a certainty no matter who succeeded GM Larry Harris because of owner Herb Kohl's desire for more experience on the bench.
Sources told ESPN.com on Friday that Hammond, pursued in recent years by Portland, Toronto and others after a long and successful run as Joe Dumars' top aide in Detroit, has accepted the Bucks' offer and will be officially introduced as Larry Harris' replacement as early as Monday.
The Bucks and Harris parted company on March 19 after Harris, with his contract expiring in June, initiated a series of meetings aimed at either securing an extension or bringing a halt to the growing uncertainty surrounding his lame-duck status before the end of the regular season.
Milwaukee did show interest in new Knicks president Donnie Walsh as well as TNT analyst Doug Collins. Yet the Bucks knew landing either of them to replace Harris was a long shot given New York's desperation to hire the longtime Indiana Pacers executive and Walsh's strong urge to take over his hometown team, as well as Collins' reluctance to leave the TV arena.
Hammond also initially resisted the Bucks' overtures but eventually decided that this was the right time to leap after working in the Pistons' front office since the 2001-02 season, operating closely with Dumars in the construction of a roster that has delivered seven consecutive 50-win seasons and five straight trips to the Eastern Conference finals, highlighted by Detroit's run to the championship in 2004. Hammond has also been an assistant coach in Detroit and previously worked on the bench and in the front office with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Hammond's first task in Milwaukee, according to sources, will be hiring a veteran coach to help the Bucks make a firm assessment of their talent after a group expected to compete for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference woefully underachieved in Larry Krystkowiak's first full season on the bench. The Bucks awoke Friday with a record of 26-52, placing them a lowly 13th in the East. Sources told ESPN.com last month that Krystkowiak's dismissal at season's end was considered a certainty no matter who succeeded Harris because of owner Herb Kohl's desire for more experience on the bench.
In addition to Walsh and Collins, other candidates Milwaukee considered include Phoenix Suns vice president of basketball operations David Griffin, two veteran GMs in Rick Sund and Billy King, Washington Wizards executive Tommy Sheppard and the two top aides to R.C. Buford in San Antonio: Dennis Lindsey and Dell Demps.
Although the Pistons were reluctant to lose Hammond to a division rival, Dumars still has a strong staff that includes director of basketball operations Tony Ronzone and director of basketball administration Jeff Weltman.
Wow, I'm surprised he took the job. He's walking into one tough situation, but he's earned the opportunity to get a chance. I suppose he's definitely a better option than Bill Simmons. It will be interesting to see what he does this offseason, I imagine he's going to try and resign Bogut long-term, and I wouldn't be shocked if they try and unload Mo Williams or Michael Redd...
Not to mention, Krystkowiak will almost surely be fired, so he will also need a coach. Larry Brown seems like a fit all of a sudden.
Still, I don't see the Bucks being competitive next year...
Joe Dumars Front Office Management Tree
/ \
John Hammond Steve Perry
Ronzone almost joined Houston's front office this past offseason as well...
I will miss hearing him on the 1130 rock financial pistons pre-game show with rob otto or matt dery
This is a great hire for the Bucks, IMO.
I think he's got a lot of pieces in place already, he'll just Pistonize them and they'll be much improved.
Speaking of that, will he try to pillage the Pistons?
Since Kohl wants an experienced head coach, I suppose you won't see Michael Curry or Lindsey heading there, but what if he throws a bunch of $ at Arnie Kander?
I don't know about anyone else but Arnie Kander won't go. Remember GHill offering some good dough to go to Florida and he turned Hill down.
I think I was more pissed at Hill for that move than dissing JoeD.
And yet Orlando still blames the Pistons organization for ruining Hill.
fixed.Quote:
Originally Posted by MoTown
i hate to see him go. especially to a situation like THAT. lol
oh well. anybody else think that lindsey will be groomed to be joe's new right hand man.....? don't know if lindsey has it in him but they keep talking about how he wants to get into a front office position when he retires, not coaching.
hammond was one bright, valuable guy. hopefuly we can find someone to replace him. i'm drawing up my resume ASAP. :o
I doubt Hammond will try and "poach" a guy like Kander. Hammond's still one of Dumar's BFF's and I doubt he'd want to light a match under those bridges...
I don't know if Hammond is walking into a good situation Glenn, I think that rosters a mess, alot of bad contracts (Mo Williams, Michael Redd, Dan Gadzuric) and a couple guys who you have to make some big decisions on about giving them bad contracts (Bogut, Villanueva)
Highwarrior, maybe somone gets promoted to Hammond's role and Hunter moves into their old position.
Does anyone wonder if this gives insight into what he thinks of the future of the Pistons organization? Maybe he doesn't want to be around for a big rebuild.
Ok, Kander has been discussed, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if one of these other guys you mentioned are ex employees after the season ends.Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenn
Hammond will hire Rick Carlisle. It's too good a fit not to happen.
I think that may actually be a good hire for him. He's great at taking mediocre teams and working them up. He just wears out his welcome after a while.
Kander will get paid what he's worth. It's not as if he can get a better position with another NBA team.
Money being equal, he'll stay here. There's no reason for him to leave an organization he's clearly happy and familiar with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kstat
97.1 already confirmed it
Nah, that wouldn't bother him. If anything that kind of thing would give him purpose. A coach or player may bail, but those processes are what GMs live for.Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Mxy
No...he'd rather go to a team that's ALREADY in for a big rebuild....Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Mxy
God forbid the guy just might be wanting to run his own franchise. Nope, it must be a sign of impending doom.
Because when your assistants get big promotions with other teams, it's always a sign that your organization doesn't have its shit together.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Mxy
I doubt thats the case. My guess is he's just been waiting for the right opportunity.
Maybe Hammond going to Milwaukee will help us unload our #29 pick for their 2nd rounder or something...
Thus we won't have to guarantee Draft Pick #29 a paycheck...
Or maybe a Michael Redd for Rip Hamilton swap...you have to think we'll have some trade connections with him (a la Randy Smith and the Astros/Rangers/Padres pipeline)
That would be the equivalent of us dealing Alex Acker for Ramone Sessions and calling it a pipeline.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wil Ledezma
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kstat
Ramon Sessions is a pretty damn good defender.
Do we still own Alex Acker's rights btw???
Yes we do.
my guess was hammond just went from making ~100k to making 1 M. thats incentive for anyone.
i also cant see anyone rebuild on its way. we should have a pretty easy transition from the old guard to new. i think that was what this year really was about, anyway.
kind of makes that last report about hte pistons cockblocking hammond confusing. maybe jh simply changed his mind. anyway, ill be watching the bucks team with interest, for once. i dont think theyre as far away from being decent as some do. they have some good pieces. not a ton, but i think its more a bad fit than a bad talent deal there.
ill also be interested to see if carlisle is the man. would SEEM to make sense. but then again, carlisle probably never viewed hammond as a boss or an equal. dont want to hire anyone that questions your athority. hammond wouldnt want to hire "prick" (not my words) carlisle just to be undermined. if wooden gets axed, that would make some sense.
This obviously makes the Bucks the 08-09 preseason favorite to win the East and face the Blazers in the Finals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Douche Baggins
How boring would that Finals matchup be??
At least Buckeyes fans would enjoy it (Redd Vs. Oden)
Extremely.
I'd rather watch Cleveland-SA again...ugh.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Douche Baggins
I'm not gonna lie, even though I love watching NBA more than anyother sport, I didn't watch a full quarter of the SA/CLE Finals series.
BRUTAL!
I don't even think the Cavs had a lead in the 2nd half of any of the 4 games.
I believe they had the lead in the 4th quarter of game 4, but I'm not sure (couldn't really care less either).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Douche Baggins
http://www.cortlandstandard.net/imag...122007_002.jpg
^^I remember they put that up after Game 2 of the Finals, only to have to take it down 3 days later after they were eliminated....
So much for getting your hometown fans in the spirit...
Cleveland = city of losers
Great, now I want us to be the ones to knock them out...
My post had more to do with memories of the dismantling of the Bad Boys in the early 90s. We turned an elite franchise into shit for a decade because everyone in the front office let their assholes hang out. People were set up to be the "fall guy", and things were toxic. A few years down, we'll be cycling old for new, both player-wise and owner-wise. Some random Davidson family member or Tom Wilson will be in overall charge.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kstat
Hammond could've been GM anytime that he wanted to, so I think about the timing, that's all.
Milwaukee with a real GM and coach could be scary.
A lesson they clearly have learned from.Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Mxy
Except that's your personal bias talking without reason.Quote:
A few years down, we'll be cycling old for new, both player-wise and owner-wise. Some random Davidson family member or Tom Wilson will be in overall charge.
Smart business people do not become smart by making stupid decisions.
Ownership may change hands, but the person at the top will not bite the hand that feeds. They know what makes them money, and what keeps the wheels turning.
Milwaukee gave Hammond total control, that's all. There's nothing wrong with Hammond looking for a promotion right for him.Quote:
Hammond could've been GM anytime that he wanted to, so I think about the timing, that's all.
Quote:
(insert struggling franchise here) with a real GM and coach could be scary.
It's not clear they've learned anything until we're at the same crossroads again. We're not there yet. Tom Wilson's still around more than I'd care for. No one seems to know who Davidson's successor is, and new owners can do fucked up things (e.g. Atlanta, New Jersey in the beginning, Seattle, etc.)
Whoever ends up being his successor, I hope they let us go over the luxury tax a bit...
No reason we can't be a top 15 payroll team, especially since we fill the NBA's largest arena each game...
no?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wil Ledezma
BILL DAVIDSON DOESN'T OWE YOU ANYTHING
HE BOUGHT A TEAM PLANE!!
Also, don't worry about losing Hammond, guys.
I'm sure that Zeke will do a fine job here working with his old backcourt mate again.
Going over the cap is great... if you're doing it to obtain/keep that star player or key piece. Looking back over the last few years though, who is that guy... the one detroit could've gotten or the one that left town because the pistons wouldn't go over the cap?Quote:
Originally Posted by Wil Ledezma
To qualify as that guy though it has to be someone so good and such a sure thing that he's worth giving up most of your financial flexibility.
So you're saying Rodney Stuckey?