Mayo and/or Crowder?

[MUBasketball]

Sell them and let Milwaukee be Marquette's town basketball wise... They can own the city like Louisville does.

That would be nice, but it wouldn't make a difference. Marquette fans are coming to games regardless. Casual fans will come if there is an intriguing team coming to town. There might be some college & NBA fans that go to Bucks games, but I'd bet a majority that go prefer the NBA. If there are no Bucks, they probably just stop attending basketball games.

Besides, the other difference is there is nothing else going on in Kentucky - so Louisville & Kentucky are hot tickets. In Milwaukee, by the time people finally give up on their death grips on the Packers/NFL, they then cling to the Brewers and spring training. There is more talk on local sports radio this time of year on pitchers & catchers reporting than on college hoops. Infuriates me, but that's the reality.

[Gato78]

The Senator seemed to be doing things right until George Karl convinced him he needed to get rid of a perfectly happy Ray Allen so he could acquire a washed up-disinterested-at the very end of his career, Gary Payton. I really think that decision is still affecting this franchise from both a basketball perspective and, more importantly, a fan perspective. Milwaukee fans loved Ray Allen and that team.

[TheSultan]

But that Bucks team wasn't going anywhere. They were about .500 when they made that trade...coming off a year where they finished at .500. Remember that they also got Desmond Mason in that trade - who was a decent player. And Michael Redd was improving. I see what they were trying to do there...

[Markedman]

Agree with Gato...that trade was the start of the decline. Ray was still in his prime....he liked Milwaukee...if they felt like they had to make room for Redd then they should have traded him for a 4 or 5 man or a high lottery pick.

Doing nothing would have been much better then trading Ray for a half a season of a washed up Payton and Desmond Mason who was basically a role player who couldn't shoot.

[IWB]

The one thing I have issue with is the overall thought that it is all Herb Kohl's fault. Yes, he is the owner, so it all falls on him. But, when everyone says he meddles, I do not believe that to be the case. As pointed out above, it was George Karl that pushed for the Allen-Payton trade. Kohl let him do that. Kohl let Larry Harris sign some of the worst contracts in franchise history. John Hammond came in and couldn't even make a move for the first two years because of the contracts Larry Harris signed. If he was really meddling, would Harris have been able to do that? I had lunch a couple of years back with John Hammond, and I asked that question. He responded, "Well, I do have to go to him with every move I want to make and every contract I want to sign and get his approval. And with that, he has never denied one of my requests, so I would say no."

So when people say he meddles too much, what do they mean specifically?

The guy is willing to spend the cash, as proven by the fact that he strokes a check at the end of every season to ensure that the franchise breaks even. If he was not willing to spend the cash, he would just make some cuts and not extend any contracts.

I think the comments above about the Milwaukee market are spot on. Yes, San Antonio and OKC do well. Well, is it 10 degrees and windy all season in those two cities? There are some players that want to play here, there are more that don't. There is one player on the team right now that is making more than he is worth and says he can't wait to get out of Milwaukee - and its not Jennings.

To me the biggest problem with the NBA is that years ago they let the contracts go through the roof and with that the ticket prices did too. Well, that drove out the majority of the hard core, blue collar fans. Yes, you can get deals on tickets all the time, but how much? If it costs a family of four $150 to sit in the nosebleeds, do you think they are coming?

Milwaukee needs the Bucks. Marquette needs the Bucks. There are so many amenities that MU gets because they play in an NBA facility that you can't begin to count them. How many recruits say that they like Marquette adding that they play in an NBA facility? Answer - A LOT!!

Kohl should have sold the team years ago, but he loves Milwaukee and wants the guarantee that they will stay - no takers.

Hate him if you want, but without Herb Kohl, Milwaukee is not an NBA city.

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

I would fully support a suck for rebuilding program. Lets face it right now they draw few fans so they aren't likely to get a whole heck of a lot worse. I think they should dump Jennings, dump Ellis, and maybe go after a few local guys or guys with ties to the city like Crowder, Novak, Or Matthews and bring them home to draw some fans. Those guys are all hardworking team players with the right attitude, that's what you need in MKE. You use those guys while accumulating draft picks and see what you can build.

[TheSultan]

I would fully support a suck for rebuilding program. Lets face it right now they draw few fans so they aren't likely to get a whole heck of a lot worse. I think they should dump Jennings, dump Ellis, and maybe go after a few local guys or guys with ties to the city like Crowder, Novak, Or Matthews and bring them home to draw some fans. Those guys are all hardworking team players with the right attitude, that's what you need in MKE. You use those guys while accumulating draft picks and see what you can build.

I'm sorry but no. You need stellar basketball players and a winning team. Milwaukee embraces people from elsewhere all of the time...Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Braun, etc. Getting local guys in part because they are local is what gets you Terry Porter as a head coach. It may sell a few tickets early on, but unless it is part of a long-term rebuilding program, it doesn't make sense.

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

That's my point Sultan, you bring those guys in while you are rebuilding and in your losing mode.

[IWB]

Players don't mind playing in Green Bay because they win. True. But the Packers also have a mystique about them especially in regards to the cold. However, they come in during the spring, summer and fall, and are only in Wisconsin for about a month of the cold.

The NBA players are pretty much only in Wisconsin when it is cold and crappy. I had a talk with a coach a while back about the fact that free agents don't want to play in Milwaukee. I mentioned that the problem is that none of them are here over the summer when there is a lot to do and the city looks beautiful. That coach agreed, said the only time NBA players come into town are when they play the bucks and it is cold, gray and sleeting. He agreed it really throws their opinions about Milwaukee off.

[TheSultan]

That's my point Sultan, you bring those guys in while you are rebuilding and in your losing mode.

Well...maybe I'm just having trouble wrapping my head around the concept that we would bring in a bunch of players I like just so they can lose games.