Milwaukee Bucks: A New Era Begins

I've been lacking on my Bucks coverage over the past few weeks and for that, I apologize. Not to go all Tritschler on you but I was out of town visiting the parents two weeks ago and generally busy since then...so back off.

Alas, a new era of Milwaukee Bucks basketball has begun and the new blood has brought some marked excitement across Wisconsin.

New owners Wes Edens and Marc Lasry were officially approved by the NBA's Board of Governers this past Thursday and have seemingly taken the reigns from the shackles of Herb Kohl since then. Somewhat surprisingly, the new owners' haven't made any really drastic moves yet. I feel that many Bucks fans want a fire sale of the front office and coaching staff and for the organization to start completely anew.

Personally, I'm on the fence when it comes to the front office. I think GM John Hammond is decent to really good at drafting and assistant GM David Morway seems like more of the analytical type and could form a solid duo with Hammond when not under the control of a meddling owner.

As far as the coaching staff is concerned, I say dump them all. The play on the floor is generally a good barometer of how well the team is coached. How'd that turn out? The '13-'14 Bucks had the worst record in franchise history. Larry Drew was definitely part of the problem and is not part of the solution.

One thing the new owners have done properly was showcasing Edens' daughter, Mallory, at the draft lottery last night. She became the Internet's newest crush in a matter of minutes. Some might say Edens should be ashamed for taking advantage of his 18 year old daughter. In reality, it was a savvy business move to get the team some easy publicity.

Sites like SportsIllustrated and BroBible picked up on this and Mallory Edens was the second most talked about topic nationwide on Twitter last night.

The Internet’s Newest Crush is Mallory Edens, and She is Gorgeous -- http://t.co/5mT1olaTgs
— BroBible (@BroBible) May 21, 2014

Mallory Edens, daughter of Bucks owner, breaks Twitter during NBA draft lottery show http://t.co/zGVj8nUQTi (via @SI_ExtraMustard)
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 21, 2014

Here she is, Tappers:

Also, one Bucks fan put this cheesy song together which I thoroughly enjoyed:



Anyway, speaking of the Draft Lottery, Mallory's looks weren't even enough to get the Bucks the number one overall pick and instead, they'll have to settle for the number two overall pick as the #1 went to Cleveland (AGAIN!).

To use a cliche: I'm not upset the Bucks didn't get the number one pick, I'm just disappointed that Cleveland got it again and they won 18 more games than the Bucks this past season.

However, there was plenty to be happy about around the league regarding the lottery:

• Pinheads in Wisconsin can breath easy as the Lakers and Celtics didn't leapfrog the Bucks and take the one and two spots in the draft, due to preferential treatment. In fact, they didn't move up at all.
• The Detroit Pistons really got screwed on a trade technicality and went from a mid-lotto selection to having no first-rounder at all, meaning they won't get an injection of young talent into that wasteland of a starting five. They gave a $35 million contract to Stan Van Gundy and now have no lotto pick for him to choose.

The Bucks having the second pick isn't really the worst, all things considered. Granted, it really depends on who you want them to take and who the Cavs end up taking before the Bucks. ESPN's Chad Ford says they like Andrew Wiggins and also that they like Joel Embiid. I think they might also consider Jabari Parker at #1, given how antsy they are becoming to get back into the playoffs. 

I really want Wiggins so I'm hoping the Cavs take a chance on Embiid or go for the more sure-thing in Parker so he falls in our lap. I won't cry over getting any of the three or Aussie guard Dante Exum at #2.

I just think Wiggins can be plugged right into the Bucks' starting lineup at the shooting guard right away and can form a great defense-transition combo with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Many have said that Wiggins has the most upside but will be a bit of a project. I disagree. His defense is NBA ready and Bill Self didn't make the best use of the prodigy at Kansas. As I've said before, Giannis and Wiggins in the open court could be basketball porn.  

The draft is June 26 and there will be plenty of discussion and stories about what teams and potentially draftees are doing and not doing between now and then. Undoubtedly, the most sickening ones will be involving Kevin Love and where he thinks he wants to play and so forth. Love is arguably my favorite player but it will be unbearable after a few more weeks.

That's all for now, Tappers. Fear The Deer.

-Big Money