Those Zach Randolph rumors wouldn't go away, and with good reason.
The Milwaukee Bucks had serious discussions about acquiring the New York Knicks power forward before rejecting a proposed deal that would have brought Randolph and guard Fred Jones to Milwaukee in exchange for guard Charlie Bell, forward Bobby Simmons and center Dan Gadzuric, according to a league source.
The trade deadline passed at 2 p.m. (Milwaukee time) Thursday, with the Bucks staying quiet at the deadline for the third straight year.
Bucks general manager Larry Harris, per team policy, would not comment on any proposed trades.
If the Bucks had made the deal with the Knicks, Milwaukee would have assumed the remaining three years and $48 million or so on Randolph's contract. But it also would have acquired Jones' expiring deal while trading three long-term deals of its own.
St. Francis - There will be no cavalry riding to the rescue of the Milwaukee Bucks.
For the time being anyway, the team will not be blown up nor will it even be tweaked.
The National Basketball Association's trading deadline came and went Thursday as the Bucks went about their business of preparing for their rematch with the Detroit Pistons tonight at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Since the Bucks didn't make any trades - and there was undoubtedly a player or two hoping to explore greener pastures elsewhere - the team's players and coaches are faced with the stark reality that the Internet rumors proved to be unfounded and that this is the group that will close out the rest of the season together.
There was a sentiment that that just might not be a bad thing for a team that has searched all season for some consistency and an identity. That's kind of the way coach Larry Krystkowiak has been approaching the whole trade deadline thing all along.
"I made the assumption that there would be no changes," he said. "From a coaching and a tactical point of view it's almost easier. You don't have to indoctrinate anybody new and go through a process that way. We're really familiar with what these guys are doing and I think they're getting more comfortable with what we're doing, too.
"There's two sides to everything. People say we want them to change and the other side, from my perspective, is that it is what it is. We're going to keep working and see if we can't make it work."
It has been apparent for some time now that Larry Harris isn't coming back. The Milwaukee Bucks' general manager has made mistakes and, bottom line, the team hasn't had a winning record and is a ghastly 64 games below .500 during his four-plus seasons. He had his shot.
But to pin everything on Harris would be wrong. In fact, what happened - or, more accurately, didn't happen - Thursday as the NBA trading deadline expired was symptomatic of the franchise's ongoing problems.
If Harris had a chance to trade Bobby Simmons and Dan Gadzuric - two of his more notable missteps - and was blocked by Herb Kohl as reported in New York, it says a lot about the continued mismanagement of an organization paralyzed by ownership intervention.
It says Kohl is waiting to let the next GM sort out the roster mess in the off-season. That's fine, but if Kohl doesn't give the next general manager the freedom and latitude that was sometimes denied Harris, nothing will change with a team that has only occasionally gotten it right on the senator's watch.
If Kohl did not trust his GM to make the trade with the New York Knicks, the senator never should have brought back Harris for the final year of his contract. In fact, no team should ever have a coach, manager or general manager in a lame-duck year. It causes too many distractions and reduces the chance that proper decisions will be made on behalf of the team. People get hung out to dry. It is no way to run an organization.
In Kohl's defense, I wouldn't want Zach Randolph on my team, either. But in this case, the non-trade gives the impression that Harris wasn't allowed to redeem himself by moving Simmons and Gadzuric. If also gives the continuing impression that the Bucks have too many people involved in personnel decisions, which reduces them to the level of the Los Angeles Clippers.
No trades - the day after in the JSOnlne
Linear Mode
