04-21-2008, 08:04 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 5,214
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Kohl didn't like Skiles as a player
Quote:
In early June 1987, Scott Skiles had completed an unremarkable rookie season with the Milwaukee Bucks and he was in limbo.
Plagued by a back injury that some speculated would end his National Basketball Association career before it really started, Skiles played in only 13 games, a total of 205 minutes.
Not a good start for a No. 22 pick overall.
Not a good start for a player who averaged 27.4 points a game as a senior at Michigan State, the second-highest average in NCAA Division I play that season.
On May 27, 1987, Don Nelson, the coach and general manager who had drafted Skiles, resigned to become part-owner of the Golden State Warriors.
Skiles was wondering about his future with the team.
"I know Herb's not too fond of the way I play," Skiles told The Milwaukee Journal, referring to Bucks owner HerbKohl. "I guess he's made that clear. From what I hear, from what people tell me who've read about it, he was not too happy with Nellie for drafting me. It seems that Nellie was the only one who wanted to draft me. Now he's gone, so I won't know where that leaves me."
Where that left Skiles was on the trading block.
He was dealt to the Indiana Pacers for a second-round pick on June 22, 1987.
On his way out of town, Nelson told the press that Kohl was displeased with the Bucks' drafts in 1984, '85 and '86. Kohl did not respond in public to Nelson's comment.
In those three years, the first players drafted by the Bucks were Kenny Fields (No. 21 overall), Jerry Reynolds (22) and Skiles (22).
The selection of Skiles at No. 22 was controversial.
When Nelson signed Skiles to a guaranteed three-year contract on Aug. 2, 1986, it was later cited as one of the reasons Nelson and Kohl parted company. Skiles' back problem was not something that came to light until after he was drafted.
"If Larry Bird was 6 feet tall, he just might be Scott Skiles," Nelson said on draft day.
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http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=741855
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Kohl didn't like Skiles as a player
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