The Milwaukee Bucks are up next.  Their GM is:

  Adam N. Kick

The Bucks select:

  Marcus Camby

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I.	Team Need/History:

I wish I would have saved my post from last year, because I think this one
will be pretty much the same.  Last year I was torn between a center and a
point guard.  I ended up picking a point guard, mostly because all the
centers I wanted had been taken.  Well, the Bucks picked a guard, too.
Unfortunately, it's not clear whether he is a point guard or a 2-guard,
since he didn't get a lot of playing time last year.  He has the height of
a point guard, but the skills of a shooting guard.  I'm going to treat him
like a 2-guard.  Given that, I don't think the Bucks have changed much since
last year.  If anything they have gotten worse.  (Douglas < Murdock;
Respert < Day; Benjamin < "fill in the blank")  They fell to being the
fourth worst team in the league this year.

As far as draft theory goes, when a team is as bad as the Bucks, you pretty
much have to take the best player available.  I would prefer to not take a
PF or SF, though, since those are solid positions for the Bucks.  I guess I
might take a PF if I thought he was definitely better than the other players
available, and just let Baker continue to play center.

	A.	Center:

Well, if Baker plays this position, the Bucks aren't so bad.  Lots of
teams would rather have Baker in the middle than their current center.
However, I think Vin is one of the top 5 PF's in basketball, so the Bucks
would rather play him there.

That leaves Benoit Benjamin, Kevin Duckworth, and Mike Peplowski.  I'm a
Sonic fan, so I know about Benoit Benjamin.  The guy sucks.  It's not that
he doesn't add anything to the team.  It's true, he doesn't add anything to
the team, but if that were the only problem with Benoit, it wouldn't be so
bad.  No, the problem with Benoit Benjamin is that he literally *subtracts*
from the team.  He sucks the life out of a team.  He is lazy.  He
takes bad shots.  He turns the ball over.  He is a poor rebounder.  He is
soft.  He has a bad attitude.  He makes too much money.  He doesn't really
do anything well.  The Bucks will never be a good team until they get rid
of Benoit.  Oh yeah, and Benoit wacked me with his broken arm after a Sonic
game once.  I may have made up the last part. I can't remember anymore.  BB
is a free agent, but I can't believe anyone is going to pay him to play
basketball any more, but you never can tell with NBA GM's.

Kevin Duckworth can set screens, and has an okay 15-foot jumper.  He was a
decent player when he used to get all his points running the pick and roll
with Terry Porter in Portland.  He is pretty much washed up, though.  I doubt
that the Bucks are counting on him making a contribution.  I think he is a
free agent unless the team exercises an option.

Now, Mike Peplowski . . . let's just say the Bucks could really use a center
and leave it at that.

(note:  the Bucks drafted Rashard Griffith in the second round last year.  He
 played in Europe this year.  I haven't heard anything about him playing for
 the Bucks next year, but if he does, then the Bucks will have a Benoit
 Benjamin clone to through out their occasionally.  Griffith might be a player
 some day, but he looks entirely too slow right now.)

	B.	Power Forward:

Vin Baker is a great player.  He is the anti-Benoit.  He does pretty much
everything well.  He is a terrific rebounder.  He can score.  He passes well.
He blocks shots.  What else do you want a PF to do?  He is the best player on
this team, and a deserved all-star.  While his stats were a little down this
year, I think that is because his team played so poorly.  Also, he was forced
to play a lot of center.

Baker's back-up is Terry Cummings.  A long-time Buck who was traded to the
Spurs for Alvin Robertson (I think), several years ago, he returned to the
Bucks this year.  He is old, but still occasionally effective.  Okay, not very
often, but he is a sentimental favorite.  He was the teams 6th leading scorer
at 8.0/gm and the 4th leading rebounder at 5.5/gm.  He's really getting up
there, though, so I don't think the Bucks can count on him for long.  He is a
free agent.

Marty Conlon also backs up this position.  He sure doesn't look like much, but
occasionally he comes up with some nice games.  I think a team would be happy
to have him as their 3rd power forward.

	C.	Small Forward:

This is the Bucks second strongest position.  A lot of people think Glen
Robinson has been a bust.  While he certianly hasn't been the type of player
Grant Hill and Jason Kidd have been for their teams, I hardly think it is fair
to call him a bust.  He doesn't shoot as well as people had hoped, nor does he
rebound or pass at a superior level.  But 6.2 rebounds per game is not at all
bad for a small forward that plays mostly on the perimeter, and 3.6 assists
is not so few considering who he has to pass to.  He managed to score over
20 points per game in only his second season.  The only reason anyone would
call the Big Dog a bust is because the expectations were so high.

The backup here is Johnny Newman:  decent scorer who can't do much else.  He
has the highest shooting percentage among the Buck forwards.  He can play
shooting guard, also.

Randolph Keys got a few minutes at SF.  He is not much of a player, and is a
free agent, anyway.

	D.	Shooting Guard:

Last year I was luke warm about Todd Day, but hoped he would get better.  He
got traded.  This year I am luke warm about Shawn Respert, but hope he will
get better.  In his defense, he did not get much playing time, and he did
manage to shoot a good percentage (.344) from 3-pt range.  On the other hand,
he is a 6-2 shooting guard.  If he could play point guard, I would be more
optimistic, but I don't have a whole lot of faith in him developing those kind
of skills any time soon.  I think he would make a decent 3rd guard if he gets
his shot going.  He was labeled a pure shooter coming out of college, and it
often takes players a while to get adjusted.  Look at Alan Houston for Detroit,
or George McCloud for Dallas.  (Okay, maybe McCloud is not so god an example,
since it took him about 6 years to get his shot back.)  Anyway, if Respert can
get about 15 shots a game coming off screens or spotting up, I think he will
be fine.  I don't think he can be effective trying to hit his pull-up jumper
against gus 4 inches taller than him, though.  I think the Bucks should run
plays for him, rather than expecting him to get his own shot.  He would be
ideally paired with a taller point guard.

I don't think the Bucks have a back-up here, except the formentioned Johnny
Newman.

	E.	Point Guard:

Last year I was talking about Eric Murdock being a better third guard.  Now
he is gone, but the Bucks still don't have a point guard.  Lee Mayberry hasn't
really come around yet, and is a free agent this year so may not even be with
the Bucks this season.  The Bucks did get Sherman Douglas from Boston in the
Todd Day trade.  Douglas is a step above Mayberry, but is not as good a player
as Murdock.  He tends to get out of control, and he doesn't have a very good
outside shot (although he did lead the Bucks in fg% at .501).  I also don't
think he is quick enough to cover other point guards.  He wouldn't be so bad
if all the other starting spots on the Bucks were solid, though.

Lee Mayberry is likely a career back-up.  He is a free agent this year.  The
Bucks have been hoping he would develop into their starting point guard.  I
don't think that is going to happen.  If they don't draft or sign another PG,
they will likely try to resign Mayberry.  Although he doesn't shoot or
penetrate well enough to be a starter, he can give good minutes as a back up.

When I think of creating a team through the draft, I think you have to plan
with an eye to what your team will look like when you become competitive.  At
this point, the Bucks only have two players who could start on a competitive
team:  Baker and Robinson.  Respert might get there this season.  Who knows.
Sherman Douglas wouldn't be a complete disaster as a starting point guard if
the other positions were solid.  But players like that are always available.
The Bucks need to get players that can make a difference, and then worry about
filling in the support players.  With that in mind, I think the Bucks needs are
pretty much equal at point guard and the center position.  The next greatest
need is at SG, but the player has to be clearly better than Respert.  There is
really no need at either forward spot.

II.	Your selection:

I haven't put as much thought into this draft as past drafts, but I have
sort of come to the conclusion that there are four very good players that
stand out above the rest.  These four are Iverson, Allen, Marbury and Camby.
(This is consistent with the poster from Minnesota whose theory is that the
T-Wolves get pick N+1 in an N person draft, the T-Wolves picking 5th this
year.  You can thank Abdur-Rahim for making it true again.)  So, I kind of
decided that I would take the one that was left to me, hoping that it would
be one of the first three, since they fit Miwaukee's needs.  Oh well.

Marcus Camby.  Any of the top three picks would have been a better fit for
the Bucks, but unfortunately, they weren't available.  Camby gives them another
player.  The Bucks can continue to have Baker play center, and let Camby play
PF.  A lot of people have expressed concern about Camby's weight.  It's true,
he is pretty thin, but so was Joe Smith, and he has worked out fine at PF.  I
think Camby is talented enough to overcome some physical deficiencies.  He may
be skinny, but he is still 6'11".  Camby is just a very good all-around player.
If he were a one dimensional post player, I'd be more worried, but he has a
nice mid range jumper, and can handle the ball a little.  He is also a good
defensive player, and his shot-blocking ability will make up to some extent
for having the under-sized Vin Baker continue to play center.


III.	Others considered:

Eric Dampier.  Since he is the top center available, I considered him.  I have
doubts about his offensive skills, though, and I didn't want to take a limited
player when there were still good all-around players available.  He may turn
himself into a decent scorer, and if so, I may regret passing him up, but I
didn't think he was worth the risk.

Kerry Kittles.  He would fit with the Bucks better than Camby, but I thought
it was a little too early to pick him.

Lorenzen Wright.  I didn't really consider this guy once I realized that Camby
was still available.  Camby is clearly the better player, and they both play
the same position.

IV.	Who the team will likely take:

I have no idea.  I think if any of the top three in this draft slide to the
fourth, the Bucks would pick them.  Probably in the order of Iverson, Marbury,
Allen.  If the real draft works out this way, I think they may try to trade
down.  I don't really have any ideas for this, but if the 5, 6, 7 people have
the same feeling that I do about this draft (four top players), then one of
them would likely be willing to give something up for a chance at Camby.  I
probably wouldn't trade any lower than 8, though.  My very inexpert opinion
sees another dropoff after Dampier, Wright, and Kittles.  (That only gets you
to 7, but I think Wallace will likely be picked in their somewhere.)

V.	Other moves the team should make:

Don't resign Benoit Benjamin.

The Bucks have so few quality players, it is hard for me to believe that they
aren't way below the salary cap.  They ought to sign a guard of some sort.
Almost anyone would be an improvement over their current backcourt.  Steve
Smith from Atlanta would be almost perfect (did he play with Respert at all?).
Chris Childs from New Jersey would also work well.  (So would Gary Payton, but
hopefully he will be resigning with the Sonics.)