The Bucks announced yesterday that they have extended the contract of GM John Hammond through the 2017/18 season. Hammond’s deal was originally set to expire at the end of this coming campaign. “A great deal of our team’s success and progress is due to the vision and hard work of John,” Bucks owner Wes Edens said of his GM. “He’s assembled a talented and competitive roster and we’re very pleased that he will continue to lead basketball operations.”
Hammond has been the team’s GM since April of 2008, and during his tenure the franchise has an overall regular season record of 240-318. During his tenure Milwaukee has made three playoff appearances, all resulting in first round exits, but the Bucks are certainly a franchise on the rise, and the roster is packed with young, talented players who have intriguing upsides. All of these players were either drafted or acquired on Hammond’s watch, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, who the team outright stole with the 15th overall pick back in 2013. But before I praise Hammond too much for being a draft whiz, he was also the man who made the call to take Joe Alexander with the No. 8 overall pick back in 2008. That was Hammond’s first draft as a GM, so I’ll cut him some slack on that pick, though I’m not so sure Bucks fans will be so quick to forgive. The GM is also responsible for landing one of the bigger free agent prizes of this offseason in Greg Monroe, who surprised quite a few people when he announced his decision to join the Bucks.
This is a good spot to segue into the topic of the day: What are your feelings on John Hammond’s contract extension with the Bucks, as well as the job he has done thus far with the team?
Are you a believer in Hammond and his ability to shape the Bucks into a title contender? Or are you on the other side of the debate, and question if he is the right man for the job? What were his best and worst moves since arriving in Milwaukee? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Well, Hammond did win Executive of the Year in 2010, the “Fear the Deer” season for the Bucks. So you have to give him credit for that. A lot of luck, both good and bad, has gone into it, from Andrew Bogut’s freak arm injury to the injury-riddled disaster of 2013/14, in which the Bucks had the worst record in the league but got to draft Jabari Parker the next spring. I think you have to give a lot of credit to Jason Kidd for his coaching job last year, as well as his prominent role in player personnel. That said, the Antetokounmpo pick was huge, and so was coming up with Khris Middleton in the Brandon Knight/Brandon Jennings trade. The biggest move yet is landing Monroe. How many marquee free agents have ever picked Milwaukee over the Knicks?
John Hammond has made some sharp moves. They have a good young nucleus and if Parker is close to 100 percent this season, they have the look of a playoff team.