Chris Copeland And Marcus Landry Unveiled As Bucks

It feels like months since the Milwaukee Bucks last held a press conference to announce the signing of Greg Monroe and re-signing of Khris Middleton, but yesterday we finally got the chance to hear from another couple of new faces on the team.

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Chris Copeland and Marcus Landry were introduced to the media, giving them the opportunity to talk about how they managed to end up in Milwaukee, and what they think of the team and the city they now represent.

Neither player is young in age, but they are in terms of NBA experience.

Despite being 31, Copeland has only three seasons under his belt at this level, while 29-year-old Marcus Landry has even less having just had short spells on rosters around the association.

So, of course both players were grateful of the opportunity, but why the Bucks?

For Copeland, having played alongside Jason Kidd, and experienced his leadership first hand with the New York Knicks, he didn’t need much more convincing:

"Jason Kidd was the top reason. It was a blessing playing with him while we were in New York. I learned a lot from him behind the scenes. When they reached out, it was a no-brainer."

For Landry, although he would likely have jumped at such an opportunity elsewhere too, this one was particularly special as Milwaukee is his hometown.

His story is one that fans will undoubtedly have very few problems relating to, and that’s one of the joys of listening to Landry speak, he’s a Bucks fan.

"Wow, I don’t even know how to explain it. It was a very overwhelming phone call…Just to be here and actually put on a green uniform. Just thinking about the memories of being here as a little kid at the arena, and them telling you to go home, and you sitting there trying to wait for Ray Allen and those guys to come out so you can get an autograph. And now being able to have the opportunity to put on the same jersey of the team that you looked up to for years is a great opportunity."

Landry speaks with the sentiments of somebody who loves the city, and the regeneration of this current Bucks squad and the impact that could have is clearly something that means a lot to the former Wisconsin Badger:

"There’s a lot of things going on in the community that the Bucks are doing and it means a lot to me. I mean there’s a new arena coming, and you never know how long your career is going to last, I plan on doing a lot of things in the community as I’ve done before but to be here at home and do those things and have the Bucks behind you, it’s a huge opportunity.Milwaukee is a great place and just to have guys like Jabari Parker that actually want to be here is great. You know, we’ve had guys in the past that didn’t want to be here, and to have character guys that want to be here is a great thing. And I’m speaking as a fan!"

It does make it a lot easier for guys to be happy about playing in Milwaukee when the product that the team is putting out on the floor is as good as it currently is though. Copeland seemed very optimistic when it came to breaking down the position the team is in on the court:

"We’re going to be an exciting team. I think we have a lot of guys who can play. A lot of guys who can do different things, and that makes J-Kidd’s job tougher.We have every piece of the puzzle here though, we have slashers, we have shooters, we have inside presence, and you know I’m just glad to be a part of what hopefully stretches the floor and makes it easier for these guys to do what they do."

Can Copeland become that shooter that Milwaukee needs him to be though? Well, at the very least he’s going to put in the work to try and make his teammates better:

"That’s part of why I’m here now with these coaches. To make sure I’m a consistent, knockdown, spread threat. I’m going to do my best to bring that to the table."

Copeland is in Milwaukee on a one-year deal, while although the team never officially announced the details of Landry’s deal the expectation is that he has signed a deal that will see him have to fight his way through training camp to earn a guaranteed roster spot.

Now, we just have to wait patiently to get the chance to see both men take to the court.

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